I am inside the rehearsal process of my solo work terra to be performed at Holmes à Court Gallery, Goollaman/West Perth in January. Making solo work is an intimate process. It takes me deep into myself and into a keen relationship with my practice and what inspires and generates that. I have been creating terra over several years due to Covid and also the necessity to stay with something for a long time to realise the work and feel satisfied. Friend and colleague Nikki Heywood is directing the work and this is a grand opportunity for us to be in the studio together.

Dates: 18, 19 & 20 January 2024
Holmes à Court Gallery
10 Douglas Street
Gooyaman | West Perth

Alice acknowledges the State of Western Australia DLGSC and Holmes à Court Gallery @ no.10  in supporting the development and presentation of terra.

Created & Performed by Alice Cummins
Direction by Nikki Heywood

terra emerged from the imminent ferocity of fire burning all along the east coast of Australia in 2020. As I experimented with the paper, the emergent sounds evoked a threatening sense of danger and I sensed the incremental tectonic shifts that eventually create seismic shifts in the earth’s crust. Millennia pass and the earth splits open, mountains erupt, and oceans deliver tsunamis. The speed with which these events happen bears little relationship to the geological pace with which they have accrued momentum. The power behind them reflects this huge elemental force of nature. Underneath the paper I am reminded of Sunday mornings in winter making cubbies with my blankets – the intimacy, light and secrecy. The memory has the ‘glow’ of a William Blake painting. These paradoxical elements exist lightly together in my imagination – the tenderness of early life memories and the fury and savagery of the fires and the agony of the earth. terra reflects this critical time in our living world.

‘She moved with the kind of felt precision that could change the meaning of the space around her. She touched the floor and suddenly it was alive. The experience was pure and electrifying’ (Erik Jensen, Editor-in-chief, Schwartz Media, January 2022).

Production: Veronica Bolzon
Lighting Design: Bosco Shaw
Lighting Technician: Peter Young
Videography: Cobie Orger
Videography & Images: Emma Fishwick
Creative Companion & Production: Paea Leach
FOH: Jacqui Otago

Dates: 18, 19 & 20 January 2024
Time: 7.30pm
Holmes à Court Gallery @ no.10
10 Douglas Street
Gooyaman | West Perth
BOOKINGS

Tickets for terra are on sale!
terra is a 50min dance work informed by the knowledge of current and impending ecological loss. Erupting from an imagination placed under pressure for decades, terra invites us to feel what is happening to the earth, whilst creating something of awe and beauty. 

I am under the skin of making terra and as I deepen into the work the paradox of the making and dissolving of form is the dance.

Image: Emma Fishwick

Dates: 18, 19 & 20 January 2024
Time: 7.30pm
Holmes à Court Gallery @ no.10
10 Douglas Street
Gooyaman | West Perth
Book Your Tickets Here

The country has a way of speaking,
of making the rest of the world drift away,
until it is only here
that matters
Leni Shilton - 'Speaking country', Walking with Camels - The Story of Bertha Strehlow (UWAP, 2018)

Alice acknowledges the State of Western Australia DLGSC and Holmes à Court Gallery @ no.10  in supporting the development and presentation of terra.

Perception is a psychophysical process and perceiving is the process of how we receive and respond to new information. With the recognition that our moving body is perceiving, we begin to realize an embodied kinaesthetic knowing through our organs of perception and their relationship to the planes of existence, gravity and space. Through the specificity of our sense organs we feel and sense the role they contribute to the expression of self and engagement with others. This includes the bonding and defending response in every act of perceiving and its influence on learning.

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

Oct 2 – 6 | 2023 (5 days): Senses & Perceptions (45 hours)

Somatic practices enable us to transform habitual psychophysical patterns and realise the creative potential present in the relational field as we engage with self, other and community. In bringing these qualities to our lives we enable and deepen our connection with the living world, cultivating and sustaining our capacity for aliveness. Insight and learning create the ground for engaging with clients in a professional context. Students will be prepared for professional practice through mentorship, business skills development, practical application, and understanding ethical practice. This module encourages critical reflection of practice, collegial learning and relationship building to support ongoing professional development.

Pre-requisite: 7 completed modules

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

Sept 25 – 29 | 2023 (5 days): Psychophysical Integration & Professional Practice (45 hours)

7-week Zoom series : Classes can be explored in your home with my guidance. Zoom classes support you maintaining your somatic practice whilst creating an opportunity to be in a richly diverse community. Links will be sent for missed classes.

