Spring Dance Intensive
'Dancing OUT - Dancing IN'
Wednesday 1st April – Friday 3rd April 2026
This is an exciting opportunity to immerse yourself in an extended course combining
contemporary dance and somatic movement practice.
Join Penny Collinson and members of Shoreline, Health in Movement, CIC – Mel Brierley,
Anna Daly and Ruth Quinn as we explore dancing out and dancing in.
Each day includes:
Dancing Out:
A morning contemporary dance and improvisation / creative practice class, led by Penny Collinson.
Dancing In:
An afternoon of somatic movement led by different practitioners. Details of these sessions can be found below.
People wishing to attend can sign up to a combination of mornings and afternoons, on any of or all of the available days.
If you have further questions or wish to make a booking please contact me.
Spring Dance Intensive: Dancing OUT – Dancing IN
Adult Contemporary Dance and Somatic Movement Practice
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Dancing OUT
3 Mornings of Contemporary Dance (10:00am – 12:30pm) with Penny Collinson
These classes include guided contemporary/lyrical style movement with a focus on alignment, weight transfer, momentum, and flow, and improvisatory creative dance. This class will develop over the 3 days but can be stand-alone too. They are appropriate for all levels of experience, and they are definitely going to be fun.
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Dancing IN
3 Afternoons of Somatic Movement Practice (2:00pm – 4:30pm)
Three separate sessions taken by three different practitioners exploring rest and relaxation, awareness and attention, curiosity and caring. In all the classes you are invited to move at your own pace and join in with as much or as little as your feel able. Details below.
Duration:
3 days - Wednesday 1st April to Friday 3rd April 2026
Mornings: 10:00am - 12:30pm
Afternoons: 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Pricing:
£150 – for 3 full days
£110 – for 2 full days
£65 – for 1 full day
£30 per morning (£55 x 2 mornings, £80 x 3 mornings)
£40 per afternoon (£75 x 2 afternoons, £100 x 3 afternoons)
Locations: The Soul Space Studio, 1 Townley Street, Morecambe LA4 5JQ
The www.thesoulspacestudio.com is a 5-minute walk from Morecambe Bay and the Promenade. This beautiful indoor space is dedicated to embodied and holistic learning. Please note that workshops will take place indoors and the studio is on the first floor with no lift access. Participants are encouraged to enjoy the surrounding walks by the Bay in their breaks.
Further Information
Dancing OUT - Dancing IN
​Who is it for?
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Anyone of any age and ability – no experience necessary.
Self-care
Our work together will invite immersion and self-inquiry, as expected with somatic practice. The methods and approaches we offer will be paced and always invitational. We ask that all participants practice self-care during the workshops by taking part in activities in a way which supports your own wellbeing. Therefore pausing, taking time out, nonparticipation and/or amending activities are all welcomed to enable this. We are also able to suggest variations on the explorations to adapt to what you need at different times.
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Breakdown of the afternoon sessions
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​Wednesday 1st April with Ruth Quinn and Penny Collinson
Somatic Movement: Being and Becoming
A workshop exploring how and why movement and sensory awareness can invigorate energy, calm and regulate our nervous systems bringing about a sense of bodily ease and new possibility. Moving explorations will stir imagination and prompt time for relaxation and rest. It will include some touch work with a partner which can be helpful if you are a practitioner working therapeutically with people and want to develop resources for supporting yourself and your clients.
Thursday 2nd April with Melanie Brierly
Somatic Movement: Caring and Connecting
What does it mean to care for ourself and others through somatic movement? In this workshop, Mel invites you to explore embodied, relational movement that supports compassion and empathy for yourself and others. Through moving with awareness and attention, you will have time to work both alone and together, and to reflect on what you notice and experience.
Friday 3rd April with Anna Daly and Penny Collinson
Spring Dance Somatic Movement: Practising and Playing
An afternoon to reconnect with play and joy, in our bodies. Accepting how we feel and move today, we remember simple movements of childhood –reaching, pulling, rolling, crawling and walking. Exploring how curiosity, imagination and following movement prompted by your own body can help you rediscover vitality in new ways. Befriend your body as your playmate. It’ll include solo, pair and small group activities - both led and creative. Followed by reflective rest, artwork and group sharing. A fun way to finish a Friday!
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Biographies​
Penny Collinson - www.pennycollinson.com
Penny is a movement artist and registered Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist in private therapeutic, community and educational settings. She has trained for many years with Linda Hartley (IBMT), Miranda Tufnell, and is currently training with IFSCA on their Stepping Stones programme. She works extensively with professional movement practitioners, therapists and teachers as a supervisor, and has recently co-created the Community Interest Company, Shoreline Health in Movement, CIC, collaboratively creating dance for health initiatives in and around Morecambe Bay.
Spanning 23 years, Penny’s work at UCLan involved leading the MA Dance & Somatic Wellbeing: Connections to the Living Body. Her publications on the application of somatic practice in health and wellbeing contexts can be found at https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2869-7132
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Ruth Quinn
Ruth Quinn is a psychotherapist in private practice with a background in movement and voice work. She works supervising and teaching other psychotherapists as well as client work. She is trained in a person-centred therapeutic approach and Hakomi, a body centred psychotherapy
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Dr Mel Brierley (PhD)
Dr Mel Brierley (PhD) explores dance and somatic movement with community groups and through one-to-one, home-based practice. Emerging from her research projects, she specialises in slow, gentle dance and movement for older people and for those living with neurodegenerative conditions, particularly Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Mel also supports and mentors other dance and movement artists, helping them develop confidence, skills and care in their work. She is interested in how movement, nature, and creativity can support health, and how dancers can offer care in thoughtful, compassionate ways.
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Anna Daly
Anna Daly is an experienced community dance artist working across NW & UK for over 25 years with a specialism in movement play for early years and creative projects for those living with Dementia. Following 10 years with Ludus Dance, projects included working with The Dukes, Curious Minds, The Royal Ballet School, More Music, Rambert and Manchester Creative Health.
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Testimonials - Workshops & Classes
