AAPI Emergent Retreat
The answers are in our movements: Bearing Witness to AAPI Power
Come unveil the transformative power of Moving Rasa, an immersive experience crafted for Bay Area Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
Moving Rasa grounds knowledge and social justice to the wisdom of our bodies through the medium of movement improvisation. Together participants learn to trust in their interconnectedness with people and the world around them, while working through obstacles to self-expression and expanding our capacity to improvise in changing and challenging terrains. In particular, Rasa means taste or essence in Indonesian. Moving Rasa connects participants to their Rasa embracing their cultures, histories, and spirituality as essential for authentic relationship building to create unity through diversity. We will delve into our distinct AAPI cultures, histories, and spirituality through the medium of movement.
This 3 day retreat is designed to be an affinity space for Asian Pacific American. Participants can expect an introduction to the Moving Rasa framework, with guided exercises and reflections. We will play in outdoor and indoor sites to learn about the philosophy and the basic Moving Rasa tools as a means of expression, witnessing and communication. We will spend time exploring how we rest and recuperate from our daily lives, both alone and in collective. We will dive into our culturally specific history to unearth wisdom that can become a resource for us to avoid or recover from burnouts. We hope for there to be story sharing and natural cross pollination among the participants who show up for this collective learning experience.
No prior experience in movement or the arts is necessary. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan for Survivors of Sexual Assault, this inclusive workshop is free and open to individuals of the local Bay Area AAPI community, embracing all abilities, ages, and classes. Class size will be limited to about 15 people. We will curate the collective to encourage equitable representation across identities within AAPI. Please register here, we will get back to you by Feb 10th to confirm your status.
Location: at Kilusan Wellness in Oakland, CA
Basic Itinerary (Subject to shift as needed by the group via consensus)
Shared meals are not required, but highly recommended. They are a time for us to share culturally specific food and deepen our connection through casual conversation.
Friday Feb 16th
6-9p Introduction to Moving Rasa and Theme: Exertion and Recuperation
Saturday Feb 17th
10-1p Consent and Community Agreements
1-3p Break and meal sharing
3-6p Creative perception and agency with the Moving Rasa Lenses
Sunday Feb 18th
9:30-12:30p Improvising with Others and Topics
12:30-2:30p Break and meal sharing
2:30-5:30p Collective Design and Synthesis
Bio of Facilitators:
Andrew Suseno: Andrew Suseno is an Indonesian-Chinese American residing on the unceded land of Lenaphoking. He has a Physical Therapy doctorate, Feldenkrais Practitioner and Laban Movement Analyst Certifications, and significant dance and Contact Improvisation experience. He also has 10+ years of martial arts experience. Over the last eight years, Andrew has dedicated himself to centering people of color and cultural ways of knowing in his somatic and improvisational worlds. He is the founder of Moving Rasa, an organization dedicated to the liberation of all people through culturally specific consciousness through movement improvisation practices and cooperation.
Nhu Nguyen: Nhu Nguyen is an artist and maker with interests in dance, photography, and wearable art. They worked with Ho Chi Minh City's Ballet Symphony and Orchestra (Vietnam) while pursuing their education atVietnam’s National School of Dance and Choreography. Since their immigration to the United States in 2012, Nguyen has been working as a performer, costume designer, youth mentor, choreographer, curator, production manager, and teaching artist; partnering with multiple creative youth development organizations in the San Diego region. Currently, their work explores art-making for social impact in collaboration with youth and young adults.
