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Behind the Movement

Behind the Movement

By Kyle Fincham

Behind the Movement host, Kyle Fincham, speaks with different movement practitioners to discuss their journeys, philosophies, and insight.
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#13 - Maillard Howell

Behind the MovementJul 30, 2020

00:00
01:36:11
#118 - Tom Weksler Pt. 3

#118 - Tom Weksler Pt. 3

Tom Weksler is a dancer, choreographer and director of the company Wonderground Movement Arts with his partner Roser Tutusaus. Tom is also the founder of ‘Movement Archery’, a workshop concept that presents a unique approach to Movement, philosophy and dance. Since 2014 he has been teaching this approach internationally in dance schools, circus schools, universities, professional companies, martial arts gyms and more. Tom’s teaching is globally acclaimed and he is considered one of the pioneers of the modern ‘Movement Culture’.




Movement Archery:

movementarchery.com


Wonderground Company:

wondergroundcompany.com


GoFundMe for Matthew Stillman:

https://gofund.me/69b59d67


Primal Derma:

primalderma.com/btm

Nov 15, 202301:36:31
#117 - Abigail Rose Clarke

#117 - Abigail Rose Clarke

Abigail Rose Clarke is an author, somatic educator, writer, and artist. She has an inordinate amount of love for octopuses, the moon, and her extensive collection of anatomy books. She is the creator of The Somatic Tarot and The Body Oracle decks, and the author of Returning Home to Our Bodies: Reimagining the Relationship Between Our Bodies and the World (world release date: January 9, 2024, with North Atlantic Books and Penguin RandomHouse). 



She has developed what she calls The Embodied Life Method, which centers on the relationship between body and culture, and how we can use the inherent wisdom of our bodies to be in direct conversation with our creativity and our aliveness. When we do that, we dismantle oppressive systems and build a future that is lush and generative and deeply relational.  

  

Abigail does not teach that embodiment always feels good, because it doesn’t. Her work prioritizes exploration over assumed results, because the body is always adaptable and always adapting. Our creative efforts should do the same, and they can, when we are in relationship with our own bodies.

 

In a world of such rapid change, Abigail teaches embodiment as a practice and a responsibility. As the world changes so dramatically we are tasked with the enormous responsibility of remaining present to the world as it is, which requires we remain present to ourselves as we are. From here, the way forward becomes possible.

 

 

You can learn more about Abigail’s work and approach here:

 

www.abigailroseclarke.com

IG: www.instagram.com/abigail.rose.clarke

Returning Home to Our Bodies is available for pre-order and is out on January 9, 2024

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730766/returning-home-to-ourbodies-by-abigail-rose-clarke/


GoFundMe for Matthew Stillman:

https://gofund.me/69b59d67


Primal Derma:

primalderma.com/btm

Nov 02, 202301:32:10
#116 - Davide Bonetti

#116 - Davide Bonetti

Born in 1995 in Milan (Italy) , Davide Bonetti is a professional acrodancer. At the age of 18, Davide attended FLIC Contemporary Circus School in Turin as an acrobat, where he specialised in handstands. At 22, he got directly into the second year of CNAC (Centre National des Arts du Cirque) in France, specialising in acrodance. He then toured between France and Belgium as a performer and since 6 years, he has been giving acrodance workshops in italian dance academies and european festivals such as B12 research or die (Berlin), HJS Summer intensive (Amsterdam), Frei Art Festival (Freiburg).

Oct 17, 202301:36:39
#115 - Matt Mulligan
Sep 26, 202301:29:35
#114 - Katharina Dodel

#114 - Katharina Dodel

Katharina Dodel – Movement Play & Yoga "Joy and ease“ has become something like a slogan of wampediboo over the years. She started this playful orbit to spread the creative spirit she's felt since childhood. She grew up on the countryside in south Germany, explored many things from playing the violin to climbing trees, from table tennis and athletics to volleyball. Later on as a journalist she kept asking questions. So why not continue asking them to myself? In 2017 she moved to Berlin to deepen her yoga studies and to explore life a bit more. It’s a deep interest that drives her and a playful spirit she's sharing with other people in my Movement Play classes – solving riddles and dissolving blind spots on the physical map to encounter the world with a little more joy and ease.

Sep 11, 202301:15:49
#113 - Sekou Heru

#113 - Sekou Heru

Sekou Heru, aka Tony Williams, has been involved in the performing arts since he was very young. His first love was B- boying. In high school, he attended Mercer County School of the Arts and studied modern dance. In 1993, Sekou started studying Capoeira Angola with Mestre Joa Grande at the Capoeira Academy in NYC. He went on to fuse his breaking and modern dance styles with hip hop and house dance. Sekou has worked with Gwen Guthrey, toured with Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and can be seen in videos with Aretha Franklin, MC Lyte, Clubland, Pet Shop Boys, Foxy Brown, and Jay Z. Sekou was a featured dancer in the movie Marcy X with Damon Wayans, can be seen in the dance scenes on Spike Lee’s The 25th Hour, and seen in Brown Sugar starring Taye Diggs and Sanna Lathan. He has toured in Germany with German rapper Tony Cottura, and has traveled several times to Japan for the annual premier Dance Delight event as a guest judge and featured dancer with the group Dance Fusion, of which he is a founding member. He was a part of the opening act for Cece Peniston’s Japan tour, and also opened for Cool C's Let me clear my throat in his Japan performance. He was featured in Japan’s "woofin" magazine as one of NYC’s top dancers. Sekou toured the USA with Fred Ho and The Afro Asian Ensemble in the Martial Art stage show Voice of the Dragon. In 2005 Sekou choreographed the Dance Dance video for Fall Out Boy that went #1 in the country and won a Best Video Award at the MTV VMAs.

