Through The Dark Hours: Sealskin, Soulskin

Sealskin, Soulskin is a story exploring the experience of a woman robbed of her essential self, her fight to reclaim it and the power she gains by undertaking the struggle.

There is human time and there is wild time...

Like the wild, the psyches and souls of women have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place. 

Once, we lived by these cycles and seasons year after year, and they lived in us. They calmed us, danced us, shook us, reassured us, made us learn creaturally. They were part of our soul-skin - a pelt that enveloped us and the wild and natural world - at least until we were told that there really were only four seasons to a year and that women themselves really only had three seasons - girlhood, adulthood and old womanhood. And that was supposed to be that...

(Excerpt from Women Who Run With the Wolves)

When we spend too much time out of our wild natures we risk losing our soul identity. To come back to our wild really asks of us to listen and follow the calls of our intuitive Soul desire. Sealskin, Soulskin is a rich folk tale telling of what it means to lose sight of instinct and intuition. 

Many women have become afraid of their instinctual natures and have had the nagging 'good girl' behaviour drummed into them from an early age. What would it be like to turn and face this good girl and ask her to move aside? To dive into the raw nature of being a woman with all the shades and emotions she needs to express and experience? What would it be like to come home to your Soulskin?

The truly exciting and very real part of this whole Story Dance encounter is that we won't (and we don't) always know what might call for us to do or be... we need to be prepared for that; to allow for the unexpected and to greet it with a certain amount of willingness, even when it comes at the most inconvenient time to ourselves!

Join us for what will be a truly unique experience, bringing this story to life among the ancient-wilds of time and tales...

Details & Booking:

• Saturday 20th July, 4.30pm - Sunday 21st July, 7am
• Price: £130
• Payment of £45, non-refundable deposit, is taken at time of booking to secure your place. The remainder £85 is to be paid via BACS by 5th June 2024 (details in the confirmation email).
• This event is open to women ONLY.
• We will arrive as the general public exits and we shall leave before the world awakens again... stories of this depth deserve such mystery.
• We will be going through the story of Sealskin, Soulskin in stages over the night with lots of time to share, rest, eat and of course dance!
• The encounter will include walking the ancestral village and river-land out of hours, gathering in the houses for story, sharing in circle by campfire, blindfold dance experience (at least 45 mins per person), live instrument soundscape, embodied exploration of story through movement, fun, laughter, raw / roar emotion and the unexpected!
• This will be an overnight experience….There will be space for people to rest and shelter but we ask you to bring with you anything you will need for your own comfort (pillows / blankets etc), but not tents -  there will be no intentional camping, just resting.
• There will be light vegetarian snacks and refreshments available but please also bring a small dish (vegetarian) to share or cater for your own specific dietary needs should you have them.
• The event will take place in a secure location without public access after 5pm.
• Please note that it is intentional that we explore the more uncomfortable natures of being in the dark - the unexpected, poorer visibility, possible discomfort, the unknown etc. This is what will make up a huge part of the ‘story’ and the raw reality of life. The ground may be uneven, the lighting vastly reduced and the temperatures left up to the gods but this plays an important part of acting on both community responsability and  self responsibility.
• Parking will be available in the general car park - fees apply.
• This event will be a mixture of being under shelter and exposed to the elements. In extreme weather scenarios we will adapt the event accordingly.
• Limited places are available.