A year-long dance and wellbeing programme exploring the body as a living, regenerative ecosystem.
Inspired by the intelligence of forests, where knowledge circulates, roots intertwine, and renewal happens collectively, Reforesting the Body offers a creative framework for participants to experience dance as a catalyst for revitalisation, restoration and cognitive renewal.
Through somatic practices and creative exchange, Reforesting the Body highlights the role of neuroplasticity, neurodiversity, and decolonisation in contemporary movement practices. It aims to foster creative empowerment, deepen awareness, and cultivate a sense of shared humanity.
choreographic creation rooted in somatic awareness, personal memory, creative autonomy and respect for the cultural origins of the practice.
gravity & environment with greater pleasure, clarity & curiosity for change. Movement emerges as a collective and individual resource, fostering regulation, connection, and renewal within a supportive, inclusive space. The practice supports ease, trust, and responsiveness, allowing our relational bodies to awaken through shared presence and quiet exchange. This playful workshop is for anyone interested in movement & embodiment.
The Feldenkrais Method® was developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984) as a gentle embodied process concerned with self-discovery, creative wellbeing and improved function. It uses movement, sensation & reflective experience as pleasurable and organic learning modes.
economy, power and soft strength. Movement explorations occur in solo, duet and group forms. This kinesthetic process facilitates the dance of letting go, change and transformation.
In Creative Practice we will cultivate the state of receptivity experienced in the SRT class and give space and time for absorbing, sensing, listening and following movement impulses. Through explorations in moving, drawing and writing we will create individual and collective forms and remembrances. This is all cultivated in a supportive environment of non-judgement and creative curiosity.
Participants will enhance their capacity for attention, relaxation, and concentration. Recognize prevalent thought and movement patterns and thereby gain the possibility for change. Acquire a fresh sense of physical and mental well-being. Have fun and explore ontological questions in a light way. The workshop will involve movement, touch, improvisation and partnered activities. This is a workshop for anyone interested in the relationship between mind, body and world. It will be of interest to a broad variety of performing arts, dance, theatre and movement practitioners, students and artists.
No special movement skills are required but participants need to be able to monitor their own physical and mental well-being and level of engagement.
This is a collaborative workshop taught by three practitioners: Contemporary dance choreographer and teacher, Stephen Pelton; yoga teacher, Ayanna Prevatt-Goldstein; and musician, Anna Gillespie. For the last couple of years, we have been refining our Listening in Motion workshops, exploring the intersection of our three practises. With a particular emphasis on how we cultivate our physical and mental attention, this workshop will use dance, yoga and music to discover what the body can learn from listening more deeply as we move, our awareness in tune with both our environment and our fellow practitioners.
Through guided somatic practices, imagery, breath, and improvisation, participants are encouraged to allow movement to emerge organically from sound. Dancing alone and with others, we explore weight, rhythm, timing, connection, and space, cultivating presence rather than performance.
The workshop honours salsa as an Afro-Latin cultural expression where music and dance are inseparable—where the body remembers before the mind explains. By releasing habitual patterns and learned steps, dancers are supported to access intuition, musical sensitivity, and authentic expression.
This is a space for listening deeply, moving honestly, and reconnecting with the joy, complexity, and humanity of dancing salsa—from the inside out.
The workshop begins with sensory scans of the body and its environment. Once this awareness is felt through grounding, movement practices are introduced to explore responding to internal sensations. The space is held with care, informed by ongoing training in somatic trauma therapy and mental health research to hold space and navigate these sensations. Expect a gentle approach that grows into playful, rhythmic, and collective improvisation.
Participants will be invited to engage with an interdisciplinary approach to imagining dance, drawing inspiration from multiple sources and experimenting with materials, written and spoken language, sound, and visual imagery. These elements will be used to activate the body’s sensory awareness and serve as catalysts for generating movement.
Through a series of creative movement tasks, improvisations, and structured scores, Jean Abreu will encourage participants to connect with their body’s internal rhythm, supporting them to move with intention and presence, and to express their authentic selves in space.