Aug 28, 202301:16:04
#112 - Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

#112 - Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is a historian of contemporary American politics and culture. She is the author of CLASSROOM WARS: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture (Oxford University Press, 2015), and FIT NATION: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession (University of Chicago Press, 2023). She is co-producer and host of the acclaimed podcast WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, from Pineapple Street Studios/Gimlet and the co-host of PAST PRESENT podcast. She is a frequent media guest expert, public speaker, and contributor to outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and the Atlantic.

Natalia is Associate Professor of History at The New School, co-founder of the wellness education program Healthclass 2.0, and a Premiere Leader of the mind-body practice intenSati. Her work has been supported by the Spencer, Whiting, Rockefeller, and Mellon Foundations. She holds a B.A. from Columbia and a Ph.D. from Stanford and lives with her husband and two children in New York City.

Aug 14, 202301:18:13
#111 - Adriena Pecinová

#111 - Adriena Pecinová

Adriena is a physiotherapist, a movement teacher, and a passionate student of life born and raised in the Czech Republic. As a former professional athlete representing her country in Ice Hockey for five years, her life always spans around some form of physical practice and discipline that continues to be the guiding force on her path of self-discovery. 


After going through burnout as an athlete, Ido Portal deeply influenced her path, following his teachings from 2013 to 2021. Until very recently, Adriena was a teacher at Pohyb je život, a movement community based mainly on Ido's philosophy, for the last six years. Since receiving her bachelor's degree at the University of West Bohemia, her work and interest continue to guide her deeper into understanding and connecting the dots between multiple fields and areas such as manual therapy, trauma release, psychotherapy, and general movement practice. 


Currently living on the move she spends most of the year traveling the world, expanding her experience as a student, teacher, and therapist implementing her knowledge into clinical treatments as well as into her teachings. Meanwhile, she continues to lead her community by combining distance learning through online platforms with in-person gatherings according to her travels.


Recently Adriena joined Marcello Palozzo's team in shared pursuit of supporting people to improve the quality of their lives through deep transformative work while continuously nurturing her process of individuation.

Aug 03, 202301:38:08
#110 - Lewie West

#110 - Lewie West

Lewie is a doer of many things. He is most known for doing spinny, shiny, flippy things on the floor where he has pioneered a new form of hard-floor circus tumbling. In 2013 He won a gold medal at what his mum calls "the circus Olympics" or the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris for an aerial straps piece.

Lewie is recognised as one of the foremost contemporary circus artists in the world and has been working professionally in multiple aspects of the circus and performing industry for over 15 years. He has worked as an acrobat, choreographer, director, trainer and tour manager both nationally and internationally with the Australian companies Circa and Gravity and Other Myths before co-founding a new circus company in Tasmania called Rooke.  He is now (unsuccessfully) trying to retire from performing and concentrate on passing on his physical knowledge both online and in-person while being the best Dad he can be to his new daughter.

The things he most enjoys doing now all involve other people; forming human towers and throwing bodies around a stage, manipulating and diving through hoops, parenting and trying to choke out fools using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unfortunately, as he is a blue belt, he is usually the fool being choked.

Oct 05, 202201:07:59
#109 - Tamara Levinson

#109 - Tamara Levinson

Tamara “Cuchira” Levinson was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to the United States of America at age five. She represented the USA Rhythmic Gymnastics team at the 1992 Olympic Games just ten years later. Growing up an athlete gave her great discipline though her nature has always been raw, wild and free! Once her athletic career came to an end at 18 years of age, she made her way to New York City to explore who she was beyond the athlete.

She found her-SELF through dance, freeing all parts of her that had been put on hold up thill then. First by way of underground clubs that attracted the most eccentric of beings, later through professional dance theatre, Broadway and the NYC underground scene. Her love of free movement, individualism and eMOTIONal exploration eventually led her to a successful and ongoing 20+ year professional dance, aerial arts and choreography career that spanned from New York City, to Hollywood and throughout the world. She eventually finds herself touring with Madonna on three world tours, along with handfuls of other huge pop icons. This gave Tamara unique experiences few ever get a chance to have, seeing the world and performing in front of hundreds and thousands of screaming fans worldwide!

Her next big artistic venture came by way of her roots through a well-known avant-garde aerial group called ‘De La Guarda’. She co-choreographed and performed in the shows “Villa Villa” and Fuerzabruta. Think rave meets aerial theatre, but Tamara is curious about all forms of physical expression so she made her way across the movement world and got to work with many iconic people such as the legendary Twyla Tharp on Broadway's “The Times Are A CHANGIN’” and choreographed some scenes in the movie “The Greatest Showman” with Hugh Jackman. Gaining such production and creation knowledge throughout her time being in the thick of Broadway and Hollywood, Tamara naturally transitioned into directing many of her own pieces of work on stage and film.

With a bag full of movement expertise, Tamara’s underlying success always came from the fact that she moves through RAW E-MOTION that everyone can CONNECT to, so it only be natural that her work organically led into guiding others to their own freedom through the body's wisdom. She began teaching workshops and masterclasses about tapping into the language of the body. Once we understand BodyTalk we can begin having real conversations with ourselves and there is where true healing can begin. MovMEANT took off and a whole new inspired world opened up for Tamara. She has now been teaching MovMEANT for almost three decades all over the world and this has changed her life and of those who have incorporated the practice into their lifestyle.

