Catherine Wright

“Dance First; Think Later!” Samuel Beckett
Catherine is struck by the simplicity and depth in that phrase. Beckett may not have meant it to be a serious remark, but Catherine has come to believe that it is excellent advice!

Catherine has always been engaged in awed wondering about the mysteries of what it is to be a human. She didn’t start with dance… or even with the body. She has a PhD in the philosophy of mind and taught academic philosophy in both the USA and Scotland. Her fascination with (and profound compassion for) the painful muddles that we humans get into drew her towards both poetry and training in how to work with people. She trained in conflict resolution and therapy (Gestalt and Process Work). Our sorrows and wounds shape us. There is so much depth and richness in learning how to live in kindness with ourselves and others.

It wasn’t until 1999 that Catherine found conscious Dance, and Susannah and Ya’Acov Darling Khan. Boom! A door opened. Catherine dived into the amazing teachings of Susannah and Ya’Acov. She was part of the first apprenticeship and professional training. The centrality of our embodied experience is her daily discipline, and practice and refuge. She believes that when we give the body more of a say we have access to much more wisdom than our minds or even our hearts could fathom. Asking your belly or your spine how you feel gives lots of information the mind doesn’t have access to. We learn to befriend our own nervous system. And the dance allows ALL of us to be engaged in meeting life with ALL of our capacity.

One final thing that is absolutely at the heart of Catherine’s teaching is our place in nature. We are one thread in the web of life on Earth. Catherine’s teaching is infused with her love of the seasons, the phases of the moon, maybe above all a love of the trees. The Tree of Life, as a shamanic portal, and as a teacher is close to the beating heart of her teaching of Movement Medicine.