Paula Duffy is a graduating MA student in Drama Therapy at Concordia University, and a graduate of the National Centre for Dance Therapy’s Alternate Route program. She holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance with a minor in Psychology from Concordia University. Her interest in making dance and movement more accessible to the general public stems from a fascination with the power of the body and movement to connect – with oneself, and with others – on intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community levels.
Movement, art materials and tea. Movement prompts, props and exhibited art. Recorded music, sound-making objects and musical instruments. A handful of people, a good amount of curiosity and openness, and some time. These were the elements that comprised the Movement Hive exploration at Native Immigrant Art Hive. Paula pursued her curiosity about bringing movement to the Art Hive model by exploring the community-creating potential of people moving together within the beautiful space of Métèque Atelier d’Art. The Movement Hive held 5 sessions with 7 participants.
As facilitator, Paula learned ways to facilitate movement in an Art Hive context which involved a bit of a balancing act between embodiment, safety, and the Art Hive guiding principles. Experimenting with various levels and elements of structure, the format generally consisted of a loosely guided warmup, time for individual and group movement exploration, and trying out various sources of inspiration. This included art materials, sound-making objects, written movement prompts, anatomy books, and the displayed gallery art. Collaboration with music therapist Asa Kondo provided another fruitful area of exploration.
Setting up the Movement Hive in a sustainable model provided a challenge. As participation had dropped in the regular Art Hive since the end of summer, there wasn’t an existing participant pool to draw from for the Movement Hive. The location, available time slot, and cold weather were deterrents for new participants, and the project didn’t last for the time it would take to attract new community members. Paula hopes to continue the collaborations formed with Métèque Atelier d’Art, the Art Hives network, music therapist Asa Kondo, and neighbourhood organizations, as this project presented the great potential for movement in the Art Hive space, as a main focus or partner to music and visual art.
For more information please contact Paula at pauladuffy@gmail.com