What does MovMEANT practically look like? Think ecstatic dance à la the most breakthrough therapy session you’ve ever had! Or an Ayahuasca ceremony where dance is the “drug” that transcends the here and now. The mover returns anew, cleansed, with vast knowledge of their inner world. This kind of clarity heals and transforms. That is the power of MovMEANT! Tamara continues to grow in the infinite space of somatic healing and the work continues to evolve to find more and more of an audience everyday.

From Olympian, to professional dancer, choreographer, artist, director, healer… Tamara is fascinated by the infinite world of E-motions and how they speak to us. She does retreats and workshops all over the world. If you’re interested to learn more go to MovMEANT.com. You can also find her on Instagram @cuchira

Sep 19, 202201:13:32
#108 - David Kam

#108 - David Kam

David Kam is a London-based movement specialist, yoga teacher and speaker exploring mindful mo(ve)ments in playful situations. His degrees in architecture and dance have shaped his interest in discovering what it means to feel at home in our bodies, and at peace with our actions. For David, it’s never from achieving the best technique, but the reclaiming of function and freedom of expression. Perhaps making some new friends along the way. It’s about self dare and collective care.

David activates communities around the world, holding brave spaces for others to embody the wonder in wellbeing by queering the practices of movement. He works regularly with charities like besea.n and WECREATESPACE to advocate for joyful activism and culturally sensitive wellbeing amongst underprivileged communities. David is also founder of  kindredpacket, a grassroots organisation raising joy, care and connection amongst East and South East Asian communities in London and beyond.

Sep 11, 202201:03:41
#107 - Economics of Movement with Joseph Bartz and Kyle Fincham

#107 - Economics of Movement with Joseph Bartz and Kyle Fincham

On this special episode, Kyle shares an in person conversation while in Berlin with Joseph Bartz to discuss the economics of movement.   

Aug 26, 202201:53:20
#106 - Nikolai Pawlas

#106 - Nikolai Pawlas

From a young age, I was very interested in all kinds of sports. From soccer to, over different kind of martial arts I found my way to skateboarding and through my teenager's wish of becoming strong and buff, into the world of strength training.
One thing I really never did, was to commit to anything for very long through, I jumped from practice to practice until I found physical development by way of strength work.

So some years went by and along the way I decided to become a trainer, as this was the thing I was very passionate about. With this realization, I started to look at things differently. Even more than before, I was interested in understanding in the why behind what I was learning and doing.

Eventually 18. Birthday came around, and I actually became a licensed pt and started to work in a gym, while I finished school. Pretty soon after, I got a little bored with what I was doing in the gym and decided that I want to do more with my body. For a couple of years my focus was solely on getting stronger back then. So I opened my eyes and stumbled upon a fellow coach in the gym who was teaching a parkour class.
I joined. A couple of weeks later, a friend of mine showed me a video of this weirdo from Berlin... his name was Ido Portal and very soon I found myself at an international workshop in Zurich.
This was 2014 or 15, and I dove in deeply and met all those beautiful souls, teachers, friends along the way, who really shaped the person I am today.
Some years into the future, I opened my own movement school in Hamburg.

Aug 19, 202201:28:55
#105 - Marcello Palozzo Pt. 2
Aug 09, 202201:47:52
#104 - Bruno Caverna

#104 - Bruno Caverna

Bruno Caverna is a pioneer in creating authentic multidisciplinary practices sustained by an embodied movement philosophy drawn from over 35 years of studying movement devottedly. Bruno’s background amalgamates various disciplines from Capoeira through Acrobatics, Contemporary Dance, Contact-improvisation, Qi-Gong, Russian Systema, Watsu, Buteyko Method, Oxygen Advantage all the way to Freediving. Bruno began teaching in 1995 as a capoeira project leader at a psychiatric hospital. The highly demanding context ignited his auto-didactic nature to flourish whilst the teaching processes were becoming over the years more and more consolidated as self-exploratory in its essence. This first highly transformative teaching experience became his pedagogical ground for all his others artistic, pedagogical and psychosocial projects, regardless the context. Being constantly confronted with adversities was vital to related to people in most humane manners. This ever-evolving impulse would manifest inas much as horizons would organically expand beyond the conventional body-mind frameworks. In the past 27 years Bruno has been teaching people from all walks of life over 33 countries worldwide. In 2012 Bruno created Play-Fight and Liquid Body, body-mind practices that coalesced out of professional and personal maturity to assume and pursue an original path while at the same time honoring his vast background and teachers. In 2016 Bruno gave another decisive step by founding Formless Arts, a cross-disciplinary hub that foments a community of self-responsible movers from eclectic backgrounds. The current Formless Arts team is committed to explore movement from a larger dimension that includes a vasgt array of interests such as in ontological philosophy, somatics, neuroscience, various forms of psychotherapies, somatics as well as studies in human biomechanics, biotensegrity, science or water flow, just to mention a few.

You can subscribe to host of Behind the Movement Kyle Fincham's Movesletter by clicking here.  

Jul 04, 202201:28:36
#103 - Stefan Crainic

#103 - Stefan Crainic

Born in Romania, Cluj-Napoca. I started my physical education at the age of 5, as a swimmer. Along the years I practiced various sports, focusing mainly on capoeira. My interest in arts was cultivated while studying music during my first 10 years of education. 

I studied medicine for 4 years. Afterwards I quit and decided to take education in my own hands. In present I am studying with Fighting Monkey, applying the principles and philosophy in my practice and in the way I move in the world. 

My plans for the future are to spread the love for movement and educate people towards a more artistic engagement with life and their practice.

