Two five-day movement, arts and culture intensives taking place on Ibiza from 9th – 13th & 16th – 20th October, 2023.

Dear followers, I’m very happy to share with you news of my first ever exploratory arts intensive, taking place on Ibiza in mid-October 2023. Exploring Memories of Landscapes Forgotten is a collaboration between me, Joanna Hruby, Ibiza-based puppet-maker, storyteller and performance-maker, the South West England-based Butoh and somatic movement practitioner Gemma Mallol, and the Ibiza-based surrealist painter Romanie Sanchez. We are three women, and friends, who are passionate about landscape, ecology, arts and myth, and keen to explore the multi-disciplinary threads connecting these realms together. We have developed two five-day intensives set on our beloved island of Ibiza, in which we will combine Gemma Mallol’s somatic movement practices in the island’s landscapes with the artistic practices underpinning Romanie’s, and my own work. Each five day intensive can be booked individually – or you can join us for the full ride and sign up to both.

Read on for details on each intensive. Cost: 350€ – 450€ (sliding scale) per five-day course, non-residential. We can offer advice on finding accommodation to suit your budget. Sessions will be based at various sites on the West coast of the island, and we hope to explore, create and eat together each day in community. Limited places, advanced booking highly recommended, email hrubyjoanna@gmail.com to arrange payment and secure your place.

EXPLORING MEMORIES OF LANDSCAPES FORGOTTEN:
IBIZA MOVEMENT ARTS CULTURE INTENSIVES

Unmasking the Body: Sculpting the Mask
16th – 20th October 2023
with Gemma Mallol & Joanna Hruby

For millennia, humans of all the world’s continents have crafted puppets, masks and ritual objects in order to harness deeper relationships with the landscapes which surround them. Through sculpting a material and imbuing it with a thought or intention, these shapes can become spells and prayers, offered back to the land which first birthed them.

During this five-day intensive, Gemma’s morning explorations in the elemental body, within the raw, rugged terrain of Ibiza, will cultivate an embodied field of creativity which will be developed further in the afternoons with artist, puppet-maker and storyteller Joanna Hruby. Through their ongoing exploration of the Ibizan landscapes, participants will learn how to give physical form to a puppet-mask being, using cardboard sculpture and papier-mâché, via crafting and adorning. Following this process, we will find a lost language that enables us to rebuild bridges of connection with the earth upon which we stand. Our embodied creations will lead us back to the vital, primal essence of an island whose territory has been dulled for too long by the influences of mass tourism and globalisation.  

For five days we will encounter Ibiza through somatic process, movement, storytelling, crafting and sculpting, giving form to a wild, ancient, pine-scented force that is greater than ourselves. 

Locations: Morning elemental movement sessions will take place in site-specific, outdoor locations, and the afternoon arts sessions will take place at Vessel Rooftop Studio near Punta Galera, San Antonio, Ibiza.

Schedule: Workshop starts at 9am on Monday 16th October and ends at 7pm on Friday 20th October.

Outdoor Elemental Movement from 9.00 – 12pm
Afternoon Puppet/Mask Making from 4 – 7pm

Cost: 350€ – 450€ (sliding scale), non residential.
Email hrubyjoanna@gmail.com to book your place.

Rock, Water, Space
9th – 13th October 2023
with Gemma Mallol & Romanie Sanchez Smele

During this five-day intensive, mornings will be spent with Gemma Mallol, who will guide contemplative, somatic explorations into the solid, fluid and spacious qualities of the elemental terrain of Ibiza, and how they dialogue through the body into movement.

Afternoons will be spent painting with Romanie Sanchez, an artist who grew up immersed in the landscapes of Ibiza, and whose creative response to the island is one characterised by innocence, nostalgia, magic and nature. Through meditative, playful and deconstructive methods, she will help the group to access a subconscious field that can express the embodied elemental experiences of rock, water and space in painted form.

For five days we will encounter Ibiza through somatic process, movement, contemplation, exploration, painting, and play, giving form and creative expression to the wild elemental body of the island.

Locations: On this intensive, elemental movement work will take place outdoors (site specific) in the mornings and the afternoon painting sessions will take place both outside and in Romanie’s studio in San Antonio.

Schedules: Workshop starts at 9am on Monday 9th October and ends on Friday 13th October.

Daily Outdoor Elemental Movement from 9.00 – 12pm
Daily Afternoon Painting from 4 – 7pm

Cost: 350€ – 450€ (sliding scale), non residential.
Email hrubyjoanna@gmail.com or romaniesanchez@gmail.com to book your place.

Facilitator Biographies:

Gemma Mallol half from Ibiza is currently an embodied dance and movement researcher (Master’s at Plymouth University), a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Senior Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Trainer (22 years teaching) and works with somatic movement, nature and creativity in the resolution of trauma. She is currently researching where Butoh Dance, Somatics and Buddhist meditative movement forms such as walking meet.
https://instagram.com/ancestral_body

Joanna Hruby is an artist, puppeteer, performer and storyteller originating from the South West England. On settling on Ibiza eight years ago she formed “Theatre of Ancients” whose highly-visual and ritualistic puppet and mask performances bring to life the history, myths, folklore and traditional culture of Ibiza. All of the facets of Joanna’s work strive to create a dialogue and communion with the wild, ancient landscapes of Ibiza which have been silenced by mass tourism and globalisation.
https://instagram.com/theatreoftheancients

Romanie Sanchez Smele is an artist who grew up immersed in the landscapes of Ibiza. She paints as a way of discovering the unknown. She doesn’t search for beauty, she searches for messages that come from the subconscious. She never knows what she will paint, She just follows the shapes. For the last two decades she has balanced her time between developing her artistic practice, facilitating creative workshops and fighting forest fires in the summer months. The sum of these activities has enabled Romanie to follow a path of exploration in the way we communicate and give voice to our inner subconscious.
https://instagram.com/romaniesanchez

Further Logistics and Organisational Details:

Accommodation: These are non-residential intensives. We have a list of suitable places we can recommend in the area and it is up to you to arrange your own accommodation. We are recommending simple places on the west coast of Ibiza that charge between 30 – 60 Euros per night per person to keep costs as low as possible, however we can also suggest options for other budget.

Food: Food is not included in the workshop price. We recommend that participants have a light breakfast before morning practice and then can either bring a packed lunch for the day, or there will be the option of eating a reasonably priced Spanish menu del día lunch together in a local restaurant. There will also be the option of having dinner together over the course of each five-day workshop.

Cost: Non- Residential / 350 -450 Euros (sliding scale) per workshop

Bookings & Info: Please email Gemma – stillflowing@hotmail.co.uk, Joanna – hrubyjoanna@gmail.com or Romanie – romaniesanchez@gmail.com.

We warmly welcome all bodies, brain types, ages, ethnicities and genders

Places are limited to 12 per intensive, and accommodations fill quickly on Ibiza so advanced booking is strongly recommended.