Ecosomatic Movement and Creative Dance Pedagogy Training

For educators, artists, facilitators, and professionals in health, social work, consultancy and academia

This training is designed for professionals from diverse fields—trainers, educators, artists, consultants, health and social workers—who wish to integrate dance and movement as tools for learning, connection, and transformation. It supports participants in cultivating body-based awareness, creative confidence, and ecological sensitivity within their educational and professional practices.

Originally launched in 2015 as the Creative Dance Trainer Training, the program evolved over the years to respond to contemporary challenges. Since 2023, it has been delivered in a hybrid format that grounds movement learning in ecological thought and ecosomatic practices, aligning body, mind, and environment as co-learners.

Led by Lerna Babikyan, the program offers a rich blend of creative movement pedagogy, body awareness, and contemporary dance history, explored through both experiential and reflective modes. The exercises are designed to be low-risk yet highly activating—awakening participants’ physical, imaginative, and cognitive capacities. The integration of ecological transitions and sensory metaphors in movement invites a holistic perception of interconnectedness, nurturing a grounded sense of “worldliness” and embodied presence.

The program also includes seminars by expert guest instructors, covering topics such as:

• Introduction to Dance Therapy

• Drama and Dance in Dialogue

• Intercultural Dance and the Embodied Self

• Designing Effective Learning Environments with Creative Dance

• Dance Composition and Choreography

• Introduction to the Skinner Releasing Technique

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Learn over 140 creative movement exercises across 14 thematic areas, integrating critical pedagogy and ecology-based practices

• Gain tools to apply experiential, body-based learning in diverse settings that support emotional, social, and cognitive development

• Learn to design inclusive learning spaces grounded in creative autonomy, ecological attunement, and somatic self-trust

• Cultivate a joyful, creative, and compassionate relationship with the body—and the more-than-human world

• Enhance skills in body language, improvisation, public speaking, and performance

• Develop a sustainable, long-term approach to integrating dance and movement in educational, therapeutic, or social contexts

• Understand creative dance through lenses of dance history, anthropology, drama, choreography, and embodied education

• Strengthen ecosomatic awareness and contribute to pedagogies of sustainability and ecological peace