Jun 28, 202201:20:03
#102 - Lucía Toker

#102 - Lucía Toker

Lucía Toker is a dancer and acrobat dedicated to movement and pedagogical research.

She has been developing her teaching for more than 15 years. Her work concept is to constantly update and search for essencial technical tools and methodological strategies to facilitate the connection and development of the movement practice for people with all levels of experience.

Originally from Buenos Aires, Lucía works regularly giving classes in professional dance programs, workshops and seminars throughout argentina and europe. her training started from a really young age and crossed through different disciplines and techniques, such as gymnastics, floor acrobatics, tango, flamenco, contemporary dance, improvisation, rehabilitation techniques, physical therapies, physical training and theoretical studies related to the human body. she participated in the residency bows & arrows 2018, in Italy, invited by Tom Weksler, with whom she thereafter performed a mentorship program. as a performer, she worked several years dedicated to scenic creation but in the last few years, she decided to dedicated exclusively to research and teaching.

Some of her latest works are “Collision”, developed in the artistic residency Circo Futuro, together with the group “OM” in Fortaleza, Brazil, July 2019. “lo que queda” and “mar arriba”, both solo pieces, developed in co-production with Paz Ladrón de Guevara, were performed in different festivals and theatres in Buenos Aires.

Jun 20, 202201:37:57
#101 - Jesse Danger

#101 - Jesse Danger

Jesse Danger loves jumping into things so much he's been doing nothing but for the past decade. He leads the team at The Movement Creative to help people turn their city into a playground and find a group of friends that love to explore. He credits novel movement experiences as being the core of his education. He sees movement as a way to explore the world physically while connecting socially. Those novel movement moments have led to most of the conversations that have helped him grow.

Jun 14, 202201:21:46
#100 - Natalia Pieczuro

#100 - Natalia Pieczuro

Born in Wild East. Based in North West.

Soul coordinates 22°25'00.0"N 12°00'00.0"W

She got married somewhere in Switzerland with a man who can carry on his shoulders more than 100kg. She can cook a whole dinner for 17 persons and she can have 3 espressos in a row. A collector of: animal bones - especially golden dragons - complex fragrances, aromatic herbs, stones and rocks.

She has knowledge in: how to grow a plant from a single leaf, hip hop music from 1992 to 2010, inner and outer order, anthropology of culture.

Believes in the logic of the universe. Likes to walk slowly, terribly slowly since it reminds her that time doesn’t exist and that presence is to be somewhere.

Performer, dancer, teacher, also known as the “polish hammer”. Rooted herself with FM practice, and in SEAD, graduating with a double diploma in choreography and performance. Since 2006, she has been following the Fighting Monkey path. This gave an axis to her teaching and life. As a pedagogue, she is motivated by an urge for movement as a consequence of being alive and by an endless and necessary will to share.

Her teaching reaches people from various grounds - dancers, actors, circus and sports people - everyone willing to “try”.

Natalia is currently busy with FM, TCM, stillness&motherhood, collaboration with Voetvolk- Lisbeth Gruwez.

Natalia would not mind being a bird or an ocean –but she is the happiest when she can be herself. If she would be asked to close with a quote she would say:

“All I ask is that you step with me into the boundlessness, where constancy, quietude and peace, infinite emptiness reign.”

Jun 08, 202201:19:23
#99 - Steven Sashen

#99 - Steven Sashen

Steven Sashen is a serial entrepreneur who has never had a job, a former professional stand up comic and award-winning screenwriter, and a competitive sprinter -- one of the fastest men over 55 in the country (maybe the fastest 55+ Jew in the world!). He and his wife, Lena Phoenix, co-founded the footwear company Xero Shoes, creating "a MOVEMENT movement" which has helped hundreds of thousands of people Live Life Feet First with happy, healthy, strong feet in addictively comfortable footwear. Steven and Lena also appeared on Shark Tank, where they turned down a $400,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary.

Jun 03, 202249:14
#98 - Jarlo Ilano

#98 - Jarlo Ilano

Physical Therapist (MPT) since 1998 and board certified orthopedic clinical specialist (OCS) with the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (2011 to 2021). Extensive postgraduate training in neck and back rehabilitation with an emphasis in manual therapy. Certified Therapeutic Pain Specialist (TPS) through Evidence in Motion Institutes of Health Professions in partnership with Purdue University (2020).

Jarlo Ilano has been teaching martial arts for over 20 years, with a primary focus on Filipino Martial Arts. His main goal is to teach students how to fight effectively as quickly as possible and enjoy their training.

May 26, 202201:22:44
#97 - Anna Grundström

#97 - Anna Grundström

With experience spanning twenty- five years of dancing, choreographing, performing, coaching, teaching, and facilitating, Anna has reached an expert level of personal development through movement, and uses her knowledge to coach clients through their own journeys as a BodyMind Movement Facilitator. She is deeply passionate about the body-mind practice and somatic experiencing, and works to nurture that connection for people via movement in her signature method and class 'Unstructured', which she offers in person and online. She incorporates dance and movement in various ways spanning from artistry to healing, and everything in between.

May 19, 202201:19:20
#96 - Shai Faran

#96 - Shai Faran

I am a dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, originally from Israel and based in Berlin.
After studying dance and working as a dancer in Israel, I moved to Europe, where I expanded my knowledge and started to develop my research, practice and methods of teaching and creating. Upon moving to Europe, I participated in a one year post-graduate studies at SEAD, Salzburg, where I met Martin Kilvady, who became my close teacher and mentor for the following 10 years. While learning closely and collaborating frequently with Martin, I have also worked with different choreographers and performed around Europe.