In this workshop, participants will engage in a series of improvisational movement and text-based scores that cultivate awareness of their relationships to ancestry and ancestral memory, and how these continue to shape their current existence and artistic practices.
Throughout the day, we will explore Matthys’ research through object improvisation and choreographic play, while also uncovering individual and collective stories of reacquainting with and reconfiguring these relationships, towards our ancestral reserve of knowledge.
Currently in her research, both the practice and object improvisation serve as containers to investigate themes from Matthys’ latest choreographic work. Aandag! (Attention). This work reflects on what it means to be called to attention; whether by one’s lineage or by urgent socio-political realities, including the ongoing crisis of femicide in South Africa and beyond.
his experience and humour as a performer into this class. His teaching facilitates ease and confidence in performing and a joyful approach to improvising together.
This approach closely resonates with the principles of the Reforesting the Body Programme, which seeks to restore embodied intelligence by “reforesting” the body with lost pathways of sensation, resilience, and ecological awareness. Both practices prioritize deep listening, sustainability of the body, and a reconnection to natural rhythms, positioning the body as a living ecosystem that can be regenerated through attentive, imaginative movement.
Born in Havana in 1976, Luanda is a leading Afro-Cuban dance artist with over 31 years of professional experience as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. A graduate of Cuba’s National School of Art (ENA), she earned advanced certifications from the Cuban Ministry of Culture and later completed a diploma in cultural education in France. She performed for eight years as a soloist with the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba and has since presented her work at major festivals across Cuba, Europe, the Americas, and Africa, most recently contributing as creator-choreographer to Paradise Under the Stars Tropicana Show in London.
Now based in London, Luanda is dedicated to preserving and authentically developing Afro-Cuban cultural heritage through workshops, masterclasses, and international collaborations. She serves as Artistic Programmer and Dance Educator at the Carlos Acosta Dance Centre & Foundation and works as a freelance artist for Sadler’s Wells Theatre. She is currently developing the Afro-Cuban Dance Festival in London, seeking strategic partners and a logistical team to bring this new cultural initiative to life.
Lives in London and has worked as a performer, artist, researcher, facilitator and somatic educator across the globe for 40 years, and was Professor of Somatic Performance & Education at Bath Spa University (UK) until 2022. Thomas initially trained in visual art and dance, and is a teacher of the Feldenkrais Method ® which forms a rich foundation for his teaching, arts practice and research. His writings and performance works have been published internationally.
A dance-artist, choreographer, teacher and writer. For nearly thirty years she has taught widely in creative communities in the UK, USA, Europe and Turkey. This teaching has extended to universities and colleges. Teaching specialisms include the Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), creative practice/choreography and multidisciplinary performance practice. She certified in 2001 as a Skinner Releasing Technique teacher under the tutelage of its creator Joan Skinner in Seattle and is a teacher-trainer of the SRT Pedagogy. Her artistic practice is multidisciplinary and moves between dance, theatre, film, painting and ceramics. This work has been presented internationally in theatres, galleries and site-specific locations.
Frank has 30 years experience of teaching dance, theatre and creative movement in many Art Colleges, Universities and Dance Institutions around the world. His main practice is Body Weather, a comprehensive approach to training and performance that investigates the intersections of bodies and their environments. Bodies are conceived not as fixed and separate entities but as constantly changing – just like the weather. Weather is seen as a complex system of forces and influences coursing through and beyond bodies and the world.
An artistic director of the London-based Stephen Pelton Dance Theatre and associate director for Yorke Dance Project and the Cohan Collective. In 2000, Stephen moved from San Francisco to London where he is now one of the UK’s most sought-after teachers of Limon-inspired dance technique. He currently teaches at Central School of Ballet and The Place and has taught company class for DV8, Random & New Adventures. Pelton’s choreographic work has been performed throughout the US as well as in London, Paris, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Berlin. In San Francisco, the company was nominated three times for the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards. Stephen’s most recent work This is thy hour (for Walt Whitman) premiered at the O+ Festival in Kingston, NY in October 2024.
Ayanna has been exploring and teaching yoga for nearly 20 years. Her teaching combines a love of movement with awareness and healthy alignment.
