MARCO Trust - The Centre of Creativity for Well-being

PAST WORKSHOPS AT MARCO

In the past 3 years MARCO has offered a variety of creative workshops.
Here is a selection of some of them...

Start a movement. From within.

Revolutionizing the language of the body, with Alice Rutkowski

Alice is planning to return to Auckland in 2008 or 2009 so watch this space

This was a two day experiential movement awareness workshop utilizing the science and arts based tools of Motional Processing – movement and the senses, image, sound, writing and cognitive awareness. The following questions were explored: How have you cultivated the 85% of your communication which is nonverbal? Are you utilizing authentic nonverbal tools for relating to others your uniqueness, passion and vision? When you are triggered by others’ responses – can you tap into your body wisdom to regain equilibrium? These three questions will lead to three keys for moving forward in the world.

About Alice

Alice Rutkowski Ph.D. is a pioneer in the mind body field, a humanistic artist and master teacher of nonverbal communication. In the course of the last three decades, she has consulted widely in the fields of therapy, healthcare, education, the arts, corporate business and government. Her training and roots are in the Halprin Life/Art Process, the world-renowned movement-based expressive arts program integrating movement/dance, visual arts, performance techniques and therapeutic practices. Alice has forged her career by constructing viable bridges between this MindBody art and science and nearly every sector of public life. She founded her outgrowth of the Halprin Process – Motional Processing – in 1980.

With a long and fascinating history, the Halprin work originated in the 1950s with Anna Halprin. Anna is among the first pioneers in the contemporary Western world to use dance as a mind body healing art. In the 1970s, Daria Halprin further developed the artistic and therapeutic aspects of this work and articulated the methodology. An original graduate and protégé of the Halprin process, Alice developed connections that would serve as a harbinger of the integration between the mind body field and public institutions ranging from health to commerce.
At its foundation, the work is based on a view of the body and movement. The body holds our entire life experience. Movement is the body's primary language. Movement is synonymous with life. Movement is personality and soul made visible; and dance is body, feelings and imagination in motion. Movement/dance is for all people a way to live a more embodied and creative life. Movement/Dance is a way to connect deeply and authentically; to express the full range of human emotion.

Through her method, Motional Processing, Alice has developed ways to mold these principles to the needs and goals of varied organizations, institutions and individuals. She says, “In movement, the body doesn’t lie. Tapping into the language of the body through movement can open up new and direct links to our health, relationships, well-being and effectiveness. It’s a matter of learning a new vocabulary – the vocabulary of the body.” As a highly sought after coach and trainer, Alice has literally moved from 1 to 1,000 people at a time blending innovation, imagination and the many languages of the body. She currently serves as adjunct professor for Lesley University in Cambridge and her past and current clients include the American Cancer Society, Verizon Communications, Atlanta Public School System, Philadelphia Art Museum, American Association of Humanistic Psychology, and the Center for Disease Control.

Alice presents in a didactic and experiential format. She sheds an historic light on the development of the mind body field, and cite specific examples of the utilization of Motional Processing to forward the health and well-being of individuals, groups and institutions.

cathART – xpressing emotion through art

cathar’tic a. & n. release of strong feelings or tension e.g. by giving vent to them in drama or art.

What is cathART?

cathART gives you the opportunity to fully express yourself through painting on a large surface. A full day will be devoted to giving you the resources you need to “go for it” and “get it all out” in a supportive, fun, creative environment. You will be encouraged to move, or not; make noise, or not; to paint, dance and yell with unthinking abandon. The process is what is paramount, the products are not to be judged purely on artistic terms by yourself and others. You will be encouraged to stop the inner-critic.

What is provided

Materials:
• A 1200mm x 1200mm prepared painting board, acrylic paint and brushes
Support and expertise:
• Assistance with artistic inspiration and practical advice and know how.
• Emotional facilitation, movement and expressive confidence.
• Assistance in design and encouragement towards realising your piece as a finished artwork.

The cathART Exhibition

The Exhibition will be in MARCO gallery | project space and will hang for a week after the workshop, with the opening at 5.30pm on the Saturday. It gives participants and their family and friends the chance to see their work in a professional gallery setting. A catalogue of all the works will be produced. cathART participants are asked to come to the gallery at 3pm for a sneak preview and to debrief on the whole process.