For 6 years I’ve been a part of the Ido Portal team and taught in his events around the world. Working with Ido has opened a bridge for me to the Movement world which allowed me to share my knowledge and experience from the dance field with a wide range of movement practitioners.

In the last few years I have been teaching contemporary dance and improvisation in different frames for professional dancers, BA and MA education programs, in professional dance companies and in open workshops around the world, while developing my own choreographic work and working as a freelance dancer and teacher.

May 04, 202201:32:54
#95 - Tracee Kafer

#95 - Tracee Kafer

Dance was a first love for Tracee Kafer, who began at 3 and went on to journey through well over 30 years of training and experience in classical and contemporary genres. She’s moved though these landscapes of student, performer, nationally-ranked competitor, world-traveling teacher, NY-based choreographer, and in the last decade alone shifted passionately and purposefully to the realms of the explorer; practicing and facilitating her own ever-evolving freestyle movement methods to become untethered from genre, style, convention, and apparatus. She believes that if you can move, you can dance, and in honoring that process as a life practice, you can live in a world of personal awareness, connection, and freedom.

Tracee created Finding Your Freestyle® (FYF) in 2012, a movement and lifestyle enterprise that encourages freedom in movement, expression, creativity and community. Tracee has facilitated workshops and intensives in the FYF methods internationally, and has fostered a global community of “freestylers” who regularly utilize the practices in their own movement, creative endeavors, and life. In the last 6 years, Tracee has hosted immersive movement retreats as well in New York, Sedona, San Diego, and Costa Rica. 

A true inspiration addict with an insatiable appetite for both the cerebral and esoteric, Tracee is currently studying to facilitate Family and Systemic Constellations, practices integrative tarot and crystal work, is Reiki-attuned, certified in HypnoConstellations™ and Floor Flow®, and is a dedicated meditator (trained in guiding with Jeff Warren), bibliophile, and graphic arts nerd.

Additionally, Tracee spends the other half of her creative life as a graphic designer and creative director for the world-renowned pole and aerial dance studio, Body & Pole. In years past she has worked with many other movement brands such as elevatED Teacher Trainings, Black Girls Pole, Train P3, Bodybinds, as well as Apple, Inc. as a Software Trainer.

Apr 27, 202201:25:40
#94 - Meri Burgess
Apr 13, 202201:34:01
#93 - Aaron Cantor Pt. 2

#93 - Aaron Cantor Pt. 2

Aaron, 43, male. Son of Philip and Anne Cantor. Brother of Gabriel. Father of Bodhi and Jasper. Grew up in Japan and Brazil. Traveled the world pursuing enlightenment and self mastery. Yoga, meditation, martial arts, breathwork, bodywork, biohacking, dance, athletics...Got really good at somethings. Was really successful teaching somethings and that  evolved over 20 years  into a  body of work I called "primal pratice"... not sure what to call it now. My focus currently is 1)stories (mythic)  2)games (embodied) 3) practice (enacted intention) as portals into deep encounters with the Great Unknown (life, the universe and everything). Seems to me that "Play" is what we become when we enter the portals. I'm amazed and grateful to be embodied and em-worlded here with you. If you are reading this, I prey we can play together someday.

Apr 07, 202201:45:08
#92 - Marie Janicek

#92 - Marie Janicek

Marie Janicek is a Movement Teacher and Guide, here to help others discover how movement shapes not just our physical bodies, but our mental, emotional, and spiritual selves as well. Through her experience as a professional dancer, personal trainer, and health coach, she discovered that bringing attention to the emotions, sensations, and energies we feel within ourselves in relationship to our bodies and our movement practices is key to helping us find a more fulfilling & empowering relationship to our bodies and allows us achieve our desires with more ease and less effort. She hosts the This Thing Called Movement podcast, a forum dedicated to changing our understanding of movement, and is the creator of Evolna, a platform designed to share her personal movement methodology with any and all who want to explore a new way of moving, feeling, and being within their bodies.

Mar 30, 202201:13:28
#91 - Brendan Weafer

#91 - Brendan Weafer

As a child Brendan was drawn to martial arts and began training in TaeKwonDo in 1988 when he was just 5 years old, 3 years later he began wrestling too. Brendan competed in TaeKwonDo from 1988-1994 where he competed and placed multiple times on a national level and wrestled competitively from 1990-2002. In college Brendan discovered Kickboxing and began competing in local fights in Massachetts while he was in college. From 2005–2012, Brendan was a professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and Kickboxer competing on the world’s biggest stages. Fighting out of Jackson Wink in Albuquerque, NM, and Fighting Arts Academy in Springfield, MA, he amassed 16 professional fights (10 in MMA and 6 in Kickboxing). He retired in 2012 with a 7:3:0 record in MMA and 4:2:0 in kickboxing. Brendan trained with some of the industry’s biggest names. His experience includes a professional kickboxing fighting in Thailand and in 2012 Brendan got to live a dream fighting for the UFC's Ultimate Fighter, Season 15. Brendan also was a competitor on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge (Season 3) in 2015.

