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Hi <<First Name>>,

"The world is a vampire...set to drain..." - Smashing Pumpkins song

More than a million refugees have now made it to Europe. Very few are in Bulgaria compared to Poland and Hungary and I hear from friends in those locations with their pleas for housing, medicine, and such trivial things like a cleaning rag. If you are in Bulgaria, tune in to the Varna refugee center here - as they seem to need a lot more help. I found a really awesome list of places to donate to help Ukrainian refugees here - no matter how you feel about the war itself.

In 2018 and 2019 I was living in the US, witnessing the propaganda of Trump, his pointless wall, and watching the world burn, as mothers and children get separated and killed because of someone's inflated ego. I made a piece called Un-seen then. My research was filled with images of incarcerated kids at the Mexico US border and parallel to that Syrian kids killed at sea for trying to flee to Grease.
It was devastating! It is still happening and is still devastating.

A positive note:
I am coping by setting up more moments to check it and move together. I've had many friends from all over the world check in with me and I know some of us are having a hard time coping with the news.
It took me many years to realize how incredibly political it was to engage in the creation of art and beauty. So we artists persevere, we keep creating, we keep making beauty and express our thoughts, worries, and disagreements through artistic tools so that we can empower understanding and empathy – clearly tools this planet’s politicians do not have.

That said... I hope everyone on this list is well. I am offering a very last-minute movement mediation practice starting tomorrow and later in the month Composing While Dancing.

Grounding Through Movement - improvisation practice

March 10th, 11th, 14th, 15th

9:00AM London | 10:00AM Berlin and Warsaw | 11:00 AM Sofia

OR you can take this through recording.

Open to all people interested in movement, this is a practice of tuning into our body and our senses as a way to cope with stress, feel our aliveness, and notice emergence.

Working through authentic movement, breathing and the senses is a practice of grounding and allowing emergence in our movement, in our thoughts and outlook.

Just an hour-long, everyone can attend through zoom link or recording.

In support of the refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine at the moment. 75% of all proceeds will be donated to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The rest of the money will go toward supporting independent artists through BodyMeld’s programs.

COST:

7 to 25 Euro Pay What You Wish.

Info and Registration

Composing while Dancing
March 21st, 24rd, 25th, 28th, 30th - through ZOOM

TIME:
9:00AM CALIFORNIA | 12 NOON NYC | 6:00PM BERLIN | 7:00PM SOFIA⁠

Description of class series:
Composing While Dancing series is for improvisers and anyone interested in expanding their skills on different techniques in composition and improvisation. This 5 class Zoom series presents improvisation through a lens of digital theatricality, always conscious of “the presence” of the dancer. Focusing on modalities outside of the more conventional compositional improvisation class, Zornitsa hopes to open more possibilities for instant composition helping you understand the digital space, as well as delve deeper into your own interests and practice.

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Each class will focus on:
March 21 – Understanding the digital frame better and how to use tricks to compose in that space.
March 23– Morphing our bodies into recognizability, working with potential for meaning
March 25 – Using our face and body to evoke emotional states, using emotionality in improvisation
March 28 – Different ways in using language in improvisation
March 30 – switching of states, qualities, emotions – noticing emergence in meaning

************Each class is $7-$20 sliding scale and the whole series is $28 – $80 sliding scale.************

All participants receive a recording of the class the day after the class. So, possibility to attend just through recording as well.

Info and Registration

In other news:

Some of you know that for my birthday I went to Istanbul, Turkey. Right on the 24th as I was boarding the plane from Sofia to Istanbul, I read about the Russian invasion into Ukraine. HA....With that looming news I and my husband went through a lot of cultural and amazing food experiences in the 3 days we were there. Above are two pieces of art that resonated with me the most of the whole trip. Both these pieces are at Pera Museum... and of course in typical fashion, I did not take a photo of the artists' names. Enjoy.

Platform for Improvisation and Composition - PIC.

Along with fellow independent dancers and choreographers Silvia Cherneva and Ivailo Dimitrov we created PIC. We had an open call for participants early this year and invited 4 dancers and two musicians. Here are some screenshots from our first rehearsal together. We are still in the planning process of what this platform could be and only have a Facebook page here.

With love and gratitude.

Zornitsa Stoyanova
Director of BodyMeld