An 8-day Residential Retreat dedicated to Dance, Singing, Painting, Collage, Forest walks, Yoga and Cacao Ceremony on 8 – 16 of May, 2025
Fluid Forests: Internal and External Equilibrium
Introduction:
This is an 8-day communal retreat for people older than 18 years of age, with an interest in artistic creation and nature, with or without previous experience in dance, yoga, meditation, and painting. The activities take place in a group setting, in a place with exceptional natural beauty, and are designed to enhance the peace within through the act of artistic creation, togetherness, and presence in nature.
Language:
English / Dutch
Dates:
8 – 16 of May, 2025 (Thursday – Sunday)
Program:
Day 1: Arrival + Welcome Dinner
Day 2: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Cacao Ceremony with medicine songs and transformational Breathwork
Day 3: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Collective Painting + Ceremonial Dance
Day 4: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Cacao Ceremony with transformational Breathwork, medicine songs and voice liberation.
Day 5: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Free Movement Workshop
Day 6: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Collective Collage
Day 7: Silent Forest Walk + Yoga & Meditation + Open Stage Presentation
Day 8: Farewell Breakfast + Closing Ceremony
*This program is subject to change.
Price:
The full package (retreat + lodging + food) Only 8 spots
Earlybirds (reservations until 8, April): 995 €
Normal (reservations between 8, April and 8, May): 1295 €
Inscriptions:
To register for this retreat, use this form. Right after you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email and some additional information.
“Art-making cannot be conceived of as the imposition of an already-formed idea upon the matter at hand. Rather, we see art as originating not in reason but in play, in an exploration in which letting go of control leads to surprising results. This necessary surrender of control means that the artist enters a chaotic field, in which he or she has neither complete understanding of nor complete mastery over what is happening. However, if we can stay with this chaotic experience, it often happens that something emerges, the gift of a work that carries meaning and value.”
Stephen K. Levine
Content:
Overview:
This retreat is a collaboration between Vår Inspirationsgård and O Castro Art Village. In this hybrid retreat we will play with four main media of Dance, Singing, Painting, and Collage, as vehicles of improvisation, retrospection, and community building. Our Var Inspirahionsgard partners will also be employing Cacao Ceremony and Breath-work in order to enhance the potentials for personal growth.
Contributions of Vår Inspirationsgård:
Dance, free movement, and voice liberation play fundamental roles in this retreat. The body plays the role of an instrument. The aim is to learn to move and sing freely and confidently in the presence of a trustworthy community of cohorts and discover one’s own position in the collective geography of the group. It is through this process of free movement and singing that the participant will rediscover their own uniqueness.
Singing, or Liberation of the voice is about giving yourself a place, and allowing yourself to be there. In this workshop we dare to feel all our emotions, turning them into sound. Singing without holding back is what we are after; without judgment, without right or wrong.
Breath-work also known as transformational breathing or rebirthing is a technique that helps with the overcoming of obstacles on your way of living your most beautiful life. This technique helps with the activation of your life force and raises suppressed emotions to transform and revitalises you physically on a cellular level. It helps with the release of all tensions and dense energy. It provides for the energy to start flowing freely again.
Last but not the least, two Cacao Ceremonies presented by our experienced partners from Vår Inspirationsgård will bring in a ritualistic aspect to the retreat by including a medium outside of the world of arts to play a role in the creation of a trusted and caring community. Cacao is a superfood rich in antioxidants, and functions as an anti-inflammatory agent. It contains theobromine, which stimulates the heart, dilates blood vessels, and lowers blood pressure. The consumption of Cacao calms the mind. Cacao contains many minerals such as magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, and calcium and has a positive effect on your brain.
The Open Stage component of this retreat is designed to share whatever the participants desire to share with the others, be it a poem, or song. It will be the moment to share your uniqueness with your cohorts and the community. On this stage we intend to step out of our shadows and into the light, taking share like a diamond, from roughness to shining.
The most important objective of this retreat is NOT to create masterful pieces of art, but to create a safe space, free of judgement and aesthetic valuation, where the participants can allow for the discovery of their authentic inner emotions, and orient themselves in the wider contexts of individual and communal wellbeing.
Contributions of O Castro Art Village:
O Castro Art Village will be contributing to this retreat with two workshops. Painting and Collage done collectively on a single communal canvas will provide a creational space for the participants to experience the fundamentality of balance between individual freedom and communal well-being for all. We welcome participants to bring along any material for collage-making; be it photographs, magazine and newspaper clippings, textile, or other natural material.
What makes this workshop unique is the integration of nature in the scheduled activities. The participants will have the opportunity not only to make art in an activity hall with magical panoramic views, but to explore their inner feelings through silent walks in an untouched Galician forest on a daily basis.
Facilitators:
Marloes Kramer
My name is Marloes, I am 44 years old, and I come from Holland. I am a graduate of Amsterdam National ballet Academy and I have been working with dance, Yoga, and meditation at my own studio for the past 17 years. I’m a woman of strength determination, integrity, and hope.
I live a free life in the forest of Sweden with my husband and beautiful kids. We have created a free and peaceful environment, so that we can thrive by doing inner work. We live with ceremonies, freedom, and an everyday creative flow. Our goal is to help others find their way back into their authentic selves; to find peace, freedom, and harmony, and especially joy.
I believe we came here on this planet to heal, learn, play, and discover. Our job is to notice each other, to really see each other and connect with mother earth; from one soul to another. I’m looking forward to celebrating life together with you!
Lisa Church
My name is Lisa, I am twenty-two years old. I live in Holland, where I now own the dance company Marloes had for the past 17 years. It has been a blessing getting to learn so much about myself. It made me use my voice, which wasn’t always easy for me. But now I sing, dance and share all of it. It has always been within me, just like it’s within everyone else. In this week I hope to inspire you to use your voice as well. We all deserve to let our inner voices speak, and let them navigate us.
My spiritual journey started with a cacao ceremony. It’s where I felt a soul to soul connection for the first time with someone I didn’t know yet. It taught me that we are all the same, we are all made out of love and light. Let’s see each other for what we are, and embrace all of it. I also feel it’s important to play and laugh in the process. My mission in this week is to share my love, the lessons I’ve learned, and to let our inner child be free!
Co-Facilitator:
Davoud Gerami
Davoud Gerami is the founder and director of O Castro Art Village. He a world traveller, a cosmopolite per se who sees the world as one entity without borders, a filmmaker who lives to break the “laws” of the cinematic art, a teacher who teaches dissent and questioning the norm, and an engineer in the process of building for a better world.
While teaching in Japan he began experimenting with expressive arts therapy methods and combining these principles in education and language learning. He has an MFA in Documentary Media from Ryerson University, Toronto, and recently has attended the European Graduate School in programs focused on Expressive Arts and conflict resolution. He experiments with his findings in this field in various workshops and retreats organised at O Castro Art Village.
At this retreat Davoud will be offering two workshops in Collective Painting, and Collective Collage.
Lodging:
We will stay in two glamping style geodesic domes of O Castro Art Village, which have an air conditioning system, private bathroom and everything you need to enjoy a comfortable stay. Each dome will house a maximum of four people in single beds. To see our facilities, access this virtual tour.
Activity Hall:
The activity hall is located in a renovated old barn, with a glass design that allows for stunning views of the Ribeira Sacra. It is equipped with a climate control system and wooden flooring.
Food:
We will enjoy healthy meals made with local ingredients and preparations that blend Galician products with Persian and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes.