*My focus for these 7-weeks will include the buoyant resiliency, ease and sequential integration organs bring to our voice, expression and locomotion - integrated through dancing, sounding and playful application of the neuro-cellular movement patterns. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, reach and wriggle.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Thursdays 11.00am. – 12.30pm (AEST)
Dates: 20 July – 31 August (7 weeks)
Venue: Online
Fee: $280

7-week Zoom series : Classes can be explored in your home with my guidance. Zoom classes support you maintaining your somatic practice whilst creating an opportunity to be in a richly diverse community. Links will be sent for missed classes.

*My focus for these 7-weeks will include the structural support of our bone and skeletal system integrated through the feeling life of our fluids and playful application of the neuro-cellular movement patterns. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, reach and wriggle.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Thursdays 11.00am. – 12.30pm
Dates: 4 May – 15 June (7 weeks)
Venue: Online
Fee: $280

Meredith Connie and I have been offered a Bundanon residency in April 2023. We have been collaborating through 2022 and are thrilled to have this time to immerse ourselves in the creative and historical environment of Bundanon.

Our performance/sound collaboration is a ‘making in place’. Through a practice of embodied attunement, our process attempts to break the spell of dominant narratives and allow a re-enchantment of place. Attunement explores the connection of feeling between people and place, animated by the presence and experience of being alive to the world. The residency gives us the opportunity to generate performance scores whilst having the time to rejoice in the ‘eros’ of making with another in place. The entwinement of our colonial, planetary and personal/artistic histories offer us a unique time of creative reflection: This ancient country – our presence here now – how to be here and make together.

Photo Credit: Isaebella Doherty
Alice Cummins: Tarcutta Shade by Stan Woodhouse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV5du7kbn_c

The endocrine system is closely aligned with the nervous system and is the first system to mature in our development underlying its critical role in our survival through relationship and attachment. It is the system that connects us at a personal level through the expression of our sexuality. It is also the system that connects us to a more impersonal universal state of awareness. A highly selective communication system – the endocrine glands rely on the fluids to transport the desired chemicals to specific cells – it is the system underlying the paradox of our existence - spirituality, play and spontanaeity. As a field of energy it constellates the attraction and magnetism of relational life – the sensual Eros of love. We manifest our state of being through our breath and we communicate with the world through the expressive qualities of our voice. Our voice reflects the functioning of our whole body and being.

This module will be co-taught with Nikki Heywood a Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist working across dance, performance, writing and live art. Nikki is a graduate of the Somatic Wisdom program.

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

Nov 14 – 18 | 2022 (5 days): Endocrine System, Breath & Voice (45 hours)
* Please Note: Students will need to be fully vaccinated to be able to attend.

In tandem with my Melbourne BMC weekly workshops I am running a 7-week Zoom series that will include elements from the Melbourne BMC series. Classes can be explored in your home with my guidance. Links can be sent for missed classes. Zoom classes will support you maintaining your somatic practice whilst creating an opportunity to be in a community.

*My focus for these 7-weeks will include a range of BMC material – development movement patterns integrated with fluid, skeletal and organ systems. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, reach and wriggle. Join me in moving, sensing and feeling.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Fridays 10.00am. – 11.30pm
Dates: 22 July – 2 September (7 weeks)
Venue: Online
Fee: $280

7-WEEK SERIES: Beginning with the premise that movement is perception, we will engage with different Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) principles and Somatic practices. BMC engages the bodymind through the poetics of moving, touch and experiential anatomy, inviting change that is an integration of our physical, psychological, intellectual and imaginative life. The classes will include guided movement, anatomical information, imagery and directed self-touch, followed by Authentic Movement, shared discussion, and journal writing to integrate the material.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 10.30am. – 12.30pm
Dates: 20 July – 31 August (7 weeks)
Venue: Green Monday Studios - 73 Grattan St Carlton

In tandem with my Melbourne BMC weekly workshops I am running a 5-week Zoom series that will include elements from the Melbourne BMC series. Classes can be explored in your home with my guidance. Links can be sent for missed classes. Zoom classes will support you maintaining your somatic practice whilst creating an opportunity to be in a community.

*My focus for these 5-weeks will include a range of BMC material – development movement patterns integrated with fluid, skeletal and organ systems. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, reach and wriggle. Join me in moving, sensing and feeling.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Fridays 10.00am. – 11.30pm
Dates: 13 May – 10 June (5 weeks)
Venue: Online
Fee: $200

How do we begin again – to meet, dance and touch one another? In the aftermath of the past two years how do we gather into our selves and cultivate the practice of being with one another to move, create and find our belonging? I propose that this practice can support us redefining ourselves and how we navigate our way through. The vulnerability we have all experienced is at the heart of our return and renewal, remaining present as we renogotiate our lives. My teaching is infused with the philosophy of self-organisation and relational life. As we find our deepest connection to ourself, others and the lived world we re-pattern our belief systems and invite questions about our role and place in the lived world. The offerings are infused with ethics|aesthetics and the capacity for transformation is cultivated between us all.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 10.30am. – 12.30pm
Dates: 4 May – 15 June (7 weeks)
Venue: Green Monday Studios - 73 Grattan St Carlton

We are essentially a fluid dynamic body, changing from breath to breath and moment to moment. As we bring awareness to the potential of these changing states of being, we become more flexible and responsive, bringing our inner and outer environments into dynamic relationship. When we move from our fluid mind we find availability to self and others through feeling, developing the capacity for empathic responses appropriate to the exchange.

