Teachers Gathering 2016 - Orval, Belgium

We are thrilled to announce the 2016 Teachers Gathering, which will be a residential event at the beautiful East West Centre in Orval, Belgium.  

Watch this space for information about another great gathering to:

Dance

Share

Connect

Inspire

Create

& Replenish

Some notes from our teachers, about their work and sessions offered to the Teacher's Gathering program.

Geert Meeus

After warming up Geert will teach us how to play a simple wave together on the djembe.Then we will play this wave in small groups for the dancers. Later we will let go of the structure so that we can make music in our own unique way, maybe with other instruments, keeping contact with the dancers all the time. Something for our inner child to experiment with.

Peter Wilberforce

Towards a fuller expression of oneself through movement and sound

 

For all of us, whether speaking or singing, our bodies are the source of our voices. If we think of our body as an instrument, how do we prepare it to sound clearly?  What music will it play?   How will this music move us? 

 

This workshop is an invitation to discover your free voice, released through movement.  Using various movement and vocal practices – 5 Rhythms^® dance, the Feldenkrais method and Alexander technique, the Naked Voice and Roy Hart extended voice work - we will explore our relationship to our bodies, breath and voices to give movement and sound to our own individual music. 

Alex Nikiforov

Each of our classes is an opportunity to have a taste of freedom. What kind of freedom? Freedom to breathe and move. Freedom to notice and accept what is happening inside ourselves and around us. Freedom to open up to something bigger, something that transcends our everyday ideas and calculations. Freedom to be yourself and share yourself with others…’ 

We build our awareness by going through different energies and different ways to move our body. We dance in order to switch on our physicality, to tap into our fuller resources that are stored below our head.

REGISTRATION OPEN

Non-member teachers of approved modalities (FreedomDance, 5Rhthyms®, Open Floor International, Movement Medicine, and Soul Motion), are eligible to attend the ICMTA Teachers’ Gathering. Student teacher members of the ICMTA, student teacher non-members and students currently enrolled in training of any of these modalities (copy of enrolment confirmation on modality required) are also eligible to attend the Teachers’ Gathering. (Cost for students same as regular member or non-member).

PAYING FOR THE EVENT:

Registering for the Teacher's Gathering, via this page, will generate an invoice that you can pay online in the same way as your membership fees. We would greatly appreciate your timely payments.

Bed & Board costs are paid separately from the event fees, and will go directly to the East West Centre.

(Details about how this will work, to follow soon)

PRICES FOR BOARD & FOOD:

Bed and all meals @ €55 per day based on 3-4 people sharing a room = €165

Bed and all meals @ €68 per day based on 2 people sharing a room = €204

Bed and all meals @ €81 per day based on a single room occupancy = €243

Travel Information

VENUE INFORMATION & DETAIL:

Where to check in
When arriving at Bois-le-Comte do not take the main entrance but continue until you pass the building, turn around it, then take the first door (on your left); you enter the hall of the lounge / dining room / bar where someone will welcome you. (If you are a bit early you can put your luggage there and wait or go for a short walk. If you are very early and you do not find anyone around there then do use the main entrance and go to the office.)

What to bring: 
-pillow-case, sheets, sleeping bag or quilt (blankets are available)
-towel, personal dressing and toilet things (we do appreciate it if you bring 
along bio-degradable shampoo, shower gel etc.)
-footware for inside (not only for warmth but also for your own safety on the stairs)
-easy clothes to move in (several layers works best particularly in winter)
-your journal, pen & paper
-if you like walking: solid waterproof shoes, raincoat

ACCOMMODATION

La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte
La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte is a century-old farm that was acquired by the East West Centre of Belgium in 1996 with the intention to maintain and  develop the beauty and the power of this place. Since then many people have helped to renovate the farm and transform it into a unique residential centre, with respect for its authenticity. 

