They're back! January expandance Fridays start again on the 8th.

"What I liked about expandance class is that it is a little bit of yoga, a little bit of mindfulness meditation, a little bit of drawing, and a lot of free style dancing. It even draws in Somatic Experiencing moves that focus on resourcing like using imagery and "dancing how you would like to dance". The amazing part is that no matter how complex and knee-deep in strategies that the expandance approach is, the experience for the participant is super simple and effortless. The feeling of joy and ease that I gleaned during the class followed me throughout the day." 

- Felicia Darling, PhD

Hi everyone!

We're back with expandance Fridays

January 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th

9:30am - 10:30am Pacific / 5:30pm UK and Ireland 

Register here

Sliding scale donation: $5 - $25

Donate PayPal here or Venmo: expandance 

FREE for BIPOC

December class, gratitude, and connection.

 

Let's connect and get warm this Decembrrrrrrr...

Happy Holidays, Blessed Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa! Thank you so much for supporting expandanceduring a year that was so difficult for so many of us. The theatre I work at has been dark since March, the studios I teach in closed, so teaching expandance for you all has been my primary creative focus and outlet. You showing up to class has helped me continue to be ''dancer Rachel'', when it felt like 36 years of commitment to dance was all suddenly for naught, so thank you. It has also helped me remain connected to my body, to my practice, and to you, my community. Even though I didn't get to choreograph the planned 2020 spring season this year, or teach Danceypants, I've taught more expandance classes than in any of the other 15 years of expandance prior.  Now it's the holiday season, and even though this one is different than most, to say the least - one thing that stays important is connection. Connection with family and friends may be limited to Zoom calls for many of us, but connection within is always available, whenever we choose to take the time and listen. I hope you will continue to join me in class to connect within, move, stretch, create, release and restore, and connect with your #globalexpandancefamily!  This month I am offering two donation based classes, and one extended workshop in which the extra time will give us an opportunity to go even deeper. Put these three classes in your calendar now! And remember to register for each class, so I have an idea of how best to tailor the class for YOU! And donate, because that's just nice.  Friday December 11th 9:30am Pacific (5:30pm Ireland) Friday December 18th 9:30am Pacific (5:30pm Ireland) Both Friday classes this month are 1 hour and donation based ($5 - $25 suggested) Saturday December 26th  10am Pacific (6pm Ireland)  Saturday 26th workshop is 1.5 hours and is a sliding scale of $15-$25 - please pay in advance  * You must register for class to get the Zoom link. It takes 10 seconds - you'll just be asked to write in your name and e-mail address * *** No dance experience required *** You don't need much room to move, and you can come with body ''stuff'' / injuries / pregnant / tired etc. Everything is welcome. I have over a decade of facilitation experience and 20 years teaching dance under my belt.  Donations and payments to: Venmo / CashApp expandance or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/expandance Thank you  Friday classes are FREE for BIPOC and undocumented immigrants, regardless of what country you're currently in, and workshops are sliding scale. December 2020 Sign up now! REGISTER for Fri 11th REGISTER for Fri 18th REGISTER for Sat 26th

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Class tomorrow! Tuesday Nov 24th 8pm Pacific

 

Next and final November expandance class is tomorrow!

Register here.

I had a long discussion the other day with a mom who has really been wanting to come to expandance class but has ongoing injuries. I realized that I needed to be a lot clearer about what expandance is and isn't, so here goes:

expandance is:

• a class you can show up to if you have injuries (yeah, I know, that's pretty rare) - in fact, it's a healing modality, so you may even get some pain relief out of it or even heal the thing in question (No guarantees of course, but I've seen it happen many times)
• a class you can show up to if you are tired and still get loads out of it
• a class you can show up to if you have never danced before

expandance isn't:

• lots of choreography you have to learn
• lots of time at your screen (less than 15% of class is at your computer, most of it is away from it) 
• SUPERHIGHENERGY! (unless your body wants it to be that day, in which case, go to town my friend!)
  
  

Tuesday November 24th

8pm - 9pm... with a lovely relaxation at the end so you can roll straight into bed. 

Register here.

Donation based and free to BIPOC and undocumented immigrants. 