A few years after retiring from his professional fight career competing on the world’s biggest stages, Brendan decided to leave consumer-facing gyms to found B-well consulting in order to expand the reach of his impact to a wider demographic providing services to corporations.  Shortly after, Brendan began getting traction and consulting for a mid-size pharmaceutical company, providing a digital wellness curriculum. In early 2016, Brendan also accepted a more significant consulting position at a large hedge fund where he had been consulting for a few years. There he developed group classes, private programming for the partners of the firm, and performed an operational role managing the gym facility, while he was forming Workweek Wellness.  In February 2017, Brendan launched Workweek Wellness, a fully scalable, white-labeled, content-driven platform designed to improve the lives of people in corporate environments. After spending a year in NYU’s EdTech program and finding traction with Workweek Wellness and finding inspiration from his mother, Brendan then decided to launch a wellness company geared towards active seniors called LyfeProof. The mission is to help retirees increase the quality of their life and prolong their longevity by improving their personal wellness effort by using computer vision. After completing the NYC Media Lab with LyfeProof Brendan wanted to find a way to help during the Covid-19 crisis so he teamed up with a friend who was also looking to make a difference during the pandemic and started Actively Young. He also joined the founding team of Passdoor, whose mission is to provide students with first hand experience of Broadway taught by the stars in the show. In the late fall of 2021 Brendan joined the Nobody team and works in a Business Lead Role for their health and wellness companies where he is brings companies from the idea stage into the market creating and testing M.V.P.s.

Mar 24, 202201:33:37
#90 - Aaron Cantor

#90 - Aaron Cantor

Aaron, 43, male. Son of Philip and Anne Cantor. Brother of Gabriel. Father of Bodhi and Jasper. Grew up in Japan and Brazil. Traveled the world pursuing enlightenment and self mastery. Yoga, meditation, martial arts, breathwork, bodywork, biohacking, dance, athletics...Got really good at somethings. Was really successful teaching somethings and that  evolved over 20 years  into a  body of work I called "primal pratice"... not sure what to call it now. My focus currently is 1)stories (mythic)  2)games (embodied) 3) practice (enacted intention) as portals into deep encounters with the Great Unknown (life, the universe and everything). Seems to me that "Play" is what we become when we enter the portals. I'm amazed and grateful to be embodied and em-worlded here with you. If you are reading this, I prey we can play together someday. 

Mar 16, 202201:25:45
#89 - Josh Hash

#89 - Josh Hash

Josh Hash is the creator of Strength Side. With over 800k subscribers on YouTube, Strength Side helps people gain freedom in their body and mind through movement. Strength Side’s mission is to inspire more mindful movement in order to cultivate meaning and a higher quality life. Josh enjoys a life of travel, soaking up sunshine like a lizard, and always has a book nearby.

Mar 09, 202201:15:12
#88 - Tom Mountjoy

#88 - Tom Mountjoy

Born and raised in New Zealand. Lives now in Norway. Currently associate professor of education and social sciences at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Coaching and training background in a number of sports in different parts of the world. Founder of the Emptiness Project, a research and experience group using tools of awareness to explore the human mind and body.

Mar 01, 202201:19:33
#87 - Brittany van Schravendijk

#87 - Brittany van Schravendijk

Brittany is a coach and Kettlebell Partner Passing Instructor. After being a personal trainer for 8 years, a competitive kettlebell athlete for 6 years, and a lifelong high achiever, she experienced burnout and realized that she was unfulfilled. Brittany quit social media, took a step back from work and working out, and embarked on a new path in search of meaning. So far, it's led her to discover the importance of prioritizing relationships, finding joy in movement, and being fully present in the here and now.

Feb 23, 202201:13:50
#86 - Trevor Hash

#86 - Trevor Hash

Trevor’s mission is to help others understand and experience their body and life in ways Western Culture falls short.  He identified as an athlete from a young age, and feels the culture surrounding team sports lead to a poor relationship with his own body and movement, seeing it always as a means to an end.  Through various forms of sport, dance, martial arts, calisthenics, and adventuring, Trevor has come to see the human body as a vehicle for self-exploration, expression, connection, enjoyment, and an infinite source of wisdom.  Now he shares his values and passions through content creation and coaching. 

Feb 17, 202201:28:55
#85 - Nicolette de Saint Amour

#85 - Nicolette de Saint Amour

Nicolette is somatic movement practitioner, who has worked for the last decade studying the life of the body through its bio energetic process. She is student of jiu jitsu, herbalist and trainee of the Feldenkrais Method. Having this diverse and rich background has helped her harness the skill of body reading. In her somatic sessions she links the relationship and interplay of the physical body, emotions and thinking.
It is through these combined modalities of an awareness explored via subtle easy movement she has been able to help others connect with their body as continuum of pulsatory and streaming currents, an excitatory ocean.

Feb 09, 202201:09:42
#84 - Virgil Spier

#84 - Virgil Spier

Virgil is a former Elite and Olympic athlete from The Netherlands with over 30 years in track and field. After various international bouts as a decathlete, hurdler and sprinter he kept running into the same problem over and over again. Even though he should have been extremely fit and ready for everything he wasn't. He could lift heavy weights, sprint fast, jump high and have all types of high level abilities and yet he could not slowly walk for an hour, watch a movie in the theatre or simply rest in a deep squat without pain. 

How was it that he could do all the high intensity stuff but not the normal human stuff? It was because of this question he started to obsessively seek out the knowledge of several world renowned trainers, therapists and coaches to learn from them personally. In this search he first came in contact with what he now knows as the Movement Approach and it gave him so many insights that he decided to devote his life to it. Now he is attempting to truly define Movement.

Feb 03, 202201:33:33
#83 - Marcello Palozzo

#83 - Marcello Palozzo

Marcello is known for his studies of movement in a relationship with the environment. His interest and investigations of different artistic and scientific dimensions brought him far and wide. Notably, he helped shape the face of Parkour in Europe, got his Master of Science degree in strength and conditioning at St. Mary university in London, and was part of Ido Portal’s team for three years.   

