Facilitation
I have worked in higher education for over twenty years, delivering contemporary-dance-related subjects on BA/MA programmes in universities and conservatoires in the UK. My approach to delivering studio practice is based in movement research, encouraging a holistic approach to practice accompanied by contextual study and critical reflection. More recently, my facilitation practice has become focused around the delivery of experiential anatomy, the mover-witness framework (or ‘Authentic Movement’) and contemporary dance improvisation within professional development settings.
Current teaching engagements include workshop delivery on the MA/MFA in Creative Practice at Independent Dance/Trinity Laban (London) and on Janet Kaylo’s Laban/Barteneiff Somatic Studies International. I have delivered classes/workshops for London Contemporary Dance School, The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (Leeds), Mobius Dance (Leeds), Cheshire Dance, 24 Hope St (Liverpool), Barrowland Ballet (Glascow), Dance North (Findhorn), Exitmap (London) and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
I also work with artists as a creative mentor and postgraduate supervisor. To support these advisory practices, I participated in the Creative Articulations Process (CAP) catalyst training under the supervision of Jane Bacon and Vida Midgelow.
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Forthcoming workshops in 2025-2026:
Oct – Nov 2025 ONLINE
experiential anatomy into movement
BOOKINGS via eventbrite or info@amyvoris.com
Oct – Nov 2025 ONLINE
transitions and transformations (an online workshop series with Natalie Garrett Brown)
8 – 9 Nov 2025 IN-PERSON at Chisenhale Dance Space (London)
the power of gentleness (a weekend workshop with Carolyn Roy)
Feb – June 2026 ONLINE
reflect, re-align and reframe (an online workshop series with Natalie Garrett Brown)
Feb – Sept 2026 IN-PERSON at The River Room (Halton nr. Lancaster UK)
qualities of presence (a workshop series with Penny Collinson)
Detailed descriptions of each of the above can be found further below.
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Oct – Nov 2025 ONLINE (weekly)
experiential anatomy into movement
These sessions are informed by experiential anatomy and contemporary dance improvisation practices which draw on the materiality of the body as a poetic resource. Each session will begin with a brief introduction to the day’s anatomical theme, followed by experiential explorations and gentle prompts for improvisation. The last section of the session will be accompanied by sound and offer space for integration. The overall intention is to cultivate sensitivity to initiation and quality of movement as well as an imaginative pleasure moving. Individualised responses are welcome throughout. The experiential anatomy content for this series will weave together material from different body systems to explore the ongoing ‘dance’ between receptivity and activity and the vitality of boundaries.
My approach to facilitating experiential anatomy has been profoundly influenced by Body-Mind Centering informed practitioners – such as Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Linda Hartley, Andrea Olsen, Caryn McHose and others such as Miranda Tufnell, Satya Dunning, Natalie Garrett Brown and Fabiano Culora – who work with the anatomical materiality of the body as a poetic and imaginative resource. The anatomical information or prompts offer ways of noticing and playing creatively with movement possibilities.
The same class will be offered (online) three times per week. The sessions are designed so that they can be attended as a series or on a drop-in basis. Audio recordings will be available for sessions missed.
*Please note that these sessions are suitable for those with some previous experience of experiential anatomy.
The cost is £6 pounds per session or £30 pounds for the series.
BOOKINGS via eventbrite or info@amyvoris.com
WEEK 1
Mon 6 October, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Fri 10 October, 10.00-11:15am UK time or 12.00-13.15pm UK time
WEEK 2
Mon 13 October, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Fri 17 October, 10.00-11:15am UK time or 12.00-13.15pm UK time
BREAK
WEEK 3
Mon 27 October, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Fri 31 October, 10.00-11:15am UK time or 12.00-13.15pm UK time
WEEK 4
Mon 3 November, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Fri 7 November, 10.00-11:15am UK time & 12.00-13.15pm UK time
WEEK 5
Mon 10 November, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Fri 14 November, 10.00-11:15 UK time & 12.00-13.15pm UK time
WEEK 6
Monday 17 November, 6.30-7.45pm UK time
Friday 21 November, 10.00-11:15am UK time & 12.00-13.15pm UK time
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Oct – Nov 2025 ONLINE
transitions and transformations (an online workshop series with Natalie Garrett Brown)
This programme brings together somatic movement and coaching practice to create space for artists, coaches, educators and therapists to explore themes of transition and transformation in their professional lives. Participants will be invited to move and reflect upon processes of change from an embodied and creative perspective. Sessions will involve some guided movement activities, as well as time for individual processing and sharing in small groups. The somatic content will weave together material from different body systems to explore the ongoing ‘dance’ between receptivity and activity and the vitality of boundaries.