A musician and mover. Her explorations in to how music shifts the experience of moving and moving shifts our experience of music have been at the heart of her work for the past forty years. She is a popular accompanist for dance in London and has a special interest in Latin American music.
An Afro-Latin dance artist, researcher, choreographer, and facilitator whose work lives at the intersection of movement, music, memory, and culture. With over three decades of international practice, she is devoted to transmitting salsa not as a set of steps, but as a living, breathing cultural language.
Her path weaves together formal training in dance and sports science with somatic practice and artistic research. Irene holds a BA in Dance & Performing Arts, a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science, Fitness & Health, an MFA in Dance Creative Practice from Trinity Laban, and is currently completing a PhD in Dance & Creative Industries.
At the heart of her work is embodied musicality: an approach that invites dancers to listen with the whole body, to trust the body’s tacit knowledge, and to reconnect movement with sound, rhythm, and ancestral memory.
A Togolese-British multidisciplinary artist, somatic trauma therapist, mental health scholar-activist, and freelance journalist. His work is rooted in magical realism, Africanfuturism, and African indigenous spirituality with a focus on themes of childhood, grief, trauma, memory, and mental health. He has trained in hip hop, contemporary, and Africana dance styles since 2008, leading him to work with renowned choreographers and companies including Alessandra Seutin’s Vocab Dance and Punchdrunk. He completed an MSc in Creative Arts and Mental Health in 2022 at Queen Mary University of London, the Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy programme by The Embody Lab and ongoing training at the International School of Holistic Healing, and is a member of survivor-led Traumascapes Arts Collective (CAT) where he continues research on how dance, art, and psychology intersect to aid the healing of trauma.
Born in Brazil, Jean Abreu trained in Brazilian Dances before moving to London in 1996 to study at Trinity Laban Contemporary Dance and Choreography. Since 2009 his own company, Jean Abreu Dance, has presented work across the UK, Europe, China and Brazil at the Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre and Auditório Ibirapuera São Paulo. Previous performance works include collaborations with visual artists Gilbert & George, Elisa Bracher and filmmaker Topher Campbell. Jean has taught extensively in renowned dance organisations and universities across the globe including Pera International School of Performing Arts (Cyprus) Artz University of Arts (Netherlands) Bratislava Academy of Performing Arts (Slovakia ) and Beijing Dance Academy (China). His most recent work Deciphers toured Canada in 2024 and UK in 2025. Jean is currently creating work responding to the creative legacy of artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman.
A South African Interdisciplinary Dance Artist, Writer, Dance Educator and Kundalini Yoga Teacher based in London. Her practice and artistic work is rooted in connections to ancestral wisdoms through movement, text/storytelling, inclusivity, collaboration and community. Francesca’s diverse artistic background includes a BA specialising in Physical Theatre, Directing and Playwriting and an MA Creative Practice: Dance Professional from Trinity Laban. She has been part of collaborations supported by The British Council and Arts Council England and has worked with organisations and artists such as Mamela Nyamza, The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative, Drama for Life, JOMBA, Theatre Rites, Agudo Dance, Toussaint To Move, Dance Umbrella SA/UK, Independent Dance, Dance Art Journal, South East Dance, Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts & Heritage, London Performance Studios, Corali Dance Company, Sadler’s Wells, Case de Cultura SoMoviemento BR and The Place.
A choreographer and performer working professionally in the UK and abroad for over 20 years. His recent choreography, It begins in darkness explores haunting and colonial legacies and his new show, The Last Quartet, imagines a “last work” or “last attempt” at choreography inspired by TS Eliot’s Four Quartets. Seke is currently researching an as-yet untitled work inspired by Miles Davis’ electric period of the early 1970’s which will premiere next year. Alongside his choreographic work, Seke is presenting Long Solos: 60-minute solo improvisation performances with movement and text. As well as leading his own projects, Seke performs with Forced Entertainment having previously performed with companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre and Lost Dog. Seke teaches improvisation in a variety of contexts internationally.
