Cultivating Energetic Presence: Somatic Wisdom for Performers

This class will introduce energetic somatic practice rooted in Chinese energetic meditation (Qi Gong) and classical performance arts to improve your presence, performance, and artistic/energetic flow. By developing awareness of body structure, breath, energy, and intention, participants will develop a grounded stage presence which can be accessed at any moment — transforming internal energy into compelling, authentic expression in delivery, character, and performance.

Each week, we’ll explore internal body training methods that bridge Eastern contemplative and energy practice with contemporary daily life and performance skills. These exercises will include an overview of the five elemental energetic impulses in standing qigong, weaving silk meditation, animal exercises as follows:

• Wood (Week 1) — Rooting & Vitality: establish a stable body axis and rootedness.
• Fire (Week 2) — Presence & Radiance: develop dynamic expression and the internal impulses of the body.
• Earth (Week 3) — Centering & Grounding: stabilize core and lower body.
• Metal (Week 4) — Structure & Release: cultivate internal strength, structural alignment, and circulatory energy.
• Water (Week 5) — Stillness & Fluidity: understand the relationship between strength and total physical expression.

Instructor: Myra Chu is a choreographer, director, and the artistic director of Wing Dance Theatre. She has a deep generational practice of Chinese classical dance and performance and energy work, which she began at the age of three. As a teacher, she is known for her work in training professional and non-professional performers to rediscover spontaneity and freedom in movement, thought, and expression by connecting to their natural energies and impulses. She performs and teaches internationally and locally and is known for her large-scale site-specific performances, collaborative creative processes, and powerful solo performances that cultivate energetic awareness of elemental forces while uplifting social problems and promoting community healing.

• Thu 7–9pm
  7/2, 7/9, 7/16, 7/23, 7/30
  $225