"Paths to the Dancing Self" - 2 Days of Bioenergetics and Butoh Dance

A weekend dedicated to reconnecting with yourself through breath, body and movement. Combining Bioenergetics with Pramod and Butoh Dance with Yael, this retreat offers two complementary approaches to explore the relationship between body, emotions and expression.

Over two days, internationally experienced facilitators Yael Karavan and Pramod invite you to release habitual patterns, awaken your creativity and discover new ways of moving and being. No previous experience is needed, just an openness to explore.

Two practices, one journey
Two complementary approaches to reconnecting with the body, explore inner landscapes and discover new possibilities of expression.

Bioenergetics – Body & Breath Work

Bioenergetics is a body and breath work therapeutic approach that combines traditional psychological talk therapy with physical exercises to release chronic muscle tension and trauma stored in the body.
Developed in the 1950s by psychotherapist Alexander Lowen, this approach is based on the principle that mind and body function as a single system. Psychological defences can manifest physically as muscle rigidity, known as "somatic armour" or "body armour". By releasing chronic tension, we can access a more spontaneous and pleasurable state of being, with a body more capable of expressing freely. This creates something more real to share with others and with life itself: an Umbilical Encounter.

"Encounter exists when there is a clear intention and at least two presences." – Pramod Miguel Bento

Butoh Dance – The Body as a Vessel of Metamorphoses

Butoh is an avant-garde performance and art movement, a philosophy and a method founded by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno in Japan in the late 1950s. It is not a technique, but an approach to dance that arises from within us and connects us to our essence, our nature, the universe and the cycles of life and death.
In this intensive workshop, Yael proposes an exploration of Butoh dance, from the philosophy of its founding members to its relevance today as a tool for creation, rebirth and transformation.
Unlike other dance styles, Butoh does not require learning a fixed vocabulary of movements. It draws inspiration and power from internalised images, creating a state in which transformation is limitless and it becomes possible to become something else.
The workshop explores metamorphosis, presence, awareness, contrast, dance through imagery and the tension between opposites. Its aim is to free the body from preconceived, everyday gestures and movements, allowing access to a deeper, more authentic essence of movement and archetypal expression.

"Again and again we are reborn. It is not enough simply to be born of the mother's womb. Many births are necessary. Be reborn always and everywhere. Again and again." – T. Hijikata, founder of Butoh