Virtual – FringeArts: Kalila Kingsford Smith – Creature: A Movement Meditation

A short dance film and an invitation to move: this creature draws you out, barefoot, into wet grass, squidgy mud, running water. Let your feet, then your body, respond to the feel: sliding, squishing, flowing. Open the door to your inner animal and respond to the sensations, to the textures, to your instincts.

Creature: A Movement Meditation is a digital dance offering that invites participants to join Kalila Kingsford Smith in a guided movement practice to get in touch with the animal within. Participants are welcome to view the dance film from the comfort of their homes or to engage fully in the experiential component. This offering is framed as a solo-experience, but participants may “bring a buddy” if they’d benefit from a communal experience. Choose your own adventure.

To engage in the full experience, audience members are encouraged to take their viewing devices “on the go” and find a place outside where they feel safe to interact with a natural element (grass, dirt, sand, a tree, water, a river bank). They will be guided into a responsive movement practice that calls forth their inner animal.

If participants enjoy the movement meditation and want to share your experiences with a broader community of creatures, the final invitation is to repeat and record a small version of the movement meditation. This can be shared via social media or by submitting it through a portal on kalilakingsfordsmith.com.

Visit kalilakingsfordsmith.com for supplemental materials for this digital offering including: a transcript of the movement instructions, an audio-only version of the movement meditation, and a portal to share short videos of your creature practice.

Concept, performance, and video editing by Kalila Kingsford Smith; Ambient meditation music by Alina John. Filmed in Long Lake, NY.