{"id":9756,"date":"2019-08-08T10:32:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T17:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=9756"},"modified":"2019-11-25T14:48:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T22:48:25","slug":"body-mind-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=9756","title":{"rendered":"Body-Mind Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UCSB

UCSB Campus Bluffs, painting by Chris Potter.<\/p><\/div>\n

BMCA somatic movement conference focuses on embodiment and brain research, with an indigenous education element<\/h4>\n

By Leslie Dinaberg<\/p>\n

Monday, August 5, 2019 – 10:15<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara, CA<\/p>\n

Bringing together more than 70 presenters from around the world, the Body-Mind Centering Association (BMCA)<\/a> presents its 34th annual interdisciplinary laboratory, research and workshop conference at UC Santa Barbara August 6-11.<\/p>\n

\"brooke

brooke smiley. \u00a0Photo by Peter Aguilar.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hosted by brooke smiley<\/a>, a lecturer in the Department of Theater and Dance<\/a>, this somatic movement conference features an array of workshops, panel discussions, presentations and performances. The theme, \u201cSelf and Other,\u201d reflects the conference emphasis on the evolving indigenous embodiment in relation to dance, song and land.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create a focus on what it means to value our differences and also bring focus to our interconnectedness,\u201d said smiley.<\/p>\n

She anticipates approximately 130 participants at the conference, which is open to the public. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting because we have a lot of people from different realms: science, dance, academia, choreographers, dancers, therapists and infant movement development specialists,\u201d smiley said. \u201cMovement research takes a lot of different forms out in the world. As host, I\u2019ve been able to be supported in bringing a focus to an indigenous educational awareness about the land here, specifically before UC Santa Barbara was here, and the dances and the songs that came from the bodies in relationship to this land.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that awareness in mind, the Friday, Aug. 9 plenary session led by smiley, titled \u201cEmbodying Land in Dance and Song: Addressing Decolonization in Indigenous Ceremony and Performance,\u201d includes a panel from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians<\/a>. An indigenous dance artist herself, smiley was recently named a 2019\/2020 Advancing Indigenous Performers Fellow by the Western Arts Alliance, a program made possible by a lead grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.<\/p>\n

Among the conference highlights:<\/p>\n

\u2022 A two-part presentation by BMCA founder and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen<\/a>. \u201cEngaging Self and Other through Embodiment, Part I\u201d will begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10. Part II will take place at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 11.<\/p>\n

\u2022 2019 Guggenheim Scholar Ann Cooper Albright\u2019<\/a>s two-part \u201cCultivating the 3R\u2019s: Responsiveness, Resistance, Resilience\u201d (Aug. 6 at 2 p.m.\u00a0and\u00a0Aug. 7 at 9 a.m. ). Cooper is professor and chair of dance at Oberlin College.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Two evenings of dance performances (Aug. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m.) in 1151 Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Admission is free.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1985, the BMCA is a professional organization dedicated to exploring, sharing and expanding body-mind centering work. Members reside around the world, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.<\/p>\n

Additional conference details and registration information is available at\u00a0https:\/\/bmcassociation.org\/conferences\/2019-bmca-conference<\/a>.\u00a0A complete schedule of events can be found at\u00a0https:\/\/bit.ly\/2JHR7YJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Originally published in The Current<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(UCSB) on August 5, 2019.<\/p>\n

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