See you there loves 

November class schedule

 ~~~NOVEMBER CLASSES!~~~

All 1 hour.

All donation based.

All excellent for your soul, your body, and your mind.

Get your calendar out!

Thursday Nov 12th

10am Pacific (6pm Ireland)

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZYoc-usqjouG9HiBeNNqT9Dvq...

Friday Nov 20th

9:30am Pacific (5:30pm Ireland)

Register here https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZMode-vqzgoGdz7BffrlP...

Tuesday Nov 24th

8pm Pacific time (way too early, Ireland!)

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZIlcOuuqzwsEtRfquldZYUbCLRwb...

* You must register for class. It takes 10 seconds - you'll just be asked to write in your name and e-mail address *

Suggested donation $5 - $25 per class to

Venmo / CashApp expandance

or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/expandance

Thank you

FREE for BIPOC and undocumented immigrants, regardless of what country you're currently in.

October 2020 Schedule of classes

 

October: The best month.   Traditionally my favorite month of the year is October, my birthday month. It's autumn, the weather is a little cooler, I get to wear jeans and make soup again. And yes, it's now apparently "wildfire season'' here in California, which sucks. I hope if you're reading this, you're safe from fires and any other natural disasters. We had the Shady fire here last week, about 10 miles from us, so that was an intense few days, but despite the smoky air outside we seem to be safe for now. Many of our friends are still under evacuation orders.  So while the fires burn, 2020 continues in all it's tumultuousness, and we're keeping tabs on the external in our lives, let's make sure we also tend to our internal body of affairs: our bodies, our hearts, and our nervous systems. Yesterday at our expandance and restorative yoga class for the cancer community, a few people joined who are currently evacuated. Having a space to come to (albeit virtual) to let go of stress and tension can help ground us so profoundly. Here's what a couple of them said:  "That's the most relaxed I've felt in five days. I felt the fear and the sadness just melt away. A real healing, thank you" - S.A. (currently evacuated) "Thanks so much for this class. I really enjoyed it. Going to keep this in mind to do daily. I really liked it" - J. H. With the recent fires, on top of the pandemic, life with a toddler and everything else, I found myself ending September completely exhausted and drained, and decided to make a few changes to my classes during October in order to give myself a re-set. It's no good preaching self care if I don't practice it too ;-)  See below for the schedule changes for October, (yay extra classes!) - I hope you'll join me for your own re-set. Remember: A rested activist is a more efficient activist! ~ Rachel, about to turn 39 p.s. Fun fact: my little brother and I share a birthday, yet we're not twins! Each year we get on the phone and sing ''happy birthday to us!"

Get your calendars out! Here's the October schedule: Thursday Oct 8th / 9:30am - 11am Pacific 1.5 hour expandance workshop $23  Register here You registration is not complete until payment is received: You can pay via Paypal  or CashApp / Venmo @ expandance  Please write in the memo the date of the workshop you're attending Tuesday Oct 13th / 8pm - 9pm Pacific  1 hour class Donation based  Register here FREE for Black, Indigenous, and People of color, as well as for undocumented immigrants (regardless of what country you're in). For everyone else, please pay what you can; $5 - $25 suggested.  Donations can be made via PayPal here or Venmo / CashApp @ expandance Friday Oct 30th / 9:30-10:30am Pacific Donation based  Register here FREE for Black, Indigenous, and People of color, as well as for undocumented immigrants (regardless of what country you're in). For everyone else, please pay what you can; $5 - $25 suggested.  Donations can be made via PayPal here or Venmo / CashApp @ expandance Ongoing Wednesday Classes "Release & Restore" / 5:30 - 7pm Pacific 1.5 hour class - expandance & restorative yoga every Wed Taught by Rachel Wynne & Sarah Jenness in conjunction with St. Joseph's Healthcare These are FREE wellness classes for the cancer community - wherever you are at in your journey with cancer (in treatment / remission / survivor). Modifications available for anyone with mobility constraints. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.  Please RSVP to Sharon at Sharon.doughty@stjoe.org  "Release and Restore was exactly what I needed. It is true to its name: I was gifted with the space, safety, freedom, and encouragement to listen deeply to my body, contact my inner experience, and move and release what had been stagnating within; then, I got to melt into a warm, cozy sound bath while resting in regenerative yoga poses. Really, what more could I ask for?! I have been twice already, and will go again. Every time is a different experience. As a mom of a toddler, taking this time to care for myself is invaluable (not only for me, but for my family who receives a more grounded and rejuvenated me afterward!) and worth every penny". - Erin W. PLEASE NOTE: NO Friday morning classes for the month of October Remember; with expandance:  you don’t have to be a dancer  you don’t have to be “fit” or look a certain way   all you need is zoom and you  "Expandance is where your mind is set free and your inherent body wisdom opens up to releases with movement. Rachel's kind voice reminds you to let go of self judgment and free your mind. A beautiful healing experience!  Truly love your work!  Thank you!" - Nicole Incaudo, May 2019 Register for Oct 8th workshop Register for Oct 13th class Register for Oct 30th class New Instagram! Have you checked out the expandance Instagram? I'll be sharing my artistic and choreographic processes, old and new videos, class reminders and more. (Hopefully, one day, post-Covid, there'll be performance updates on there too again) Come say hi! https://www.instagram.com/expandance/

