Open Floor International
A world where conscious movement and dance ignites creativity, community, social justice, health and well-being.Open Floor Aotearoa NZ is a satellite of Open Floor International which is a creative collaboration of seasoned movement teachers from all corners of the planet.
Most of the founders of Open Floor International grew up on the dance floor with Gabrielle Roth and consider her one of their most honoured teachers. They have also studied with many other brilliant pioneers of movement, meditation, body psychotherapy and healing arts – and been deeply informed by their radical, grounded wisdom.
Now, as new “elders” in the field themselves, they have joined together to share what we have learned. Their inquiry has been:
- Why have dance practices exploded around the world in the past decade?
- How and why do people heal through movement, no matter what the practice?
- What are the healthy human hungers that are expressed and met in the simple act of dancing – alone, in classes, in flash mobs, in community?
- What are the core principles underlying all conscious movement disciplines? What is our common ground?
- What is the common good being generated by this simple act of collective embodied self expression?
These ongoing creative conversations are at the centre of Open Floor International.
Founders
Vic Cooper, Kathy Altman, Lori Saltzman, Andrea Juhan, Ph.D.
Founding Members
Sue Rickards – London, England
Geordie Jahner, Ph.D. – New Zealand
Deborah Jay-Lewin – Findhorn, Scotland
Tim Stephenson – Bali, Indonesia
Cynthia Kennedy – Olympia, Washington
Rivi Diamond – Jerusalem, Israel
Irit Ziv-Ron – Tel Aviv, Israel
Lucie Nerot – Lyon, France
Sarah Davies – London, England
Cathy Ryan – London, England
Nele Vandezande – Staden, Belgium
Open Floor International website >
Our Vision
A world where conscious movement and dance ignites creativity, community, social justice, health and well-being.