Collective dance practice and healing as creative process (DAN4363.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023)

luciana achugar, MFA Teaching Fellow

This course is open to students with prior experience with dance and improvisation; or to those who have taken any of achugar’s prior classes using the Pleasure Practice. 

During this course we will engage in a creative process together, attempting to create a performance based work as a collective using methods from somatic healing modalities and achugar’s Pleasure Practice, as well as what comes up from the collective. Allowing the possibility of creating from a less ego/mind place as an expression of mastery of the self and letting the collective be the creative force.

The Pleasure Practice is achugar’s own practice developed through years of making dances. The practice of being in pleasure is a practice of undoing the learned hierarchical model of embodiment that has been programmed into us and to undo the shame that comes with it to unearth a more liberated, empowered, decolonized, uncivilized self that is more connected to our instincts, our hearts, our guts, and our sex to celebrate togetherness and connection to the earth, to ourselves, and to others. 

Please note that there will be an expectation to engage with one another and even sometimes touch. However, we will take the time to ease into it and create a feeling of safety and trust in the environment, in order to make touch feel safe and not invasive.


Learning Outcomes:
* Learning to listen to our own instinctual impulses while staying sensitive to the group.
* Learning to create in a collaborative environment.
* Learning the difference between understanding something intellectually versus understanding it in an actual felt/experiential sense that can be truly incorporated into our lives and our whole sense of self.
* Finding greater self-acceptance, intimacy, well-being and safety in our bodies
exactly as they are and experiencing the beginning of real transformation as a paradoxical result of this acceptance.
* Beginning to cultivate the ability to listen to sensations that allow us to become more aware of different systems and connections in our bodies.
* Becoming less self-conscious and having a greater sense of ease and freedom to be and let be whatever is present in our experience.
* Gaining greater ability to be in the moment connected to our feelings and sensations and to be more aware of relationships between parts and with others and their surroundings.
* Allowing the possibility of creating in a less ego/mind place as an expression of mastery of the self and letting the collective be the creative force.
* Learning somatic healing tools for self-regulation of our nervous system and emotions.
* Learning somatic healing practices for co-regulation and attunement when relating to others.
* Learning to attune to our needs in relationship to a group and vice versa.


Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: To enroll in this course you must email achugar (lucianaachugar@bennington.edu) about your interest in participating and attend an audition and/or interview. achugar and the student's advisor will have to sign off the approval and achugar is responsible for the registration.
Corequisites: Dance or Drama lab assignment if students sign up for 4 or more credits in designated dance courses.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 2
W 2:10PM - 5:50PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: One time only

Categories: 4000 , All courses , Dance , Day/Time Changes , Fully In-Person , Two Credit , Updates
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