Flowing through the Spring: A Jewish Dance Series

Through this four-part Jewish movement series, we are going to use different modalities of dance to explore and express our Jewish past, present and future. By participating in dances that have been performed for generations, in dances that are new and in dance that has never been done before, these workshops will help participants feel what it means to bring in your whole self in movement through Jewish embodied movement.

Join us as these dynamic local dance masters in SF Bay Area, take us through a series of creative movement. From choreographed, guided movement to expressive free form dance, this series will bring the joy of movement to all, no previous dance experience needed.

May 24th: Embodied Dance, a conscious dance through themes of The Tree of Life

Open to the wisdom that comes through experiential movement in this body-based journey through the Sacred Sefirot, the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. As we move into the holiday of Shavuot, we will embody the divine attributes (Sefirot) that map onto the body, based upon the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. In this workshop, we will open with teachings on the Sefirot, followed by guided warm-up movement sequences, with the bulk of the time spent in free-form dance, accompanied by a carefully curated music playlist and infused with Jewish wisdom teachings. No previous experience with dance or knowledge about the Sefirot is required. Please wear comfortable loosely layered clothing in which you can easily move and bring a journal.

Lead by:

Julie Emden, E-RYT-500, Halprin Practitioner, is the Founding Director of Embodied Jewish Learning in the San Francisco Bay Area. She founded the Embodied Jewish Wisdom Network, a global collaborative of leaders and seekers of movement practices infused with Jewish wisdom. She is passionate about awakening the body as a gateway to inner knowing and guides others in somatic explorations of Jewish wisdom teachings as a resource for living in balance and wholeness. A graduate of five fellowship and teaching certification programs related to her work as a dancer, Jewish educator, Iyengar-based Yoga instructor and movement/expressive artist, Julie has over two decades of experience guiding students of all ages in exploring Jewish wisdom, text and practices via the body in a variety of settings. www.embodiedjewishlearning.org.

Series Schedule: Every other Wednesday at 4pm

April 12 // Gaga, freeform modern Israeli dance with James Graham

April 26 // Ecstatic Dance, free flowing, feel the rhythm movement with Ilene Serlin

May 10 // World Jewish Dance, easy to follow Yemenite, ecstatic Hasidic, joy-busting Klezmer dance and beyond with Bruce Bierman

May 24 // Embodied Dance, conscious dance through themes of The Tree of Life with Julie Emden