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

April 4 - 8 | 2022 (5 days): Fluid System (45 hours)
* Please Note: Students will need to be fully vaccinated to be able to attend.

Somatic Classes designed for your bedroom
living room or kitchen

My next series of  Zoom classes will maintain your practice whilst creating an opportunity for people to be in a somatic community. My focus is on moving and movement: bringing awareness into our bodies, through self-touch and the pleasure of moving. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes where I will focus on what feels critical for remaining resilient in these uncertain times. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, lengthen, reach and wriggle.

The 5-week series develop somatic awareness and cellular consciousness. These are powerful resources for any body any time. Body-Mind Centering® is the ground of my somatic practice and teaching. As a study of the experienced feeling body it offers resistance to the idea of the objectified mechanical body.

Time: Mondays 11am – 12.30pm (EST)      
Dates: 4 October – 1 November (5 weeks)

Organs are the contents of our musculo-skeletal container, providing us with a sense of volume and weight. They are about process, fullness and emotional expression. They provide multidimensional support for our movement, breath and voice. Organ tone underlies alignment, presence and our sense of vitality.

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

Dates 5 Sept - 18 Sept: Organ System (45 hours)
This module is now available online through Zoom for students. A full outline and schedule will be sent to students who enrol.

7-WEEK SERIES: Beginning with the premise that movement is perception, we will rigorously engage with different Body-Mind Centering® principles. Through a practice of listening and attention you will develop somatic awareness. The workshops will include guided movement, anatomical information, imagery and directed touch, followed by Authentic Movement, shared discussion, and journal writing to integrate the material.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 10.30am. – 12.30pm
Dates: 14 July – 25 August (7 weeks)
Venue: Green Monday Studios - 73 Grattan St Carlton

presence vitality sensuality

Listening to the body is like learning to see and feel beneath the surface of things. Perhaps like listening to the ocean when you bring a shell to your ear – Alice C

Do you know what is inside you? Do you know where your organs are? Would you like to know?

Integrating organs into our embodiment brings vitality and spaciousness. Their liveliness underlies our capacity for pleasure, joy and expressiveness. Organs give us a voice. They are about process, fullness and emotional expression. As we map, navigate and explore the life of our organs we support our immunity and resilience.

In 2021 Alice is offering two workshops to map, navigate and explore the life of our major organs:

Workshop 1 (29 & 30 May): introduction to organ mind; digestive system and brain as an organ.
Workshop 2 (4 & 5 September): heart & lung support; kidneys and sexual organs

Dates:     29 & 30 May 2021                                      
Time:      Sat & Sun 10-5
Venue:    The Chapel Space, North Perth

7-WEEK SERIES: Beginning with the premise that movement is perception, we will rigorously engage with different Body-Mind Centering® principles. Through a practice of listening and attention you will develop somatic awareness. The workshops will include guided movement, anatomical information, imagery and directed touch, followed by Authentic Movement, shared discussion, and journal writing to integrate the material.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 10.30am. – 12.30pm
Dates: 7 April – 19 May (7 weeks)
Venue: Dancehouse, North Carlton

Skeletal System

Embodying bones offers an experience of our inner structure and architecture. We discover the skeletal system’s capacity to stabilize and mobilize. How as a basic framework it gives form and structure to our body; contains our organs; offers qualities of clarity and effortlessness; provides stability, leverage and mobility through space; and supports our articulation of form in space. Through anatomical and somatic exploration we discover both the specificity of our articulating bones and their global organization in locomotion through space.

Alice Cummins is the director of the Somatic Wisdom program – an ISMETA Approved Training Program enabling graduates to become Registered Somatic Movement Educators & Therapists (RSME/T).

March 23 – 27 | 2021 (5 days): Skeletal System (45 hours)
This module will now be made available online through Zoom for students. A full outline and schedule will be sent to students who enrol.

Somatic Classes designed for your bedroom
living room or kitchen

My next series of  Zoom classes to maintain your practice whilst creating an opportunity for people to be in a somatic community. My focus is on moving and movement: bringing awareness into our bodies, through self-touch and the pleasure of moving. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes where I will focus on what feels critical for remaining resilient in these uncertain times. Make sure you have enough room to roll, spread, lengthen, reach and wriggle.