Loving the bodies we inhabit. Right now.

 

It was a windy evening  Olivia Vigil and I had come up to Bodega Head to take some shots for the new expandance website (coming soon!). It was a pretty typical Bodega Head sunset in that it was stunning, and windy, and much colder than you think it's going to be.  I had moved through a lot of ''body stuff'' in the weeks prior to this photo shoot, mostly around the fact that I was about to get photos taken for a dance website, of a body shape that, in the world of dance, we are told is not a ''dancers body''. I'm still unpacking all that that means - the fact that if you're not incredibly slim, with perfect feet and no curves - you cannot be truly taken seriously as a dancer (at least not a ballet dancer; things have changed *slightly* in the contemporary arena). I've also realized how rooted in white supremacy this idea of beauty is. It is a colonialist (think corsets), Eurocentric, racist idea of beauty and honestly pretty unattainable for most people. Even for dancers I've known who trained hours and hours a day for decades.  So with this photo shoot coming up I decided I'd had enough. I've been working on ''embracing'' my body for *years*, but in order to get through this shoot, I needed to up my self-love game. I needed to confront where I'd bought into this idea. I needed to not just be ok in my body and *how it looks and feels right at this moment in time* but actually embrace and be grateful for all of it. I needed to be happy with my body as it is so that anyone who walks into an expandance class also has the potential to feel happy in theirs, regardless of shape, color, age or ability. Thankfully, I had the honor of working with an incredible photographer who helped me feel at ease, worked out a shoot plan with me, and I'm happy to report that we ended up having a lot of fun.  This is still a work in progress for me, and maybe it is for you too. Let's keep exploring it as we move through our expandance practice, as well as showing up for the myriad reasons we do.  I'll see you in class.  Rachel  p.s. for more of Olivia's work check her out on facebook.

Register for class  "I’m still reveling in the harmonious sensations after an hour of expandance class” - Charles, UK 55 mins every Friday that’ll get you back in your body and feeling groovy  8am pacific time  11am nyc  4pm Ireland  “I did expandance this morning with Rachel Wynne. If you have been thinking about doing this, Do It! I am not a dancer, I don't exercise regularly and I have chronic pain. I loved the unconventional warm up she lead us through and the visualizations with movement. Afterwards, I felt relaxed and energized at the same time. Most notably, I was able to release a considerable amount of tension that I was carrying in my body. I did all of this a short amount of time and in a small space.” - B, California   you don’t have to be a dancer  you don’t have to be “fit” or look a certain way   all you need is zoom and you  Friday expandance classes are FREE for Black, Indigenous, and People of color, as well as for undocumented immigrants (regardless of what country you're in). For everyone else, please pay what you can; $5 - $25 suggested.  Donations can be made via PayPal here or via Venmo or CashApp ''expandance'' Register for class  New Instagram! I finally started an expandance Instagram! I'll be sharing my artistic and choreographic processes, old and new videos, class reminders and more. (Hopefully, one day, post-Covid, there'll be performance updates on there too again) Come say hi! https://www.instagram.com/expandance/

Class today

*** Free class for the cancer community ***

in collaboration with St. Joseph's Healthcare

Details: 

"Release and Restore"

When: Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 7:15pm (West Coast / Pacific time) 

Where: Zoom 

Cost: FREE

What we do: about 45 minutes of expandance - a mindful dance and movement meditation technique with me (all abilities welcome - I have modifications if you aren't mobile) and then restorative yoga with Sarah, which is easy and deeply relaxing and is accompanied by her sound journey with singing bowls.  If you don't want anyone to see you dance, simply tilt your camera up! You don't need any dance or yoga experience. 

You don't have to be a patient of St. Joseph's. The only criteria is that you are, or have been, on a journey to healing from cancer, and that you'd like a class that will help you feel wonderful and relaxed!

