Burnt by Fire
Last weekend I attended a remembrance sweat lodge. A friend of mine hosted it. She lost her husband a year ago on Valentine's day. It was a thorough ceremony, a community gathering and HOT. I didn't know how much labor has to go in the preparation and tending of a traditional sweat. A big fire that heats up the stones to the point that those stones are glowing red. The heated stones are then brought inside the lodge and placed in a pit in the center. Water is poured over the hot stones, creating steam and heat that fills the lodge. We were sitting in a circle mostly in complete darkness and shared thoughts, fears, osha root, copal smells, sounds and songs around lost ones and our friend that died last year. I loved to sound out my feelings, spit them out with all the accumulating saliva onto the glowing stones. The gesture of pressing my sweat and releasing it into the stones was sizzlingly satisfying! After 3 rounds of pouring water on the stones, it got so hot that I thought I would lose my mind. In combination with all those words, intense emotions all around me and the impossibility to move my body made it quite urgent to leave the tent. Bearing the unbearable heat for as long as possible and then moving outside was profound. Standing outside by the fire, it started to rain. The big fat drops on my naked body felt like a waterfall on my soul. I couldn't believe how much I was missing this feeling! I felt burnt from the inside out, replenished and fed by the fire, the water and the sky above me. Realizing that moving out of the circle of people into the fresh air and rain was as important as sitting in the tent.
Come Dance With Me
I want to invite you all to come and dance with me. I am back in California in April for a CI workshop "Radical Softness" in Nevada City! I will be giving Craniosacral sessions in Albany. You can book here. Oh and reach out for tea or a coffee. I'd love to catch up!
February 2025
February 28 - March 2
We have still spots for our seasonal JAM this weekend! Come! Featuring a day-long workshop with Rajendra Serber on Friday.
Carmen Serber
March 2025
March 14 - April 11
This 5 week series is an investigation of improvisation grounded in practicing attention through movement in relationship with each other, space and ritual. We build upon our self-expressive capabilities in an interplay of inner and outer worlds.
Carmen Serber
April 2025
April 5 and 6
I am hosting Andrew Harwood in Bellingham.
Andrew: “My wish for this time together is to create a vibrant, inclusive, and safe container for the practice of contact improvisation. For me this means thinking of others and the spaces we inhabit as important and worthy of consideration, creating an environment that is respectful and caring, approaching consent as an ongoing and active practice which in turn generates conscious intention, and action. I will listen, observe and offer what I have learned from five decades of experience. I do not have all the answers, but will strive to create a focused space that aims to promote inclusivity and respect throughout our shared time together.”
Carmen Serber
April 25 - April 27
I am back in California in April for a CI workshop "Radical Softness" in Nevada City organized by Rebecca Bone.
We will be experiencing the body as a vessel of experimental inquiry and somatic communicator - oscillating between cerebral musings, body poetry and wild physicality in solo, duet, trio and ensemble practice. Expanding our availability in a dance.
Carmen Serber
May 2025
May 5 - May 8
Craniosacral sessions in Albany, please book through Felek Acupuncture's booking site. Thanks.
June 2025
June 5 - June 8
Nuria Bowart invited Jen Hong and myself to teach at the June Jam in Vermont. I am looking forward to be visiting the Field Center for the first time. Come and join me!
Carmen Serber
September 2025
September 12 - September 14
After the summer break with no CI events happening in Bellingham, we'll start again with the Falling into Fall Jam. Sabine Parzer from Austria will be teaching a day long workshop on Friday.
Carmen Serber