The 5-week series develop somatic awareness and cellular consciousness. These are powerful resources for any body any time. Body-Mind Centering® is the ground of my somatic practice and teaching. As a study of the experienced feeling body it offers resistance to the idea of the objectified mechanical body.

Time: Mondays 11am – 12.30pm (EST)      
Dates: 1 – 29 March (5 weeks)

Somatic Classes designed for your bedroom
living room or kitchen

The first series of Zoom classes are underway and whilst missing the connection and porosity of our moving bodies together in the studio it has created an opportunity for people to be in a somatic community. Here is the next series to share with you: bringing awareness into our bodies, allowing self-touch and feeling the pleasure of moving feel crucial during these difficult times. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes where I will focus on what feels critical for remaining resilient as we all recover from the lockdown.

The 5-week series develop somatic awareness and cellular consciousness. These are powerful resources for any body any time. Body-Mind Centering® is the ground of my somatic practice and teaching. As a study of the experienced feeling body it offers resistance to the idea of the objectified mechanical body.

Time: Mondays 11am – 12.30pm (EST)      
Dates: 2 Nov – 30 Nov (5 weeks) 

Listening to the body is like learning to see and feel beneath the surface of things. Perhaps like listening to the ocean when you bring a shell to your ear – Alice C

Do you know what is inside you? Do you know where your organs are? Would you like to know? Integrating organs into our embodiment brings vitality and spaciousness. Their liveliness underlies our capacity for pleasure, joy and expressiveness. Organs give us a voice. They are about process, fullness and emotional expression. As we map, navigate and explore the life of our organs we support our immunity and resilience.

Dates:     26 & 27 September 2020                                  
Time:         10am - 5pm
Venue:       ReadyMade Works, Ultimo

Somatic Classes designed for your bedroom
living room or kitchen

I have missed moving with others so much that I have felt compelled to create these weekly classes to share with you on Zoom. Bringing awareness into our bodies, allowing self-touch and feeling the pleasure of moving feel crucial during these difficult times. From the comfort and chaos of your home you can participate in these 90min classes where I will focus on what feels critical for remaining resilient.

The 5-week series develop somatic awareness and cellular consciousness. These are powerful resources for any body any time. Body-Mind Centering® is the ground of my somatic practice and teaching. As a study of the experienced feeling body it offers resistance to the idea of the objectified mechanical body.

Time: Mondays 11am – 12.30pm (EST)      
Dates: 21 Sept – 19 Oct (5 weeks)                  

Listening to the body is like learning to see and feel beneath the surface of things. Perhaps like listening to the ocean when you bring a shell to your ear – Alice C

Do you know what is inside you? Do you know where your organs are? Would you like to know? Integrating organs into our embodiment brings vitality and spaciousness. Their liveliness underlies our capacity for pleasure, joy and expressiveness. Organs give us a voice. They are about process, fullness and emotional expression. As we map, navigate and explore the life of our organs we support our immunity and resilience.

Dates:     5 & 6 September 2020                                      
Time:      Sat 11-6; Sun 10-5
Venue:    The Chapel Space, North Perth

Beginning with the premise that movement is perception, we will rigorously engage with different Body-Mind Centering® principles. Through a practice of listening and attention you will develop somatic awareness. The workshops will include guided movement, anatomical information, imagery and directed touch, followed by Authentic Movement, shared discussion, and journal writing to integrate the material.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 11 – 1pm
Dates: 15 July – 26 August (7 weeks)
Venue: Dancehouse, North Carlton

Beginning with the premise that movement is perception, we will rigorously engage with different Body-Mind Centering® principles. Through a practice of listening and attention you will develop somatic awareness. The workshops will include guided movement, anatomical information, imagery and directed touch, followed by Authentic Movement, shared discussion, and journal writing to integrate the material.

Body-Mind Centering® (BMC) is a study of the experienced body in contrast to the objectified body. It is an embodied approach to learning, living and knowledge making.

Time: Wednesdays 11 – 1pm
Dates: 15 April – 27 May (7 weeks)
Venue: Dancehouse, North Carlton

This residential program offers practitioners from the creative arts, health and education the opportunity to study, deepen and refine their engagement with Body-Mind Centering® and related fields of somatic studies. The program is 500+ hours and provides an in-depth understanding of the following:

· Cellular consciousness
· Sensory integration
· Experiential anatomy
· Embodied somatic knowledge
· Hands-on techniques
· Understanding and expression through movement

Each module offers a specific focus and students receive personal attention and support for their learning and embodiment.

March 16 – 20 | 2020 (5 days): The Muscle System
Riddells Creek Studio