Saturday, October 17
4:30–7:30pm
SHIFT Movement & Healing Arts
3517 Stone Way N, Seattle

Using music as a metaphor with your body as your instrument, we’ll learn the “scales and chords” of the body so you can create most interesting and enjoyable songs & improvisations. Shapeshifter is about increasing in movement complexity: how we identify and define the simple fundamental building blocks of movement. We must define so we can refine. Then how we combine them into something that’s uniquely yours.

We’ll find freedom through restrictions, play with various tasks, and explore what’s possible as we approach improvisation from multiple angles. I sometimes think of some of this material as “creative strength training”.

This work combines strength, mobility, coordination, conditioning, creative expression– all wrapped into one container.

WHAT WE’LL INTRODUCE:

•Tuning the instrument– Nervous system priming, foundational practices, intuitive warm-ups, finding stillness through movement.

•Practicing scales– Joint articulations. Waves and circles in every plane, big frame and small.

•Learning chords– Quadrupedal locomotion vocabulary, floorwork technique, ground movement — getting down and up in as many ways as possible.

•Quality, texture, rhythm– Isolating the body into three primary regions — spine, arms, legs — to develop more capacities and more differentiation. More differentiation means more options available.

•Chord progressions– Integrating techniques, combining vocabulary, building sequences.

•Playing "songs” and improvising solos– Discovering and developing your own movement expression. 

Think of it as a software upgrade for your current operating system. This way of practicing — from a generalist perspective — has the potential to increase your performance and enjoyment of every activity you’re already interested in or already love.

 WHAT YOU’LL WALK AWAY WITH:

 - More movement vocabulary, and more options for expressing it
- Comfort and competence on and around the floor - A working set of improvisation principles you can apply anywhere
- Creative tasks and structures you can practice on your own
- A felt-sense of what your body does when you stop directing it

WHO IT’S FOR:

Anyone curious about improvisation, dance, floorwork, locomotion, creativity, and flow. Mixed levels, scalable throughout.

No choreography. Nobody put on the spot. Low pressure, lots of fun. All levels, all bodies welcome.

WHAT TO BRING:

Long sleeves and pants, water. Optional but recommended: kneepads, notebook.

REGISTRATION:

$75 Early Bird thru Sept 20th
$90 from Sept 21th

All three October workshops
$175 Early Bird
$210 from Sept 21

Register with a discount here:

https://mixedmovementarts.thrivecart.com/mma-oct-workshop-series/

Sliding scale is available for every workshop. Just email me. Work-trade spots are available too.

dae@mixedmovementarts.com

LOGISTICS:

SHIFT Movement & Healing Arts3517 Stone Way N, Seattle, WA 98103 It doesn’t look like much from the outside. Look for the yellow building.

Doors open 20 minutes early. Please arrive with time to park, settle in, and land before we begin.  

**Do not park directly in front of the building — you will be towed.**

There’s street parking nearby; give yourself 5–10 minutes to find a spot and walk over.  

ABOUT DAE:

Dae Gallina is the founder of Mixed Movement Arts. 15+ years teaching movement, fascia, and nervous system health to thousands of people, including workshops at Harvard Medical School, UCSF, Bastyr University, and the International Association of Functional Neurology and Rehabilitation. B.S. in Human Biology and Anatomy. Functional Range Conditioning certified Mobility Specialist.

His work draws on Movement Culture, contact improvisation, Qi Gong and Tai Chi, Continuum, Gaga, Organic Intelligence, and continuing education in neuroscience and somatics. It's an inquiry into what does a body actually need, and how do we give it that in a way that’s inclusive and accessible to all bodies?

WANT TO GO DEEPER?  

I work with a small number of people one-to-one — private coaching and bodywork, built around your body, your history, and your goals and life.

Reply or email me and we’ll set up a free consultation

QUESTIONS?

Just email me.

dae@mixedmovementarts.com mixedmovementarts.com