At Dunami, we regularly dive into eco-somatic movement practices as a starting point for movement-based research and performative explorations, as well as an every-day wellbeing support. Highly rooted in the natural landscape, we seek to use the Felt Thinking methodology to provide participants with new tools with which to meaningfully engage with Nature, reconnect with the breath and awaken creativity and imagination through movement with and in response to the natural environment.

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We are dedicated to promoting Somatic Movement Education (SME) practices which are ecologically aware and which seek to expand on our comprehension of the relationship between the natural world and movement per se, both functional and creative. Through the Felt Thinking approach, we also hope to encourage other practitioners and artists to engage with Nature in practice-based self-enquiry. At the same time, we also aim to support individuals to develop more intuitive, ecologically-mindful ways to respond to outdoors contexts when creating work.

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As well as applying the methodology of Felt Thinking to performance practices, at Dunami we are also committed to offering a range of educational and wellbeing opportunities for creative practitioners, as well as members of the public. We are currently working on extending our reach further and are hoping to be able to offer greater support to companies and organisations, as well as individuals in the near future. In the coming months, we will be making arts and somatic practice more widely available to a greater range of corporations through somatic mindfulness training for staff and employees.

 

We are proud to be able to offer interested individuals from all walks of life and backgrounds the possibility to access guided practices, led by Anna Dako. Individuals are warmly invited to begin their journeys by exploring the available audio guides, to reflect on mindful living practices via our Mindful Living blog, or to join us and participate in one of our organised events. These have included creative contemplations and individual happenings online, as well as workshops and outdoor encounters with the natural landscape, such as our annual workshopping event The Spring Seedling, and the bi-annual 12 Walks To Wellbeing seasons.

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Our ongoing activity: In The Open aims to merge choreographic practices with somatic approaches, whilst exploring movement in outdoors settings. We seek to create and share choreographic work which is produced in dialogue with and response to the natural environment. Through this outdoor arts work, we aim to produce a range of site-specific outdoor happenings/choreographic performances and short films. Currently, we are sharing about the work on ‘Forest Within’, which is took place at Countesswells Forest in Aberdeen.

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​At the heart of our work is a desire to not only connect with Nature, but also with each other. Through our work, we hope to inspire and support people from all backgrounds, ages and abilities. We enjoy engaging with our audiences and hearing about your experiences. Above all, we welcome your feedback and interactions, whether you choose to leave a comment, upload a creative reflection or join us for one of our events.

 

We warmly invite you to join our community and share in our work.

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Dunami's regular collaborators include some wonderful teachers and practitioners:

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MARTINA POLLEROS, RSME/T, MA Dance and Somatic Wellbeing

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Martina trained in Dance between Art and Therapy, at the Bewegungsinstitut Essen and continued her education with Bodybliss – Continuum Movement at the Somatic Academy in Munich. She also studied the Life Art Process of Anna Halprin with Ulla Schorn and completed her MA in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing at UCLAN University U.K. with distinction in 2014.

 

She is currently teaching somatic movement classes, working as a somatic coach for a health prevention program in a large insurance company and working as an ISMETA certified somatic movement therapist in Vienna. She teaches sensory integration for pedagogues and is also the founder of a one year “heart-listening circle”, an exploratory research circle to cultivate heart-listening.

 

Martina is a part of a German NGO called Emergency Pedagogy, that works mainly with children of all ages in areas of huge crisis around the world. Her last operation was in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon in 2019.

 

Besides her practice as a movement educator, she also value her further development and seeks out regular research opportunities. She has worked with Susan Harper, Miranda Tufnell, Andrea Olsen and Caryn McHose, to name a few of wonderful teachers who have formed, inspired and supported her work throughout the years.

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FRANCIS ANGOL, RSME/T, MA Dance and Somatic Wellbeing

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​Francis is the founder and Artistic Director of Movement Angol dance, a UK based Dance Company which produces work that draws from the teachings and practices of dance from the African Diaspora, synthesised with Western Contemporary dance and underpinned by Somatic practice.

Francis’ other roles are that of Somatic Movement Educator / therapist, performing artist,  choreographer, Creative Educator and Lecturer in dance at the University of Surrey. He works extensively in professional, HE and FE education as well as community practice.

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Over the course of his career, Francis has produced works that have contributed to the enrichment of British dance culture through the production of a range of training programmes, classes, courses, and performance works, most notably he produced and curated the Flat Feet Dance Festival with the support of the South Bank Centre.

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Over the years, Francis has worked to develop a distinctive movement modality, an individual approach to dance art. Through his work, Francis enables people by creating opportunities for intercultural exchange and dialogue. He synthesises cultural traditions with contemporary norms to offer individuals a space for self-actualisation, through exploration and expression. Francis strives to encourage change by influencing the future, through impacting the present with work that is accessible, inclusive and is physical and mentally empowering.

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His work is deeply rooted in the spirituality of the self, a way of life that taps into the unspoken rhythmic dialogue of mind and body, to form a unique cultural synthesis in movement form. The practice is a way of allowing the individual to journey through a widening "field of possibilities, folding presence with existence, to allow self-expression to organically unfold. In his work he offers individuals a fresh and creative approach to engage with their body, to awaken the inner self through a dialogue of movement, rhythm, dance, imagery, and the imagination. This forms the basis of his mode of expression referred to as ‘Embodied Flow’.

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As a performer / choreographer and creative educator, Francis works to synthesise his accumulated knowledge of dance and the arts, with that of his lived experience, to help individuals bring about clarity, meaning and understanding to their mental and physical flow, through movement and dance.

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