'I feel so at home here… both with the gentleness and the roughness, submissive only to gravity, and to what the sky offers.   (...) And I crave to keep touching the water-shaped rocks as gently as I can, while sensing into their geological depths, and following the flowful patterns that they embody…   The rocks are so alive in their motifs. Their designs, ornamentation and the earthy hues. Their fragility touches my fingers back.   I join in, as a natural cause of erosion. I feel the surface of the rock becoming brittle and chipping directly into the sea, from under my fingertips. I feel like I’m helping it travel faster, or even sending it on a time-travel adventure into its foretold futures, as a sediment heading for the bottom of all that mineral liquidity, that we call the ocean. written by Anna Dako, Banff, Scotland '25 music by Ibou Sora

Perhaps not, perhaps not so fast… Slow – is the way of a true maker… The maker that endures all storms… And all the high tides of the unpredictable shores…   Perhaps not, perhaps not so simple… Being in constant making cannot be just framed by layers, colours or shapes… The in-between-ness takes over, over and over again… And plays with the literate minds…   I feel that it is the tips of my fingers that, in touch, understand most… So I follow.   I walk into the waters of the northern coasts and let the fingers submerge… I touch the pebbles, the boulders and the many surfaces of the cliffs. And the wind helps me carry on the touch… beyond the sensed…   I begin to travel with the very process of creation, and every step into the sea, taken forwards or backwards, or a random splash of sea water on the face, reminds me how ‘the making’ nestles within its destructive means.   Every touch takes me somewhere else, in friction or firm grip – I relocate things… every gentle glide against the softness of the water surface makes a difference… my senses recalibrate.   The water drops, leaving my fingertips and going back to the body of water - are the messengers… every drop speaks.   My feet are rooting into the instability of the pebbled seabed and learning a new level of appreciation for yet another possible step… Both, the hospitality and the hostility of elements reveal themselves as I go or stop or take a step back or sideways. I never know.   I get lost. I find myself.   written by Anna Dako

A narrated story about a man-made sand landscape, a desert in Poland, told from a mover's perspective and captured by photographic imagery. A storied encounter that brought up bewilderment mixed with inspirational hope for a more mature human sensitivity. photography - Katarzyna Warańska movement - Anna Dako, Marta Bury music - Ibou Sora costumes - Anna Dako, Karina Mińkowska Pado narration and edit - Anna Dako production - In The Open by DUNAMI - MOVEMENT ARTS WELLBEING CIC BŁĘDÓW DESERT, POLAND 2019

A movement story by Anna Dako inspired by the seasonal landscapes of North-East Scotland, confronted with a deep urge for the warmth of the Southern Sun. Emerging from the winter season into much needed sunlight, this relational story builds on experiencing LOVE as arising through sensual opposites, which enable movement as primal, ephemeral motion (or emotion) that encompasses the Earth's origins of creation. Blurred somewhere between self-love and erotic fulfilment, the expressive movement of the elements permeates embodied historicity of the Self while recognising life's temporal nature of constant change, both within and around, in the natural world. Dancing with the feminine and the masculine energies of the Self takes its own course of free expression, but keeping the feet (and the hands) on the ground remains the only true compass for navigating life's complex journeys. A film by IN THE OPEN - OUTDOOR ARTS INITIATIVE Produced by DUNAMI - MOVEMENT ARTS WELLBEING CIC www.dunami-somatics.com movement, story and narration by ANNA DAKO camera and photography by NICK JONES music by KOROLEKO MOUSSA DEMBELE costumes by ANNA DAKO edited by ANNA DAKO locations: ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND | ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL MARCH 2024

Official Selection Scottish Landscape Awards Film Credits: Production, Artistic Guidance and Choreography: Anna Dako; Movement Artists: Laura Booth, Shayne Lilith-Moon, Sofia Kondylia; Instrumentals: Magi Winmill-Hermann; Filming: Anna Dako, Bircan Birol; Assistance: Diana Monteiro Toombs; Photography: Noemi Dako © Anna Dako No portion of this film may be copied or used without the express permission of its creators 'FOREST WITHIN' was produced during the time of lockdown, when touching or wandering about felt like forms of transgression. The only resources to sanity – access to local nature reserves, were too reduced. The film was made in the annihilated part of a forest in Aberdeenshire. As movers and compassionate human beings, we wanted a dialogue with the place and let it speak for itself in movement. ‘Forest Within’ is about an embodied reflection upon inclusive ways of being. 'FOREST WITHIN' is an official selection for the Scottish Landscape Awards 2023, organised by the Scottish Arts Trust (www.scottishartstrust.org). With a first prize of £10,000, the Awards offer Scotland's biggest prize for contemporary landscape art. The stellar line-up of judges includes influential art world figures Ade Adesina RSA, Marian Leven RSA, David Mach RA HRSA, Barbara Rae RAE CBE RA RSA RSW (chair), and Jane and Louise Wilson RA. Open to individuals or collaborating artists who work in any medium – from miniatures to installations, the judges have chosen entries in a wide range of materials and forms including 2D works in paint, charcoal, collage, textiles and photography as well as sculptures in glass, paper, stone, wood, metal and more. The competition also includes entries in film, animation, sound, performance, multimedia and virtual reality. It is a biennial competition and exhibition, open to anyone over 16 years born, living or studying in Scotland. The stated aim of the Scottish Landscape Awards is to ‘redefine the boundaries of contemporary landscape art’ by reflecting all dimensions of natural and/or man-made environments with works that may be imaginary, surreal, abstract, documentary, ecological, realistic – anything is possible as long as the work carries a strong sense of place or context. The inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition is on at City Art Centre in Edinburgh from 4 November 2023 to 3 March 2024. Occupying two floors of the gallery, the exhibition showcases the very best in Scottish contemporary art. The awards will then be held every 2 years in different locations around Scotland. #landscapeart #landscapeartist #skyarts #filmart #animationart #animationartist #skyartslandscapeartistoftheyear

HUG TREE Feeling into the qualities of rest and support. A restorative, silent conversation with a tree in Somatic Felt Thinking. Movement meditation and editing by Anna Dako Camera by Ronald Dako Aberdeen, 2021

Of Rocks and Other Kin based on: On How to Feel Think in Movement: 5-Day Outdoor Movement Experience with Self-Filming designed by Dr Anna Dako movement, voice, words and filming: Valeria Lembo concept and movement methodology: Anna Dako editing: Bircan Birol supervision and consultancy: Anna Dako location: Anacapri, Italy October 2020 with special thanks to Norman Veens for his supportive presence and to the lizards that kept us company more info at: www.dunami-somatics.com