The Power of Play
A lot of what I do is to encourage adults to engage in their innate skill of play. Too often, our playful selves get shuffled under our need to be professional, or to be acceptable, or to simply be safe. Despite the fact that we as humans are known to learn best through creative play, we can easily live as adults and only allow for such impulses to exist in the bedroom, or within strict and limited parameters of sports or cards. But what if we are designed for play? What if the function of play is greater than we are willing to admit? What if we need unstructured, open time with others to creatively relate to space, and to one another, within the parameters of a game that is emergent and collective?
I recently had the opportunity to be with the masters of play for a week. I led a Capoeira Arts Camp for five to eleven year old kids in the Bay Area. I was amazed by the excitement the kids entered with, seeing an empty room with a green floor. It was tangible—the feeling of possibility and the anticipation of fun. These kids had no trouble taking an empty space and discovering a world of relating inside of it. I came with my prepared lesson plans about bones and joints, and together with these highly skilled practitioners of creative improvisation we found ways to explore the material. I have so much to learn from them. Hopefully I can remind you all of the genius of this intrinsic power of play we all possess.
Upcoming opportunities to play with me…
Last chance to register for BAASE!
Registration is still open for drop-in classes or drop-in days for BAASE, happening this week June 24-29th! To see the full schedule and read more information about this year’s teachers and classes, visit https://www.nuriabowart.com/baase-2025/
Vadiando Vermont at The Field Center!
Join me for Vadiando Vermont at The Field Center July 2nd-5th! Vadiando Vermont is 10 days of immersive capoeira workshops, classes, rodas and 'vadiar' [hanging out] to celebrate the global capoeira family. I will teach a CAXIXI (small basket percussion instrument) workshop, as well as some injury prevention classes. All lineages, groups and levels welcome!
August on Salt Spring Island: Rhizome springs!
I will be teaching a workshop on Axis Syllabus, Capoeira, and CI: “Dancing With Spirals” on Salt Spring Island August 7th-10th. This class will draw from the physical intelligence of Capoeira, the relational intelligence of CI and the anatomical intelligence of the Axis Syllabus. The workshop is suitable for dancers with a good handle of CI fundamentals.
September at Earth Dance—Nomadic College!
This is an opportunity to dive deep into all that the Axis Syllabus has to offer. With teachers from both Europe and North America, this is the only Nomadic College taking place in the Western Hemisphere for this calendar year. I will be teaching “Reaching towards the Earth and Sky: the Logic of Support“ during week one, September 27th to October 2nd. In this class we will practice dancing from the ground up, keying into the many systems that are already designed to support us as we move, and checking to insure the synergetic behavior of our body’s masses.
