Exale.

A fusion dance retreat dedicated to finding your organic movement.

with Flouer Evelyn & Pomona Longshadow

Held On March 2-7, 2025

(leading into the Motley Hue Festival)

Exhale is an invitation to press pause and reconnect with yourself and your body. Step away from the pressures of the outside world and dive into your inner world of movement and connection with Flouer and Pomona. Here, you’ll find the space, time, and guidance to explore your own organic way of moving. Inside partner dance connection, you’ll explore the dance of deep trust and inner strength, finding how to hold space for each other without losing the thread of your own movement.

We’ll be focusing on opening our bodies with care, precision, and spaciousness, so that the daily six hours of movement in the classroom doesn’t feel overwhelming. As a dancer, you’ll grow leaps and bounds, finding new ways to let go of old patterns and integrate new ones, allowing you to be more subtle, supple, and sensitive. You will develop your ability to connect to both yourself and more partners on the dance floor.

Flouer and Pomona are honored to get the opportunity to share the material they have collected over the many years of their practice, drawing upon techniques of Contemporary Dance, Contact Improvisation, Liberato Dance, and Brazilian Zouk, and fusing them with elements of Groove and Momentum that are typically more familiar for fusion dancers. This is cutting edge material that has fundamentally changed the way that Flouer and Pomona approach their personal movement and connect to others.

Participants worked on:

• Body Mechanics: Exploring how to move efficiently, finding fluidity while maintaining structural integrity.

• Flow & Movement Possibilities: Discovering new ways to move by blending contemporary dance, Brazilian Zouk, and Contact Improvisation.

• Partner Connection: Developing sensitivity to the shared movement between yourself and a partner, while remaining connected to your own body.

• Creative Exploration: Engaging with creative influences and allowing them to shape the way you approach the dance.

Find new movement possibilities. Work deeply on your body mechanics.

Who was this retreat for?

The retreat is intended for dancers or movers from improvers onward who are looking to deepen their understanding of their bodies and what they can do.
We have an application process so that we can know more about you to prepare our material, and to give you options of paying without extra credit card fees. Registration is first come first serve.

This is for you if…

You either have some regular experience partner dancing for at least a year or so, or you are an excellent mover in another discipline and are interested in finding a way into the connection of partner dance.
Activities such as rolling around on the floor, self massage, following imagery or meditation, and doing other “silly” things are either very comfortable for you, or if you have some fear around it, you are willing to give it a go and jump in!
You are comfortable dancing in your socks or soft soled slippers.
You are eager to find new ways of moving your body and willing to accept caring instruction around it.
You don’t mind switching and participating as both a leader or a follower in class, even if you have a preferred roll.
You want to feel more connected, balanced, controlled and supple in your dancing.

This is not for you if…

You are just starting your dancing journey and don’t have any experience in other embodied movement forms (ex: martial arts, solo dance, or years of consistent yoga)- it will probably be too much for you!
You are not comfortable rolling around on the floor or participating in other activites that are not upright standing.
You want to stay in one lead/follow roll the whole time.
You are not interested in participating in group activities and being part of the team we are building together.

Our hosts?

Flouer Evelyn
Flouer is a partner dance instructor & Embodiment Coach from New York City, currently based in Turin, Italy. She has been teaching Fusion since 2011, has an MFA in dance and a background teaching and performing Blues, contemporary, Latin Ballroom, ballet, and ice skating. She has won plenty of dance competitions in various styles, and has performed & taught all over the globe. What matters most is that in the classroom Flouer has a warm, encouraging way to help people learn to move their bodies and connect with others.

In Fusion, Flouer brings her fascination for how the systems of different partner dances fit together, offering simple ways to give structure and context to the concept of “free partner dancing”. She is known for her values of artistry and personal expression, complimented by her ability to break down any movement into incredibly specific detail. Using imagery, anatomy, rhythm, cultural context and embodiment concepts, she will help you become the master of your own dance from the ground up. https://flouerdances.com

“The reason to master technique is so the body does not prevent the soul from expressing itself” – la Meri

Pomona Longshadow
Pomona grew up dancing Lindy Hop on the west coast of Canada (but sneaking out of her parents’ place in high school to go to blues & fusion parties). A jack-of-all-dances, she has won and placed in Lindy, Blues and Fusion competitions all over the world for her leading, following and solo dancing.

She pulls inspiration from a multitude of unexpected places: contact improvisation, clowning, and her experience working in the film industry as a dancer. Her dance is playful, rhythmic and raw, with an emphasis on improvisation, and a deep allegiance to musicality and expression. She has a particular fondness of beginner dancers, and prides herself on her clear, play-focused, and light-hearted teaching style.

Schedule

Where was it held?

MAR+RC
Middlebrook Arts Research and Residency Center

130 North Harpersfield Road, Jefferson NY 12093

MAR+RC is a retreat center made by dancers for dancers.
We will have full run of the venue and are really lucky to be there!
It has gorgeous wooden floors and a beautiful big kitchen for our use.