Ian Robinson was born in Bangor, Maine, USA, and trained with Robinson Ballet. He graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts (BFA) and performed with several international companies before joining Batsheva Dance Company in 2009, where he danced full time until 2017 under the artistic leadership of Ohad Naharin.
Ian now continues independently to develop himself as a dancer, creator, teacher and videographer. He is a certified Gaga teacher, stages Ohad’s works and leads classes and workshops for dance communities around the world.
Saar grew up on a farm in Israel in an artistic family and danced until he was 18. He began his career as an independent choreographer in 1998. In 2001, he co-founded LeeSaar The Company with Lee Sher, and in 2004 they relocated to New York, where the company created full-length works and toured internationally until 2016.
Saar has been the manager of Gaga in the USA since 2012 and became the artistic director of Gaga in 2018.
Reforesting the Body is a year-long dance and wellbeing programme (March–November 2026) exploring the relationship between movement, mental health, and social transformation. It combines somatic practices, creative dance, neuroscience, and reflective dialogue to support regeneration, healing, and cognitive renewal.
The concept of reforesting comes from Indigenous Brazilian thought and refers to restoring ecological and relational ways of being. In this programme, it symbolises reforesting the imagination, reconnecting with the body, and cultivating healthier relationships with ourselves, others, and the wider world.
The programme aims to:
The programme runs from March to November 2026 and is organised into three thematic blocks, each consisting of three monthly Sunday workshops, plus opening and final integrative workshops.
Each workshop runs from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM and includes:
Parallel to the workshops, a podcast series (The Moving Mind Café) expands the conversation through dialogues with artists, scientists, and participants.
Neuroplasticity and Memory (March–May 2026)
Explores how dance supports cognitive function, particularly in relation to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and memory processes. Focus on balance, coordination, rhythm, and sensory awareness.
Podcast: Movement and Memory – Dance as Neuroplastic Practice.
Neurodivergence and Attention (June–August 2026)
Addresses ADHD, sensory regulation, and sustainable attention through practices such as Limón Technique, yoga, and mindfulness-based movement.
Podcast: The Neurodivergent Body – Creativity, Focus, and Flow.
Decolonising the Body (September–November 2026)
Examines how cultural and social structures shape bodily awareness and identity. Through improvisation and collaborative work, participants explore freedom, autonomy, and empathy.
Podcast: The Decolonised Body – Movement, Freedom, and Presence.
The opening workshop centres on Afro-Cuban Dance within the Yoruba tradition. Participants explore the embodied qualities of the Orishas through movement, rhythm, and storytelling. The session integrates the programme’s themes and leads to a collective choreographic creation and shared reflection.
The final workshop introduces Gaga Movement, a practice focused on sensory awareness and authentic expression. It encourages participants to listen to the body from within and supports collective connection, empathy, and renewal.
The programme serves:
No advanced dance experience is required—only openness to movement and reflection.
It will be led by an interdisciplinary team of dance practitioners, researchers, and guest artists. Collaborations with health organisations, arts centres, and research institutions Alzheimer’s Research UK refused to take part.
Through podcasts, public conversations, shared reflections, and accessible dissemination of ideas. Reforesting the Body aims to engage a wider audience, including those unable to attend workshops, and contribute to broader discussions in dance, health, and decolonial practice.
Reforesting the Body bridges dance, neuroscience, somatic practice, and social reflection within one coherent framework. It positions movement not only as artistic expression, but as a regenerative, cognitive, and community-building practice.
The programme includes:
In total, there are 11 workshops offered between March and November 2026.
Yes. Participants who attend nine workshops or more will receive a letter of participation and attendance from the Acosta Dance Foundation.
This letter acknowledges commitment and engagement in the programme, but it is not a formal certificate and cannot be used as academic or professional accreditation.
No. The programme is designed to allow flexibility. While attending the full journey offers the deepest experience, participants may choose different attendance options depending on their availability and interest.
The following options are offered:
Because the programme is structured as a progressive journey, attending multiple workshops allows participants to:
The cumulative experience strengthens both personal transformation and collective exploration.
Book Instantly