To register, please e-mail the lovely Sharon at Sharon.doughty@stjoe.org and let her know where you are at in your journey, and that you'd like to try our class, and she'll send you the Zoom link. 

"The movement and sound healing class was phenomenal! Absolutely magical...

The instructors were compassionate, professional, kind and so accepting...
I’m overwhelmed by everyone..
This class left me feeling more connected with my body and it completely eliminated my anxiety...I think my healing has begun..." - Tina 

"Yesterday I attended Rachel and Sarah’s Release and Restore class for the first time and it was wonderful!" - Kim

A little about the programs here. 

A little about Rachel here. 

A little about Sarah here. 

Class tomorrow

 

Yes, there will be class tomorrow!*

* All being well... With at least two fires relatively close to us here in Northern California, smoke in the sky and ashes falling like flurries of snow, it's natural that we are on high alert. Many of us have packed our ''go bags'' much earlier in the season than we usually would, and quite a few of our friends to the north have already been evacuated. It looks like, so far at least, we're ok here in Sebastopol, so I'm planning on going ahead with class tomorrow. Please register if you're planning on attending, so that if we do need to evacuate and thus cancel, I know who to e-mail about class.  REGISTER HERE for the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/NewExpandanceRegFri This class is FREE for BIPOC, U.S. green card holders and undocumented immigrants Everyone else, donate here: https://www.paypal.me/expandance CashApp / Venmo: expandance $5-$20 *or whatever you can do* At high stress times like these, it's super important to look after our nervous systems. To breathe, to center, and to move our bodies. I hope you can join me tomorrow to do all the above and more, so that we can move through whatever the world throws at us grounded in trust, with grace and compassion for ourselves and each other.  See you tomorrow,  Rachel  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz3J64XhKLI&t=24s

Wednesday classes for the cancer community are ongoing Please share with friends "Release and Restore" When: Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 7:15pm (West Coast / Pacific time)  Where: Zoom  For: the cancer community  Cost: FREE What we do: about 45 minutes of expandance - a mindful dance and movement meditation technique with me (all abilities welcome - I have modifications if you aren't mobile) and then restorative yoga with Sarah, which is easy and deeply relaxing and is accompanied by her sound journey with singing bowls. If you don't want anyone to see you dance, simply tilt your camera up! You don't need any dance or yoga experience.  You don't have to be a patient of St. Joseph's. The only criteria is that you are, or have been at some point, on a journey to healing from cancer, and that you'd like a class that will help you feel wonderful and relaxed! We have a lovely, friendly group coming each week. We'd love you to join us. ---

In other news, my dear collaborator, friend of 20 years and co-founder of expandance, Laurie Schneider is undertaking a solo artist-in-residence week at Shawbrook Dance in Longford, Ireland this week. If you're interested in her process while she's there, follow her on Instagram here.

Laurie Schneider. Photo by @rahpetherbridgephotography

Friday expandance classes continue on zoom

 Hi friend, 

It can be so easy, can't it, when the world is so different, and tough, to show up for ourselves and give ourselves some love and care. This is just a reminder that just showing up is 90% of it! To that end, I hope you'll join me for expandance tomorrow. Show up for the choreographer inside your cells! 

A note on registering for classes: 

Please remember to register! You can register for several weeks in advance if you like, just please make sure you're registered for the dates you want to attend class. Otherwise what can happen is we have people in different zoom rooms and things can get messy. Thank you to those of you who register! It keeps everything nice and simple for me!

Register here: https://bit.ly/NewExpandanceRegFri

Thank you!

Friday expandance classes are FREE for Black, Indigenous, and People of color, as well as for undocumented immigrants (regardless of what country you're in). For everyone else, please pay what you can; $5 - $25 suggested. 

Donations can be made via PayPal here or via Venmo or CashApp ''expandance'' 

"I’m still reveling in the harmonious sensations after an hour of Expandance class .

Firstly, The combination of rhythm, self awareness and gentle movement had me right back in my conservatoire days of ballet and Tai Chi.  I was applying principles I’d had endorsed 40 years ago!  [I’m a professional singing and violin teacher, not a dancer.]

Secondly the cleverly focussed, embedded thought element had me working on a joint that had recently let me down.

The base of my left thumb is now free enough not to cause pain when playing my violin. A little more regular focus should have it completely freed-up.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Rachel’s teaching to anyone…. Lovely stuff!"

- Charles, UK