Breath & Movement Workshop
“I have become more aware that Breath is the basis of everything…. Everything else is initiated from it. The breath begins and also ends every movement”
“I have acquired tools to regulate breath… better utilize breath… relax my body… and have better concentration”
“The use of breath is essential for all forms of dance (I believe). I just feel that sometimes when movement becomes the main emphasis, the use of breath gets neglected, causing us to tense up and prevent us from releasing the stored energy within. I believe breath is essential for regulation of energy in our body”
“the focus is drawn back to the inner self and existence from which everything stems. Energy is drawn back to that inward self”
– Ruminations from Participants at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore
“I think it is so important not only to be able to have a good rapport with the person you are dealing with (especially a doctor/lawyer/instructor), but also to be able to lay your faith on that one person who can bring about the change you have been desiring…. I found my rigid body and mind relaxing and literally unchaining themselves from the fetters that had wound them up. When my body had learnt to relax, Nirmala took me through a process of meditation to calm my mind.”.. Hema Iyer, Chennai
Literature & Dance Workshop
“…The greatest takeaway from this workshop was how I have discovered my inner self through my inner eyes. How I could calm myself down and reflect on my experiences, how I could learn from them and how I could improve myself when interacting with other people. The peace of the inner self can overwrite all worries. The inner self has the ultimate control over the physical self. Now that I have created a connection with my inner self, I can express myself better be it through dance, acting, music etc. Through the discovery of my inner self, I could also now interact better with texts, and literature. I could put myself into the author/playwright’s shoes, and interact with their thoughts and feelings through understanding the passage and asking myself constant questions of why, how and if.”
~ Ming Xuan, Workshop Participant, Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore
“I have been much inspired by this workshop: the ways to meditate, to express ourselves through drama, and to inspire creativity and spontaneity in discussion – these have all been activities that have enriched my understanding and awareness of the self. I explored the silence of meditation, to the liveliness of percussion, in expressing ideas, emotions, and stories. The movements of the body, and even the rhythms produced by various household items, can display a breadth of emotions and moods in the atmosphere. Apart from the confidence of self-expression, I have also matured in my understanding of characters in a dramatic work such as a play. Empathising with the character and understanding it has been crucial for me to depict the character on the stage. The workshop has not been just fruitful, but it has transformed my perception of the character, the play, and the stage. Thank you.”
~ James, Workshop Participant, Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore
Creative Expression Workshop
“The workshop was an amazing experience which released me from the tension and insecurities I had in school. The discussions were freer and used gestures, dance, drawings and emotions, something which helped us explain ideas that we couldn’t quite grasp and say in words. The classmates I knew everyday through casual conversations gradually shared their dreams and worldviews. At the end of it we were just glad that someone wanted to listen to us, and that teacher made us all listen more attentively to everyone else. When we finally performed our pieces to a small audience of parents and teachers, it was more for ourselves and the need to tell our own stories in the ways we knew how.”
~ Annabel Tan, Workshop Participant, CHIJ, Singapore