It's a big, huge, strange, chaotic, terrifying time. I can feel myself leaving my body to be able to move through the sense of imminent threat. Dee and I are hoping to give people a place to ground back into themselves so that we can keep moving together with more ease and integrity.
Whether you are simply curious about getting more deeply & somatically acquainted with your inner body, or have specific areas that feel crunchy, tight, or limited, this series is for you.
Each session will offer:
- Focused movement warm up
- Embodied functional anatomy education
- Hands-on Alexander Technique to support easing tension
- Practical tools for increasing sensory awareness & whole-body coordination
We are working in a cozy space at @atrium.pdx , so slots are limited! Link in bio for the full description and registration.
This week also begins the first iteration of Feel Something, a dance series I've been chewing on slowly over the last year. This is an experiment in offering my internal process of resourcing in an external container—I hope to see you there!
Thursdays at 7pm at @atrium.pdx
Link in bio for class description and registration ❤️
First class is tonight! If you've been curious about Alexander Technique or just want an opportunity to connect more deeply with easeful movement, this is the class for you ❤️
Link in bio for class description and registration!
Taking the whole series is recommended, but even if you can only come for one class, you'll get something juicy out of it.
Oh, and I can't wait to teach again with my friend and excellent AT teacher, Dee Nelson, at my favorite movement studio @atrium.pdx ✨
5 things to know about micro fusion from Ally Yancey:
• Micro is a branch of a family of fusion idioms, and is still growing and evolving as a distinct but related style of dance.
• Relatedly, it is a young dance—only roughly 15 years old! Like all dances at this age, what defines “micro” is interpreted differently depending on the region.
• It is a direct and effective form for learning or advancing partnered connection technique for any kind of dance. Its subtlety and unpredictability means both partners have to get very sensitive and available in their movement.
• It is a dance that is unattached to a specific music genre. Certain scenes favor specific music characteristics (such as slower or more spacious music), but it is widely danced to a variety of tempos, rhythms, & genres.
• Micro is a super creative style that converses playfully with the musical layers in the song, as well as employs textural and anatomical layers in the body. It is both quite technical and free flowing.
When two forces collide 💥 Our favorites, @mr.neokiz and @aely_wanders , shared this fusion moment at @myrtlewoodfusion this summer—each bringing their own distinct style and letting the music guide the merge.
Catch them both at microKizzes 2025, where they’ll be teaching in our evening progressive class tracks: Urban Kiz and Micro—sharing their techniques, ideas, and approaches to connection.
Here’s a sneak peek of one of our micro fusion Instructors, Ally Yancey, (She/They) caught nerding out on the creative intricacies of movement w/ our marketing team member Elliot (They/Them) 🌱 Talent highlights and class descriptions are coming soon, so be on the lookout! Oh— and make sure you snagged your ticket 😘
✨Organizer Introduction✨
When we first decided to collaborate on @myrtlewoodfusion , we actually didn’t know each other. This was a risk, but through the course of building our vision together it quickly became apparent that it had paid off. We were aligned on a primary core value: Pleasure in the process. We both were committed to the experience of organizing itself being a creative, collaborative, and fulfilling act—that the reward of the project was not just completing the event on the horizon, but the process of organizing itself. Also, now we're besties ✌️
A little about each of us:
Milla (@fusion.themme ) has been organizing educational programs for over 8 years and brings this passion to their dance organizing work. Other than 3 years of running MFI, they have also run instruction & curriculum coordination for High-Fidelity Fusion, organized Hot Night Fusion Weekend 2022 & 2023, and is now the operations manager for the Fusion Dance Academy in San Francisco.
Ally (@aely_wanders ) is a body geek and a movement addict. They have taught fusion for 17 years, and it is their deep passion for education that sparked their involvement in MFI. They bring a unique understanding of body mechanics, effective practice, and pedagogy to the curriculum development and overall vision of this project.
We are so excited to meet you and learn alongside you! 💚
A little snippet from instructor demos at Hot Night Fusion Weekend last year! I can't wait to show y'all what @themarkcarpenter and I have been brewing up for you for HNFW 2024 👀
I will be staying in the Denver area for a while after as well, and teaching my own little workshop day on Sat 9/21! Here's the schedule:
12:00-1:00pm
Grounded & Fluid: Contemporary Alexander Technique for Dancers
1:15-2:15pm
Ambi-Dance Flow
2:30-3:30pm
Mode Switching: Body Shaping
🔗 in bio for class descriptions and registration. Share with your local friends! I'd love to get to meet more of the Denver scene 💕
phat beats curtesy of @vanchezxz ❤️🔥
we’ve recorded SO much together and will take a while to sort through the vids from 2023, but here’s a moment 💓
#brepetrunko #bulgariantrap #freestyle #dancereels #partnerdance #switchdance #socialdancers
Last Beginning Dance Flow class of 2023 and it couldn't have been a better crew.
I've come to love teaching this class so much, because the people who show up every week are just amazing. They love learning, love moving, and bring laughter and curiosity to class every week—even when they are faced with unfamiliar and challenging new material. They have built a class culture of encouraging and celebrating each other. I'm seriously so honored I get to teach this class.
See you all in 2024!
PS Thanks to the @breathebuilding for being such a great place to work and teach 💕
#danceflow #danceportland #danceteaching #mystudentsarethebest #queerdance #queersafespace #pdxevents
The Beginning Floor Flow series started last week, but if you were wanting to join, you still can! We're opening up a couple more slots for folks to join for the next 3 weeks of the series.
11/6, 11/13, 11/20
Mondays 5:30-6:15pm at the @breathebuilding
🔗 in bio to register
Come get gushy on the floor with me 💚
#floorflow #danceflow #queersafespace #solomovement #mobilitytraining #balancetraining #danceportland #portlanddance #everyoneisadancer
