Connie Schrader
Ph.D., Expressive Arts, MA, Dance, Dance for Parkinson’s Werthheimer Fellow, Board Certified Biofeedback practitioner
The first thing you should know about me is that I know that everyone has their own dance. In my case, while pursuing dance as a profession, I was also doing the dance of parenthood, the dance of academia, and so many more. Unfortunately, due to social, cultural, and political high jacking of the concept of dance, many feel cut off from their dance and, even worse, alienated from their own movement potential. I have spent most of my professional life exploring ways to access and facilitate creative potential through movement. In the nearly 30 years I enjoyed as founder and director of the UNC Asheville Dance program, I created and taught over fifteen body-based academic classes in addition to the 25 different courses that comprised the Dance Program. Twenty years ago, I also turned my attention to the internal dances going on in the brain and body systems which I could study and coach using Biofeedback and Neurofeedback. I have found the practices in the field of Expressive Arts another valuable resource for moving, through the body, to personal insight. Periodically, I lead movement exploration classes inspired by Ohad Naharin’s orientation which he calls “Gaga.” I have spun my own version of this inquiry into personal movement potential and invite others to engage in this Image –based Movement Research. Finally, and most recently, I have found the salutary effects of dance in helping those with Parkinson’s Disease find grace, joy, self-acceptance, and community coming together weekly for classes.
My Philosophy
Human potential is rooted in the human body. As a society we have come to privilege the mind as our route to awareness. We content ourselves that consciousness could be divorced from the senses. As Einstein famously said, “Nothing happens until something moves.” InBodyMind offers services to enhance human potential through movement.
To move toward the most vital engagement with our capacities and our gifts, we need experiences which refresh our perceptions, reveal new options, and refresh our sense of competence. Movement moves us.
There are four focus areas to InBodyMind: Bio-and Neurofeedback services, Dance for Parkinson’s, Image-based movement research classes, and Expressive Arts workshops. At the core of each practice is the importance of cultivating self-awareness, noticing how the body moves the mind.
”I've seen the Expressive Arts in Ms. Schrader's very talented hands bring out not just creativity, but a stronger sense of self in veterans who carry wounds of war or life. The turn back toward a humanity they'd lost has been a joy to watch unfold during our shared work. These arts, and this artist, not only empower but also heal.”
– Dr. Bruce Kelly, Charles George VA Medical Center