The creature is a sort of ideal state in which we could be and dance with ourselves in what Winnicott calls the true self, a spontaneous being that can be in the present moment beyond the social constructions, pressure, inner tension, need to appear, perform…

Dancing the Creature is a playful process aiming at that.

Blending dance and meditation, this approach uses movement and imagination to meet—gently and creatively—our emotional landscapes: wounds, fears, anger, hopes, and desires. By engaging with these parts of us in a soft and exploratory way, the practice support emotional regulation, clarify needs, and deepen awareness of the forces that move us from within.

At its core, Dancing the Creature is an invitation to embody our most spontaneous and immediate experience of ourselves. Through dance, we become the “creature”—a living, shifting expression of our inner world in the present moment.

This practice is inspired by the Tibetan meditation technique Chöd, developed by the yogini Machik Labdrön. Chöd is a method for encountering fear and attachment—not by resisting them, but by transforming them through an act of offering, symbolically “feeding” what we fear. This more than 1,000-year-old practice resonates strongly with contemporary somatic approaches.

My own path into this work began with Vipassana meditation in 2011, and deepened with the discovery of Chöd in 2018, which I have practiced regularly since. In 2025, I intensified my training, studying with Pieter Oosthuizen under the direction of Lama Tsultrim Allione. And with my Buddhist teacher Tulku Dolpo Rimpoche.

Dancing the Creature proposes a methodology that moves beyond subject–object narratives. It invites participants to sense and make visible the web of forces—human and non-human—that shape our experience. Through play, attention, and movement, we learn to follow these forces, dance with them, and relate to them. This process can cultivate a sense of confidence, pleasure, and connection in movement.

The workshop unfolds through open frameworks for exploration rather than fixed instructions. It is not about transmitting formalize knowledge step by step, but about entering a shared process that evolves uniquely each time. While I will offer tools developed through my practice, participants are also invited to bring their own approaches for themsleves, creating space for collective invention, exchange, and discovery.