1. what is “intuitive movement”?
Cinema Antiplastique’s intuitive movement practice combines techniques from over 30 years of embodied professional dance study and teaching to bring them to the people. Techniques draw from Experiential Anatomy, Movement in Depth (also known as “Authentic Movement”), Modern Dance Improvisation, and Jinen ‘nature’ Butoh.
Because of the embodied confines of life in various societies, cultures and families, intuitive movement tends to end for many in childhood. Cinema Antiplastique combines movement techniques with healing and restorative practices which include Systems and Narrative therapy.
Movement workshops at Cinema Antiplastique, led by Rania Lee Khalil (DFA; Doctorate of Dance and Video, MSW; Master of Social Work, MA Master of Performance Studies; BA Dance and Video) are about reconnecting participants with their own spontaneous, inwardly sourced and inwardly motivated movement. Because of the intuitive nature of this movement, it is often pleasing and productive, because it is automatically in tune with each participants own specific needs for release, rejuvenation and embodied reflection.
Our culture in New York City tends to discount the importance of embodiment from within, lauding mostly embodied activities that lead to external results (thinness, more muscle, speed, etc). Intuitive movement has different benefits. Among these benefits are a capacity to feel differently within one’s own being; to feel more connected to oneself from within one’s own body; to think differently about one’s life and circumstances and to process events from a non-verbal perspective. In this way intuitive movement can be an important addendum to talk therapy, yet also to mind expanding drugs, because of its power to activate untapped and embodied aspects of our imaginations and creativity.
Cinema Antiplastique draws on Rania’s embodied as well as academic studies of plant life. Examining the ways in which plants move in the wind, as well as the ways they move within themselves during their growth and hibernation cycles is the basis for Cinema Antiplastique’s practice of moving with Rania’s original videos of plant life. Cinema Antiplastique draws also on Rania’s video studies of animal life and movement. It observes the careful and tender aspects of nonhuman movement, which can inform and expand our own movement as human beings.
this said, the ability to improvise is something adults often benefit from being taught to do (across various forms). techniques in our work which draw on practices including movement in depth/ authentic movement, experiential anatomy, gestalt and narrative therapy and butoh dance allow participants develop deeper trust in their embodied intuition over time. the practice aims to allow a diverse range of people to physically move and access inner information in ways that are surprising and genuine to their needs and spirits.
3. why move with moving images?
Alongside the ways in which moving images of our plant and animal relatives can give us unique insight and empathy into our own bodies and conditions, incorporating an outward looking filmic element helps participants connect with themselves and their bodies with less strain than many traditional somatic practices.
4. who are “the people”? ie, which people will benefit from this practice / who is cinema antiplastique for?
our work can benefit a very broad and diverse range of people. please see our offerings. page for this the wide and intergenerational range.
4. can people with phsyical disabilities participate? cinema antiplastique offers a practice of listening to one’s body that is creative and genuine to one’s own unique needs and embodied ability. movement is intuitive and self directed, making it an ideal practice for people with various physical disabilities. one of our favorite teachers, the butoh dancer atsushi takenouchi says “dance can be anything from the movement of an eyelash to the twitch of a finger.” participants in our workshops - both in person and online - are in fact not required to move at all. in general, individual and autonomous participatation is helpful for our in person workshops; for questions about specific disability accommodations please reach out to us at info@cinemantiplastique.org.
our space is wheelchair accessible.
5. why does cinema antiplastique offer only workshops and not classes?
in keeping with our wider mission and ethos, we prefer the slower and deeper experience of the workshop form to briefer, shorter and more frequent classes. these workshops are mini intensives into our practice.
our work can be an addendum and or alternative to talk therapy, allowing participants access to embodied and preverbal memories.
we offer our 3 hour workshops at an accessible rate of $150 per session. this said, send us a note if you need a scholarship!
info [at] cinemantiplastique [dot] org
6. your workshops look pretty far out, are they for people on drugs or for medicine ceremonies?
they are far out, but not because of drugs or plant medicine - we actually ask that everyone who comes to our movement workshops be alchohol and drug free (not including those prescribed by a doctor) for 24 hours before attending. this request does not come from a moral place! we have deep respect for plant medicine and other drugs for the ways in which they allow humans to open and access positive and expansive feelings. we request this because of the specifics of our practice: this better ensures that participants are able to access their inner information with clarity and without any distortion.
we also ask this because we require everyone in our workshops to be self possessed for the (physical and emotional) safety of others.
we
7. are cinema antiplastique’s workshop for fun or for healing?
over time we have found that human beings have as much capacity to repress joy as they have to repress grief and sorrow, so the answer to this depends quite specifically on the individual (and sometimes the day)!
over oover nor do we see a division or contradiction between fun and healing. we view healing as something that can be enjoyable, playful and embodied. we view fun as embodied and healing as well (rather than simply escapist or destructive).
cinema antiplastique is a space for expansion, imagination and reconnection not accessible within the solemn divisions between spontaneous movement, therapy, dance parties, etc.
8. is there music at cinema antiplastique?
unless otherwise noted, our experiences and original moving images are silent so that we can hear the sounds and songs within ourselves. we can tune in to our hearts beating, the sound of our joints or our breathing, the movement of others swishing softly on the floor. we listen to our minds and bodies wish to share with us.
home all offerings