elemental vessel
a collaborative body of creative work and practice between
Life in its many forms is the story of nuanced adaptation to the environment, complex interdependencies and a driving urge to express itself.
In essence, life really is a dance.
Dana and Frieda became friends surrounded by a wild garden and some wild dance experiments along the Northern California coastline. 15 years later, those places are still speaking through their collaboration, interlaced with several others now.
In this collaboration, we traverse the terrains of movement arts, healing practices, and ecological engagement to investigate our relationships to the environmental networks we are a part of (the seasons, our web of relations, the human organism, creative processes). Our work is held by the understanding that we do not exist outside of our relationships and landscapes. To examine, we ask questions. Like these:
How do we relate to the ecological networks that we are a part of, in a way that is reciprocal and sustainable?
What are the tools needed for communal and ecological healing?
How else might we do ‘human’?
upcoming programs
Dancing the Landscape
an encounter between Contact Improv, Butoh dance, and Place
June 12-14
Tuscany Italy
We reside in a living world shaped by reciprocity. Nature responds to every single thing we do. In this 3-day, immersive workshop, we will center these deep connections between how we move and how we relate to the ecologies we are a part of. We call this position work.
Practice will occur inside the studio and out, in the beautiful weather, and we will draw from the deep wells of Butoh and Contact Improvisation forms, both of which we have decades of experience studying and practicing.
Friday-Sunday, June 12-14, 2026
Spazio il Mulino, Tuscany Italy
300 Euro / $355 USD
**Early Bird Special ~ 240 Euro**
be one of the first 7 people to register ~ closes April 1st
all vegetarian meals and
tent accommodations included!
option to arrive Thursday afternoon
taught in English with Italian translation provided
partial worktrade spaces available, use button below to inquire
payment can be made in euros or usd.
Wayfinding + Shapeshifting Immersion
how to cultivate robust creativity in the face of change
a new cycle begins August 2026
dates to be announced very soon!
Live, online.
Learning to adapt, creatively and with joy, is the work of this time, both individually and collectively. In order to align with the bigger planetary transformations, our capacity to transform must be deep and wide.
In this year-long immersion we will take you through a multi-layered inquiry of what it means to be a shapeshifter and how to wayfind with grace and clarity. Using the pathways of movement, plant medicine, and cognitive/creative tracking, we will hone our awareness of ourselves, others, and the environment.
Developing these universal skills supports our health, creativity, problem solving, communication, and fulfillment of Life.
These practices make us better humans, and effect all of our relations.
watch + listen
Learn more about Elemental Vessel in these interviews with Frieda and Dana.
