THIS DANCE IMMERSION IS FOR EVERYONE, FOSTERING INNOVATION ACROSS ALL CREATIVE DISCIPLINES REGARDLESS OF YOUR ARTISTIC OR MOVEMENT FOUNDATION. THE EXPERIENCE IS SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE 16 YRS AND OVER, SUPERCHARGING COURAGEOUSNESS IN YOUR CREATIVITY, YIELDING JOY, RESILIENCE AND WELL-BEING.

During this week-long immersion, participants will exponentially increase their capacity to innovate, whilst enhancing their wellbeing, vitality, and empathy toward others. The Embodiology®️method teaches you how to pay attention to your body. Sensory intelligence is a gateway to knowing, connecting, and communicating with others more effectively. Embodiology uses specific principles drawn from traditional African performance methodologies to shape an optimizing mind-body practice. The workshop combines movement, music, and sensory practices to build mind-body  dexterity that transforms your creative capacity exponentially. Embodiology® is a product of action research in Ghana, mainly from within an Anlo-Ewe community in the Volta Region. And in respect to drawing upon their indigenous knowledge, resources are returned to their community each time Embodiology's principles are shared in full or in part.

Dr. S. Ama Wray TEDx Speaker and Professor of Dance at the University of California, Irvine is the creator of Embodiology®, an award-winning practice optimizing human performance through improvisation. For over 30 years she has been performing, teaching, researching and choreographing across 4 continents, performing with London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company and JazzXchange, across Europe, Africa and Africa. In 1992 she began dancing Harmonica Breakdown, choreographed by Jane Dudley in 1938, composed by Sonny Terry, and is now the custodian of this seminal modern dance work. Wray’s own artistic work habitually brings dance and music back into closer alignment and artistic collaborators have included Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Julian Joseph, OBE, Nicole Mitchell, Mojisola Adebayo, Fleeta Siegel and Kei Akagi. Her scholarly work has resulted in the 2021 launch of the Embodiology Teacher Training program and she has published chapters on her methodology in British Dance, Black Routes (2016), and The Oxford Handbook of Improvisation (2019). A former National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts Fellow, she began an exploration into performance and technology creating Texterritory produced by Future Physical. These digital terrains continue to be explored through Al 4 Afika, an initiative she co-founded with choreographers, data scientists, scholars, and entrepreneurs in 2020.

“I had a lot of experience with body awareness before learning about Embodiology. Since I’ve started Embodiology I’ve noticed several changes. 

First, I’m much more able to be aware of the relationship between my arms and torso and how their movement relates to the flow of the music. I can experience my body movement as creating and also flowing with the musical experience. This new awareness feels great when I’m performing.

Another thing is I’m much more able to work with students in terms of organizing larger arm and body movements that are directly related to musical expression. Students can integrate these movements very quickly and have good musical results too. And it’s more fun for them in comparison to some of the very detailed technical material I teach. It’s easy to get too into an analytical mindset which makes it very hard to be in touch with the flow of the music, which is why most people are taking piano lessons in the first place. Embodiology has added some great new tools into my arsenal.“  - Rebecca Bogart, Bay Area Pianist and Rehabilitation Teacher 

Among the rolling hills and grapevines of Carmel Valley, California, you'll find vineyards, tucked-away inns, championship golf courses, award-winning restaurants, rugged hiking, and horseback riding. And it's all just a short, stunning drive from Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur.

Hidden Valley's eight-acre campus comprises a 300 seat theatre, a dance studio, rehearsal gazebos, a classroom, a dining/recreation hall, and seventeen lodging rooms. Large outdoor decks are adjacent to the dance studio and the theatre. All facilities are on the ground floor and easily accessible. 

Hidden Valley Music Seminars were born out of a deep concern for the development of extraordinarily talented young artists. Programs in the fields of music, theatre, opera, and dance have occupied most of the time and energies of the staff and faculty since its inception in 1963.

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The Master Class concept has always been a part of the Hidden Valley project and through the years, students from around the world have benefitted from the teaching of some of the great musicians of our time. The Dance Center was initiated in 1973 and, through enthusiastic community support, became one of the most popular of Hidden Valley's programs.

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In 1983 Hidden Valley joined the educational centers worldwide which were offering Elderhostel programs. Within four years, Hidden Valley became one of the 75 "supersites" in America presenting at least 40 Elderhostel/Road Scholar weeks per year. The interaction between the older and younger students has become one of the exciting aspects of the Institute's campus life. The constant thread throughout Hidden Valley's existence has been an uncompromising interest in the careful selection of students and faculty to represent the highest quality of each possible. Founder and General Director, Peter T. Meckel, notes, "As members of a wonderful local community and an international musical family, we treasure our connections to friends and supporters. We pledge our unwavering dedication to quality and substance in all aspects of our work."

The WADDELL CENTER Residence Hall has 17 simple, clean and cheery, non-smoking rooms. Each room has two twin beds, a dresser, and a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink. All rooms exit directly to a deck or walk via a sliding glass door, which can be locked from the inside. Each room has an individually controlled heater, bed linens, and towels. If you will need an alarm clock or hairdryer, you should bring these with you. LUBLOW LODGE is a beautiful new residential center, adding six spacious double-occupancy rooms with a queen bed, a twin bed, air conditioning, and bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink. The Hidden Valley campus provides free wireless internet access. There is a computer and printer available for guests in the Fireside Room. There are no telephones in the campus rooms. Important calls may be directed to our main office (831) 659-3115 and we will post messages immediately on the door to your room. Outgoing calls may be made from the front office. Additional nights in a Waddell Center or Faculty Lodge room outside the dates of the program you are attending can be arranged, on a space-available basis.

Note About the Menu:

Please specific any and all food allergies when registering for Room & Board. The kitchen does serve some vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. However, if you have major dietary restrictions, you might want to bring some of your own food with you to supplement the menu.