At La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte, we would like to offer people a place where they can become re-energized and begin to rediscover their own, personal centre, by themselves and with other people. One of our objectives in the farm is to link heaven (spirituality/energetic principles) and earth (material/ecological lifestyle) in our daily lives and also invite others to come and join us. We find this connection between heaven and earth in a macrobiotic way of life (macrobiotics means to us: the art of living a great life, in harmony with ourselves, the earth and the cosmos). A balanced and natural kitchen is of great help to us to create this kind of life.

We receive people throughout the whole year; East West Centre students, other groups, individual guests, companies, schools and leading teachers from around the world.

You can find detailed information at http://www.boislecomte.be .

Meals & drinks
The kitchen is taken care of by professional cooks. They prepare tasty, balanced, 100% certified organic and vegetarian meals with fresh and local ingredients. (All meals have the ŒBiogarantie¹ organic label. This makes La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte the only Belgian (and maybe even European) residential centre offering meals of 100% certified organic quality.) We use natural, unrefined sugars and we do not use animal products in our meals. Dairy food such as butter, milk and yoghurt are available at breakfast. We take care of special dietary requirements if realistic and agreed beforehand. Gluten- and soy-free are not a problem. 

Water, bancha tea, herb tea and cereal coffee are available throughout the day and included in the price. We serve real organic coffee at breakfast on demand and if it fits within the workshop context. You can enjoy biscuits with your tea during the morning and afternoon breaks. Frothy Orval beer as well as other, organic drinks and snacks are for sale. It is not allowed to bring your own drinks.

Bedrooms
Standard accommodation includes three- to four-bedded rooms, most of them with bunk beds. We also have some single, twin and double rooms. 

Please bring your own towels, pillowcase, sheets and sleeping bag or duvet. (Pillowcase and sheet must be used.) Alternatively you can obtain a set from the house at the expense of ¤ 10. There are blankets in the rooms.

Quiet & peace
Many people love the quiet and peace they find here. We ask you to keep this in mind and, specifically, to respect the night¹s rest between 10 pm and 8 am. Please be careful to shut the doors in the corridors quietly and not to talk in the corridors at night.

Dishes & group rooms
Groups wash their own dishes, clears their own tables and keep their group rooms tidy (sweeping the floor). 

Clean in and out
Forest soil smells great but also creates a lot of dirt in the house. Please do not enter the rooms and the working halls with your outdoor shoes on. There is a shoe rack near the main entrance where you can leave your outdoor gear and change it for your indoor pair.

Bio-degradable products
All the water we use flows from a natural spring. There is a purification installation to clean the dirty water after use. We also farm organically. These are some of the reasons why we only use natural detergents. We invite you to take into account the natural cycle and if possible use biodegradable soaps and shampoos. 

Shop
We have natural body care products from Weleda (tooth paste, soap, massage oil, ...) for sale, as well as essential oils,  'Invocation' (native American liquid smudge & wellness essence), books and CDs. We also sell freshly harvested organic vegetables from our garden.

Payment
Bar consumption and other extras can be paid in cash in euros. Payment by paycards or creditcards is not possible. The nearest cash dispenser is in Florenville, a small town at 12 km from Bois-le-Comte.

Waste
We avoid disposable packing and we separate waste.

Animals
Unfortunately, we do not accommodate pets.
We have horses, cats and a border collie. (The cats and the dog are not allowed inside the residence.) 

Telephone
Mobile phones do not work everywhere inside the residence, and we would like to limit radiation. We ask you not to use your mobile phone excessively and not to use it in the common rooms or in the courtyard. Please turn your phone off at least at night and during workshop sessions. You can also use the telephone at the office, according to the tariffs in use (see office).
If you give our telephone number to someone else, please ask them to use it only if they really need to reach you and to call only during office hours (i.e. Monday ­ Friday 9.30 ­ 11.30 am); at other times noone will answer the phone.

Wifi is available on request during daytime for activities that do not slow down the internet connection.Our internet connection is slow and it is primarily used for the administration of the center. Thank you for your understanding.