Currently his body of work continues to develop integrating in a coherent philosophy movement dexterity, dance, urban practices, the science of strength & conditioning and athletic principles. Through his teachings Marcello wishes to improve other people’s quality of life, allowing them to find their individuation and identity through deep transformative work.

Jan 28, 202201:26:55
#82 - Luke Davies

#82 - Luke Davies

Luke graduated from the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic (WIOC) in 2015 and started an innovative rehabilitation and healthcare company called Back to Roots (B2R) in 2016. Frustrated by the Chiropractic professions traditional model of care Luke teamed up with Paul McCambridge to create a company that marries up ‘evidence based practice’ and holistic healthcare in a person centred way, greatly inspired by Play. In 2017 Luke and Paul started guest lecturing at the University of South Wales, WIOC, and over the passing years have had greater impact at the University with B2R methods with Paul now being course leader and Luke lecturing weekly in the 3rd and 4th years of the course. Luke has and still mentors healthcare professionals and trainers in the B2R approach and has spoken internationally on the topic of exercise adherence and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

Luke, Paul and the B2R team have been running CPD events around the world for the past 5 years, receiving British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) and Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA)  accreditation. B2R created “Pain Clinic”, A 12 week self management programme delivered via the Results Wellness Lifestyle app which is also undergoing trials for approval to be accessible on the National Health Service (NHS) here in the UK.

Luke has also completed a Sports and Exercise Science Degree and has a vast interest in exercise from Rugby, to Weightlifting, to Gymnastics, to dance, to boxing, to capoeira, to strongman just to name a few.

At the time of writing Luke has led two SOLD-OUT B2R internships with Samantha Emmanuel. Here we bring leaders of the field of movement, fitness, rehab and evidence based practice into one community inclusive of Coaches, Physical Education Teachers, Dancers, Fighting Monkey teachers, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Occupational therapists, Exercise Physiologists, Strength Coaches and students of all fields together to experience thoughtless, fearless, relaxed movement; and to prescribe it; and how to sell it .

Jan 21, 202201:27:57
#81 - Agathe Philbé

#81 - Agathe Philbé

Agathe is a movement teacher based in Paris. After sustaining twelve fractures in a life-changing accident in 2015, she entered a five-year rehabilitation process that led her to experience and explore movement "from scratch". She went from teaching traditional ashtanga yoga pre-accident, to exploring a wide range of movement practices, with the central goal and obsession of recovering a fully healthy body.

She is now back to working as an educator, and considers it her mission to share with her students what her personal journey towards healing has taught her.

Through the learning process of a movement practice, she helps her students build freedom and resilience for the body and the mind. Curiosity, love of life, and open-mindedness are a constant background for her classes.

Jan 13, 202201:19:42
#80 - Jozef Frucek Pt. 2

#80 - Jozef Frucek Pt. 2

Jozef Frucek has been studying under the guidance of Master Ming Wong C.Y., also a doctor of Chinese Medicine, the internal principles of movement and their relation to health and aging. Jozef got his ArtD degree on Voice and Movement in 2002 under the supervision of Ludmila Machatsova, who is considered as one of the most influential communication trainers.

Jozef Frucek and Linda Kapetanea are the founders of Fighting Monkey Practice. They are both professionally involved in art, athletics and movement research. Since 2002 Linda and Jozef have been developing the Fighting Monkey Practice through a deep study on cross motion analysis and with aim to understand the principles of the human movement, communication and the ageing process.

Dec 29, 202101:04:42
#79 - Chip Conrad
Dec 23, 202101:19:42
#78 - Charlie Roth

#78 - Charlie Roth

Charlie Roth is a Movement Teacher, based in Barcelona.

Growing up he was involved in various sports, table tennis being his main passion. Later on, when studying sports science he became interested in approaching his physical training from a more holistic point of view and came across the work of Ido Portal. At first being mostly self-taught he then went to learn from various teachers such as Joseph Bartz, Fighting Monkey and Tom Weksler. 

He is currently leading movement group classes in Barcelona, sharing his ever evolving passion with anyone who is interested and curious to join. 

The overall goal of his classes is to facilitate a space where each individual has the opportunity to experience their own body and mind in new ways, along with the group members.

Dec 16, 202101:46:11
#77 - Frank Forencich
Dec 10, 202101:33:23
#76 - Phaon Phipat

#76 - Phaon Phipat

Phaon is the host of The Passive Hang podcast, a platform for featuring practitioners and teachers in the modern day movement community. His wish is to contribute to the growth of this community, bring people together and help others in their journey.

He is also a father, husband, and has a non-movement full-time job he quite enjoys!

Dec 02, 202101:56:19
#75 - Alain Couturier

#75 - Alain Couturier

Alain Couturier is the founder and teacher of Movement Practice Paris (MPP) since 2019. MPP is an ever-evolving, dynamic, and all-level movement group that focuses on aligning one's physical strength with their surroundings, as well as others. Alain's inspiration was born out of his love to move, and the recognition that there was a need for a new way in Paris. His work fosters collaborative movement mainly outdoors in Paris' city center, but also in the hidden parks and gyms of the city. Alain is also a father, former lawyer, non-perfect vegan, and adventurer.

Nov 18, 202101:24:48
#74 - Leah Woods

#74 - Leah Woods

Leah Woods grew up studying West African Guinean, Flamenco, and Middle Eastern dance and continued on to study Ballet and Modern dance in College. She spent 11 years in the Bay Area studying Contemporary and Ballet intensively alongside the many global forms that thrive in that region. She enjoyed an extensive performance career dancing for Loose Change; an Urban Contemporary Dance Company, NAVA Collective and Ballet Afsaneh; Contemporary Central Asian Fusion Companies, Butoh projects with Bad Unkl Sistah, and as a solo Fusion artist. She is a Transnational Fusion dancer nationally, a hybrid form combining Hip Hop, Middle Eastern movement, Contemporary, and Africanist aesthetics.