The programme consists of six evening online sessions:
Wed 8 October (7.00-9.00pm)
Wed 15 October (7.00-9.00pm)
Wed 29 October (7.00-9.00pm)
Wed 5 November (7.00-9.00pm)
Wed 12 November (7.00-9.00pm)
Wed 19 November (7.00-9.00pm)
Recordings of each session will be available for any sessions missed.
The cost of this programme will be £120 (waged) or £80 (unwaged). There are two places offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.
For ENQUIRIES or BOOKINGS, contact Amy on: info@amyvoris.com or doridheavybody@hotmail.com
One-to-one online coaching with Natalie and/or somatic movement sessions with Amy or Natalie are available at a reduced cost for those who take part in the programme (£25 per single session or a block of six sessions for £125).
*Please note that no prior experience of coaching practices is required to join this series, but some experience with your own in-depth processes as a mover is advantageous.
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8 – 9 Nov 2025 IN-PERSON at Chisenhale Dance Space (London)
the power of gentleness (a weekend workshop with Carolyn Roy)
‘Gentleness is a force of resistance to power…the name of an emotion of which we have lost the name, coming from a time when humanity was not dissociated from the elements from animals from light from spirits’ (Anne Dufourmantelle).
Led by dancers Carolyn Roy and Amy Voris, this workshop will engage the creative possibilities of a meeting between material bodies, ideas and imaginings. Interweaving embodied explorations with philosophical and political speculations we will explore the notion of gentleness as a force, and how this power can materialise in the social realm and in our own artistic practices. We will work with specific systems in the body – the fluid system (heart presence and cellular breathing) – to root awareness of these organic processes as participant in anything we might think, imagine and dream. Referencing Amy and Carolyn’s individual practices as dancers and teachers, combined with experiential anatomy and research scores based on the writing of Anne Dufourmantelle and Eduoard Glissant, the workshop will be structured to alternate between in-depth bodily exploration, dance improvisation and space for contemplating and staying with personal creative practice in whatever medium you choose. We are interested in the coming together of the philosophical and the visceral and the imaginal creative space that this convergence opens up.
BOOKING INFO (coming soon): https://www.chisenhaledancespace.co.uk/.
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Feb – June 2026 ONLINE
reflect, re-align and reframe (an online workshop series with Natalie Garrett Brown)
The fourth cycle of reflect, re-align, reframe will be offered from January 2025, with a FREE taster/optional introduction session on Saturday 22 November 2026 12.00-4.00pm UK Time. Dates for the entire series are listed below.
This programme brings together somatic movement and coaching practice to create space for artists, therapists, coaches and educators who are at a crossroads of their professional practice to reflect upon, re-align and reframe their work and/or career pathway from an embodied and creative perspective. Participants will be invited to move and reflect on their current work, drawing on somatic stimuli to do with orientation, alignment and transitions to generate reflections and insights. Sessions will involve some movement guided activities, as well as time for individual processing and sharing in small groups.
The programme consists of six online sessions, preceded by a free (optional) ‘taster’ session on Saturday
22 November 2025 (12.00-4.00pm).
Sat 7 February 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Sat 28 February 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Sat 21 March 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Sat 18 April 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Sat 16 May 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Sat 13 June 2026 (12.00-4.00pm)
Recordings of each session will be available for any sessions missed.
The cost of this programme will be £150 (waged) or £100 (unwaged). There are two places offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.
