BODY & LAND is a weekend workshop for anyone curious about exploring movement in relationship with nature, offering a chance to move, connect, and express yourself creatively within the beautiful chalk landscape of the South Downs
Dates
Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September 2026
11am – 5pm
Venue
East Dean Village Hall
Village Green Lane
East Dean (near Eastbourne)
BN20 0DR
+ accessible outdoor locations in the South Downs National Park
Capacity
14
Cost
Pay What You Can
£65, £85, £110 for the weekend. 3 free bursary places are available on a first-come first-served basis, for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to come. To request a bursary place, please send me an email. No explanation is required.
Book via Eventbrite here
Age recommendation
18+
Physical access
East Dean Village Hall has step-free access to the hall space and toilets, and a wheelchair-accessible toilet. The outdoor locations we will go to are close to the village hall and are in the South Downs National Park. The grassy terrain is fairly even, and we will avoid steps, and steep inclines and declines.
To discuss any access requirements in advance, please contact me here
BODY & LAND is a weekend workshop for anyone curious about exploring movement in relationship with nature, offering a chance to move, connect, and express yourself creatively within the beautiful chalk landscape of the South Downs.
No previous experience in movement-based work is required though experienced practitioners are also very welcome.
BODY & LAND will be co-led by four of the Sussex group Dancers in Landscape; Korina Biggs, Mim King, Yumino Seki, and Clare Whistler, who will bring their distinct practices and experience of facilitation in wide-ranging local and global settings.
We will be using the spacious East Dean Village Hall as a base for indoor warm-ups, refreshments and rest, and nearby locations for outdoor movement sessions, weather-permitting!
The weekend will include sessions in somatic practices* and improvisation which the facilitators are particularly experienced in - Alexander Technique* and Butoh* – and will draw on influences and inspirations from writing by renowned figures including the poet Ada Limón, botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer and environmental activist and scholar Joanna Macy.
Together we will be exploring how to move with ease, and how to feel grounded, tuning into where we are, and finding a sense of place through movement itself. We will attend to becoming more receptive through the senses, to noticing and connecting with the more-than-human, and to following creative movement impulses that arise through tuning in and responding to the land.
We will explore the rhythm, pace and terrain of the land, and the transient nature of the elements. Through guided improvisations, we will explore themes from nature, working with stillness, sense of presence, and ‘being’, rather than ‘doing’, discovering a natural rhythm, quality of breath, and awareness to all that is around, and that which we hold inside. This resonates also with Butoh concepts such as Ma (in between space), Wabi (humbleness/simplicity) and Sabi (process of decay).
In keeping with the spirit of Dancers in Landscape, this workshop will be shaped by a sense of community, playful curiosity, and responsiveness to both the group and the weather. There will be time for rest and reflection, and conversation over refreshments and food.
We look forward to welcoming you!
See here for further information about the facilitators and workshop content
This workshop is part of LIVE EDITIONS, a new programme of movement, sound and performance in Eastbourne and the South Downs, supported by ACE.