She received her M.F.A. in Dance and Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was the first Transnational Fusion MFA candidate at CU Boulder where she received her secondary emphasis in Somatics and a tertiary emphasis in Performance and Culture. She studied the Alexander technique, Body-Mind Centering, and the Franklin method alongside Gyrotonics.

She is a grateful student of Tom Weksler, Liav Memada, Miriam Peretz, Sadie Marquardt, Marlo Fisken, and Rachel Brice whenever she gets the chance to be in under their facilitation. They have each had a tremendous influence on her. She is a certified Gyrokinesis Trainer, a Gyrotonics Apprentice Teacher, a certified Datura Style Transnational Fusion Dance Teacher, and a RYT at the 300 hour level. She is continually adding to her education most recently by studying with Lucas at Range of Strenth, FRC with Traci Bennet, and with some upcoming PNF and Fighting Monkey courses.

Nov 10, 202101:41:00
#73 - Angie Cavazos

#73 - Angie Cavazos

Angie is a strength and mobility coach based in Vienna,  Austria. Her coaching is a skill-based focused for those who want to unlock specific skills in yoga, martial arts and in the training room.

Her movement journey started from stillness to movement being meditation her first practice. She was influenced and inspired by Ido Portal’s method. Explored with different movement teachers, today she is a student of capoeira under Gugu Quilombola’s teaching.

Oct 30, 202101:20:60
#72 - Max Hammer ft. Bob Hammer

#72 - Max Hammer ft. Bob Hammer

Max Hammer is a professional skier, mountain guide, and former member of the United States Ski Team. He was raised by the ski slopes of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and honed his skills on mountains around the world before finding a home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The library of information found on his website (skimoregood.com) is born out of a personal desire to understand the art of skiing. The coaching services provided by Max are the result of over 10 years of experience during stints with the Jackson Hole Ski Club, Squaw Valley Ski Team, and US Development Team.

Off the hill, Max shares a home with his two boys, Otto and Holden, his wife, Amy and his brother-in-law, Bob. In addition to skiing, Max is also a filmmaker with Houseplant Creative.

Andrew Harris likes to be called Bob Hammer and he loves coffee. He is 34-years-young and lives in Reno, NV with his sister, Amy, brother-in-law Max and nephews Otto and Holden. In 2017, he became the first person with Down syndrome to summit the Grand Teton, a 13,776' craggy peak in Jackson, WY. A few of Bob's interests include skiing, hiking, running, climbing, skateboarding, biking, horseback riding, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking and swinging at the playground. Bob is infinitely capable because he loves doing things. He has an open mind and willing spirit and he eats healthy, delicious food. Bob loves people and Gilmore Girls. He is sweet, loving and comforting; I guess you could say Bob is a real renaissance man. Find Bob at the skatepark, hiking in the desert in Reno, or in the upcoming movie Ducky Goes Up.

Oct 21, 202101:31:52
#71 - Kenan Dinkelmann

#71 - Kenan Dinkelmann

Kenan Dinkelmann grew up in Passau, Germany and graduated from Artez, School of Dance, Arnhem with a BA of performing arts and completed the SEAD postgraduate program Bodhi Project directed by Susan Quinn where he toured works by Jozef Frucek & Linda Kapetanea, Martin Nachbar and Robert Clark in Europe. As freelance dancer Kenan worked with Johannes Wieland, Marion Sparber, Ivan Perez, Unterwegstheater and Anton Lachky. From 2015 till 2017 he joined the dance company of Stadttheater Bielefeld where he danced in works by Wim Vandekeybus, Simone Sandroni and Sharon Fridman. Kenan is guest teacher at Stadttheater Bielefeld, Marameo Berlin, TRAK Dance Ensemble and Tanzbüro Basel. Furthermore he tours his Flow Acrobatics workshops in Europe and offers online training programs and online coaching in Flow Acrobatics. As a choreographer Kenan created the piece „Astral“ which was premiered in Sofia, Bulgaria with further shows in Dock11 Berlin and Arnhem, Netherlands.

Oct 15, 202101:20:11
#70 - André Dias

#70 - André Dias

Andre holds a degree in sports science & physical education.  He spent the majority of his life practicing martial arts having competed in both forms, point sparring & full contact divisions internationally. At the same time, he skateboarded, injuring himself doing it, so decided to learn how to surf and initiated a parkour practice. Parkour opened his eyes for a broader, more holistic approach to physicality, dived in many different training perspectives and methodologies initially to prepare hi body for the parkour practice, but ended up falling in love with the process of being curious, learning, applying, failing, cultivating creativity.

Today, he's a husband, a friend, a father of 2 and co-founder of a beautiful movement education platform called Movement Lisboa, with the mission of providing quality education about movement in an inclusive, accessible and HUMAN way

Oct 07, 202101:37:46
#69 - Tiago Martins

#69 - Tiago Martins

Tiago Martins holds a degree in Fine Arts (painting), and is a former world level gymnast (tumbler).  He is a contemporary circus performer and co-founder of Movement Lisboa.  As a movement student and educator, he is interested in exploring the body in it’s totality. He considers himself a spectator of the body as a vehicle of functionality, intellect and artistic expression,

Sep 24, 202101:16:22