SOFT PLAY by BODY LANGUAGE practice

SOFT PLAY by BODY LANGUAGE practice invites you to explore the softness of self-given care through movement. Through carving a space for you to nurture the balance between offering and receiving care, this class aims to restore symbiosis of care with yourself, for mind, body and movement wellbeing.

The class is built around the SOFT PLAY card deck - split into 2 sections, the PLAY deck is a series of images and text depicting care-giving behaviours (i.e., nuzzle, compress, stroke, scratch) and the SOFT deck is a series of interaction cards, to help guide the creativity of your touch (i.e., pressure, speed, body region). Each week, the class will pull a card and gently delve into the intimacies of touch for care through movmement. Solo PLAY is a guided investigation of care-giving behaviours for your body, offering some moments for you to listen to what your body desires. This will be followed by pulling an interaction card from the SOFT deck to offer and expand the multiple ways of accessing the PLAY touch card. Finally, we will extend the experience of touch by incorporating an object or interacting with other people in the same whilst maintaining the presence of the interaction card.

There is no pressure to produce, only to play. SOFT PLAY is a moving meditation on getting to know how your touch feels and listening to your body’s response.

About the facilitator:

Nya Bardouille (she/her)

Nya is a holistic movement and massage practitioner of Caribbean descent from North London. Her practice involves embodying self-nourishing behaviours and learning to listen to the body’s intuitive and instinctual desires for self-given intimacy. The connection between mind, body and movement for Nya stems from her facilitation in dance, somatic and holistic movement practices.

She currently freelances across dance, performance, rehabilitation and health landscapes, engaging with pre- and professional dancers, intergenerational movers and anyone who wants to foster their connection to their body with touch. Nya works within the Physical Support Team at London Contemporary Dance School and runs BODY LANGUAGE practice, a massage and movement wellbeing project.

You can follow Nya's work here.

Accessibility:

Please note, we are on the second floor of a warehouse building, accessed by a staircase only. We regret that we cannot currently adequately support wheelchair users and those for whom stairs are a barrier.

We are committed to removing other barriers to access. If you would like to talk to us about your access needs, please contact: sam@chisenhaledancespace.co.uk. Read more about our commitments to anti-ableism as part of our Artist Community Culture Document

About Class Lab:

CLASS LAB is a class development scheme at Chisenhale Dance Space which helps experienced artists launch sustainable teaching practices through subsidised space, mentoring, and marketing support.