For ENQUIRIES or BOOKINGS, contact Amy on: info@amyvoris.com or doridheavybody@hotmail.com.
One-to-one online coaching with Natalie and/or somatic movement sessions with Amy or Natalie are available at a reduced cost for those who take part in the programme (£25 per single session or a block of six sessions for £125).
*Please note that no prior experience of coaching practices is required to join this series, but some experience with your own in-depth processes as a mover is advantageous.
Natalie Garrett Brown is a dance practitioner, teacher, researcher and leader in Higher Education. She undertook her dance training and education at Trinity Laban and London Contemporary Dance School completing her doctoral studies at Roehampton University. She is also a Somatic Movement Educator in Body-Mind Centering (BMC)®, a qualified coach and mentor (CMI) and is currently the Dean for the Faculty of Education, Arts, Science and Technology at Northampton University.
Amy Voris is a dance-maker, facilitator and somatic-movement therapist based in Manchester. Her practice is process-oriented and collaborative, driven by the desire to develop enduring relationships with people, places and movement material. She has completed training in Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy with Linda Hartley and a foundation course in Gestalt Counselling and Psychotherapy.
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Feb – Sept 2026 IN-PERSON at The River Room (Halton nr. Lancaster UK)
qualities of presence (a workshop series with Penny Collinson)
‘With an increasing capacity to concentrate, to listen to inner impulse, the mover learns to recognise the channel within which the creative or authentic energy flows’ (Janet Adler 1987).*
Penny Collinson and Amy Voris are offering a series of four 2-day professional development workshops for movement/dance practitioners to support the exploration of spontaneously emerging movement and inner-witnessing skills. We’re excited to make this a closed group to enable connection and in-depth inquiry. Therefore, participants must be able to attend all four weekends.
14-15 February 2026 (1.00-6.00pm Sat, 10.00-3.00pm Sun)
25-26 April 2026 (1.00-6.00pm Sat, 10.00-3.00pm Sun)
1-2 August 2026 (1.00-6.00pm Sat, 10.00-3.00pm Sun)
3-4 October 2026 (1.00-6.00pm Sat 10.00-3.00pm Sun)
The weekend explorations will draw on somatically informed methods from experiential anatomy and the mover-witness framework. Each workshop will emphasise a ‘channel’ or realm of perception which will be explored with some definition and guidance while supporting participants to source emergent movement. Themes will include:
Proprioception and orientation
Sensation – the sensory organ of the skin and the special senses
Interoception and emotion – the presence and movement of mood and feeling
The emergence of image – the presence (and movement) of metaphor
Within each 2-day workshop, we will shift between solo movement and reflection, touch work in pairs, and moving and witnessing explorations in pairs and groups. The series will offer movement and reflective frameworks for participants to listen into and work with their individual inquiries and needs, while acknowledging the companionship and interconnection with others.
Who is it for?
Movement practitioners who work within teaching, therapeutic as well as creative and performative contexts. However, please note that this series is suitable for those with prior experience of in-depth somatic movement processes.
For ENQUIRIES or BOOKINGS, contact Penny: hello@pennycollinson.com
Penny Collinson has worked in dance and somatic movement practices for 32 years and is an ISMETA registered educator and therapist. She lives in Morecambe, Lancashire, and is part of Shoreline Health in Movement CIC. Penny runs a private body-focused somatic therapy practice and various community classes. She is also a professional supervisor supporting practitioners whose therapy/educative practices are somatically-informed.
Amy Voris is a contemporary dance-maker, facilitator and somatic-movement therapist based in Manchester. Her practice is process-oriented and collaborative, driven by the desire to develop enduring relationships with people, places and movement material. She has completed training in Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy with Linda Hartley and a foundation course in Gestalt Counselling and Psychotherapy.
*Adler, J. (1987/1999) ‘Who is the Witness? A Description of Authentic Movement’. In Authentic Movement: Essays by Mary Starks Whitehouse, Janet Adler and Joan Chodorow. Edited by Pallaro, P. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 141-159