Savoir Feral
Workshop Facilitators
Caroline Farquhar
Diana Bridget Nielsen
We live in tumultuous, terrifying & hope-filled times….
Now is the time for the voices, strengths, gifts and capacities of women to come forward
Yet, we are still awakening to the layers and layers of silencing, accommodating, control, submission, containment and de-valuing of women and the feminine that is in the very fibre of North American urban society, in our relationships, our glocal economy, and our disconnection from all of the rest of Nature….
How can we be a Voice, when so much of our conditioning is to swallow our own words, restrain our instinctive & intuitive actions, and internalize the external voices of judgement and contempt….
What if we had a safe space to explore being “too much” & to unpackage how those words resonate within us?
What if enough time was allowed to us, for our quietness to speak volumes?
What if the hugeness of our life-felt emotions being expressed was invited - if there was a space where that level of expression wasn’t uncomfortable for the people around us?
Session Content
Myth - Animal - Archetype
Animals ~ the diversity within the animal kingdom has always inspired awe in human beings: we offer images, soundscapes & stories that give permission to explore how our human body “knows” how to move like many, many different animals… permission to be an imitator, a shape-shifter, a maverick!
Female Archetypes ~ how they express in each individual & how our urban culture interprets them: What ones come easy? Which ones are blocked? Projections, Shadow & Twists that we carry….
Myths & Goddesses as Source ~ stories of the Feminine from thousands of years of diverse human cultures are available: we will unravel the telling of a tale & then open a journey into how our bodies & lived experiences resonate with the story.…
Closing Circle
Opening Circle followed by guided body warm-up & sounding exercises
Movement explorations & exercises to build connection & trust within the group, leading into avenues & sources for movement improvisation and expression
Freeing the Voice ~ toning, joining, roaring, laughing…the human voice has more flexibility, capacity & range of sounds than we allow ourselves: let’s not make sense! We’ll sound silly, dangerous, rude, weird, monstrous, beautiful - we will find that Sound resonates in the body & inspires movement qualities within us that can take us by surprise!
“Understanding all that we are - Opening the gates to all that we have the right to Be”
Savoir Feral is excited to travel to diverse communities to share our process and the joy of movement & voice….
New offerings will always be posted here & on our Instagram account #SavoirFeral
To contact us for more information on our workshops please use the form below
We met as students in the Dance Department of Simon Fraser University: each of us pursuing an undeniable call to Dance - to MOVE, to express, to embody music & Time - and to be part of the vibrant, driven, money-poor/Life-rich, creative community of the Arts!
As a multi-disciplinary artist, Diana has a beautiful diversity of professional skill sets: make-up artist and scenic artist for the Pacific Opera Victoria for 15 years, creative movement teacher, Lomi-Bali Massage Therapist, Art Salon evenings, and an unquenchable spring of Music, Poetry, Song, Vocal Improvisation and Dance wherever the opportunity offers - all developed during travels around the world and in tandem with the amazing journey of being a mother to two incredible lives, who are now adults pursuing their own creative gifts.
For Caroline, Dance has always been her canvas, instrument, voice & never-ending source of wonder and discovery. After university, she pursued a career as a contemporary dance artist, working with multiple choreographers & companies, touring across Canada and internationally. In 2010, she took all the accumulated knowledge of the human body that a dancer acquires - and transitioned into a second career as a Pilates instructor focused on Physical Rehabilitation & healing through movement re-patterning.
Reconnecting in Victoria in 2017, we took to the studio to explore what each of us have learned over the 25yrs since we met as university students in our Arts journeys. We found ourselves utilizing our studio time to hold space for each other: healing old traumas, learning to Trust (each of us within our own self & building trust in each other), taking the time to face the places within ourselves that we held closed, protected, denied, un-tried…. And that process of weekly studio time over the intervening years and including the present, has been the gestation for the workshops that Savoir Feral has become.
About Us
PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS
Abundance & The Prophetess Spiral In ~ Expand Outwards June 20th & 21st
Reclaiming Sacred Power Hathor “Mistress of the Stars & Queen of all the Gods” White Buffalo Calf Woman “Sacred Guide” April 18th
Bear & The Butterfly Expansion & Contraction April 4th
Monkey & the Goddess Kali Playfulness & the Sacred “Yes” March 21, 2025
Mother Goddess Divine Serpent /Waters of Life March 7, 2025
Fire Goddesses: Desert Heat to Magma Flow Sekhmet: Lioness Sun Goddess of War & Healing Pele: Goddess of Volcanoes, ever-shaping the island of Hawai’i February 21, 2025
Arianrhod & the Power of Owl February 7, 2025
SHE-WOLF November 23, 2024
SAVOIR FERAL Launch October 19, 2024
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Not at all! The human body is designed to dance - we do it naturally :)
Improvisation is an inherently safe way to explore movement - because the ideas, speed, and range of movement are all generated by your own self.
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Nope! Part of the fun of Savoir Feral is the permission to NOT sound pretty! We are inviting our voices to explore their full capacity for sound & resonance - from growls & laughter, to the high notes & the howls….
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Our journey in the studio began because of our experience of being women in the world - and the specific portal / transformation that is perimenopause & menopause…. It was such a rich and beautiful experience to have the space & the time to dive into that experience and share it in the safe space of another woman: we specifically wanted to offer that gift to other women of all ages.
We have had several male friends & the partners of workshop attendees mention that they would love to attend something like Savoir Feral! So, we’ll keep you posted as our workshops develop!
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Wear comfortable, non-restrictive clothing - layers & socks/leg warmers are always essential in a movement workshop environment! :)
Bring a journal / paper / iPad for recording any experiences, body journeys, insights, etc that might resonate for you from the workshop.
Bring snacks & a container for water or whatever you prefer to keep you hydrated!
