Lerna Babikyan

Tag: dance

  • Where we get lost in each other we deeply reborn …

    Where we get lost in each other we deeply reborn …

    Lerna is moving within the river and the tree in Devon

    Where we get lost in each other we deeply reborn …

    There was intense 12 years in my life, I was devoted to spiritual practices from all cultures. Days passed by dancing, celebrations, griefs, meeting sisters and brothers, artists, mystic teacher all over the world.

    Then I had on other 5 years based in separation from all this practices and communities. Observed and experienced injustices, denials, mainstreamed sells and marketing vibes around sacred spells, vertical hierarchies in this social circles, lack of ethnically and economically diverse backgroud people, stories, languages, and more over poor information yet big misjudgements on human psychology had hurt my soul… It was very disappointing, I was so angry; I just run away without looking behind. 

    A few years later, one day the MA program I was studying in, pushed me back to connect with the sea, forest and it’s souls from ecosomatic perspective. I started to touch, feel, sense and reconnect. The sun started raise in me and warmed my heart again…

    Now when I look back all this circle made me realized that; spirituality or sacred practices do not belong to anyone; in the core can not be colonized by anybody or any community…It’s there for everyone, open to feel, sense, unify without paying any money or going to that retreats, meditations etc. We just need to save nature and be respectful to the elements, dynamics and energies of the ecosystem. Then we will able to remember that we are part of this miraculous holistic structure. 

    There might be some people and places where we find ourselves comfortable with them; when we have space and shared trust to each other and that’s all … connection goes on with all in any case and our ecosomatic existence is one of the direct ways to holisticly connect to nature through our oldest, ancient language; movement

  • Multi Layered Movements: Trans-disciplinary Dance Workshop

    Multi Layered Movements: Trans-disciplinary Dance Workshop

    Nothing in the world exists independently of one another, including our bodies and the art of dance! Multi Layered Movements; creative dance workshop series invites you to rediscover this relationality and deepen your creative dance practices.

    Multi-Layered Movements Creative Dance Workshop, which sets out with the intention of revitalizing and strengthening the holistic dance expression that thinks, dreams, feels and dialogues, opens an experimental and non-judgmental space for participants to discover their body awareness and creative potential and turn them into action through dance.

    Outcomes

    • Body awareness
    • Strength, balance and coordination development
    • Enrichment in movement repertory
    • Multi layered and multi directional awareness in action
    • Improvement in imagination and abstract thinking
    • Creativity
    • Cultural Learning
    • Development in body language
    • Gaining easy dance flows and self confidence
    • Gaining ergonomics in movement
  • Dans Öğretmenleri için Pedagoji

    Dans Öğretmenleri için Pedagoji

    Bu eğitim kendini pedagojik alanda geliştirmek isteyen her stilden dans öğretmeni ve hareket odaklı dersler veren eğitmenler  içindir !

    Dans eğitiminin temel malzemesi beden olmakla birlikte prensip olarak eğitimi herhangi bir başka yaratıcı alanın öğrenme süreçlerinden farklı değildir.

    Bu alanda eğitmenlik yapıyorsanız bilimsel pedagojik bilgisi olmayan bir dans öğretmeni ile usta çırak ilişkisinde yetişmiş olmak zamanın değişen şartlarında mesleki yaşamınız için yeterli olmayabilir.

    Eğitim bilimleri açısından işin bilimsel temellerini bilmek mesleki uygulamalarınızın kalitesini arttırıp sizi güvende hissettirken, dans sanatının öğrencilerinizde ve toplumda yaratacağı pozitif değişime de katkıda bulunmanızı sağlayacak

    Kazanımlar

    • Beden odaklı bilimsel öğrenme teorilerini öğrenme
    • Sınıf yönetimi üzerine yeni yaklaşımlar ile tanışma
    • Yaratıcı, eşitlikçi ve kapsayıcı bir sınıf ortamının nasıl oluşturulabileceğini öğrenme
    • Dans dersi temel işleyiş planı ve değerlendirme kriterini yeniden gözden geçirmek
    • Sınıfiçi iletişim, veli-okul yönetimi gibi alanlarda verimli ve destekleyici ilişkilerin kurulmasına katkıda bulunmak  
  • Pedagogy for Dance Teachers

    Pedagogy for Dance Teachers

    6-Week Online Programme

    Layers of Learning: Dance Pedagogy for Dance Teachers is a six-week professional development programme for dance teachers who wish to deepen their pedagogical practice beyond teaching movement vocabulary or choreography.

    The programme explores dance pedagogy as a layered and relational practice—one that considers not only technique, but also creativity, embodiment, learning processes, inclusion, ethics, and the unique needs of diverse learners. Participants examine how teaching methods shape learning experiences while developing approaches that are responsive, reflective, and artistically engaging.

    Rather than offering a fixed teaching method, the programme encourages participants to build their own pedagogical voice by integrating movement exploration, improvisation, somatic awareness, and critical reflection into their teaching.

    What the programme includes

    • Contemporary perspectives on dance pedagogy
    • Creative teaching methodologies
    • Somatic approaches to dance education
    • Improvisation as a pedagogical tool
    • Lesson design and facilitation strategies
    • Reflective discussions on teaching practice

    Participants will develop

    • Greater confidence in designing meaningful dance classes
    • Practical strategies for teaching diverse age groups and abilities
    • Skills in facilitating creative, student-centred learning
    • A deeper understanding of embodiment in dance education
    • A reflective and adaptable pedagogical approach

    Who is it for?

    Dance teachers from all styles & genres, dance artists, community dance practitioners, movement educators, and dance students preparing for teaching careers.

    The programme welcomes teachers from all dance traditions and movement practices, including contemporary dance, ballet, creative dance, folk dance, social dance, and interdisciplinary movement practices.

  • Ecosophic Moves – Ecology Based Creative Dance Teacher Training

    Ecosophic Moves – Ecology Based Creative Dance Teacher Training

    Ecosomatic Movement and Creative Dance Pedagogy Training

    For educators, artists, facilitators, and professionals in health, social work, consultancy and academia

    This training is designed for professionals from diverse fields—trainers, educators, artists, consultants, health and social workers—who wish to integrate dance and movement as tools for learning, connection, and transformation. It supports participants in cultivating body-based awareness, creative confidence, and ecological sensitivity within their educational and professional practices.

    Originally launched in 2015 as the Creative Dance Trainer Training, the program evolved over the years to respond to contemporary challenges. Since 2023, it has been delivered in a hybrid format that grounds movement learning in ecological thought and ecosomatic practices, aligning body, mind, and environment as co-learners.

    Led by Lerna Babikyan, the program offers a rich blend of creative movement pedagogy, body awareness, and contemporary dance history, explored through both experiential and reflective modes. The exercises are designed to be low-risk yet highly activating—awakening participants’ physical, imaginative, and cognitive capacities. The integration of ecological transitions and sensory metaphors in movement invites a holistic perception of interconnectedness, nurturing a grounded sense of “worldliness” and embodied presence.

    The program also includes seminars by expert guest instructors, covering topics such as:

    • Introduction to Dance Therapy

    • Drama and Dance in Dialogue

    • Intercultural Dance and the Embodied Self

    • Designing Effective Learning Environments with Creative Dance

    • Dance Composition and Choreography

    • Introduction to the Skinner Releasing Technique

    Learning Outcomes

    Participants will:

    • Learn over 140 creative movement exercises across 14 thematic areas, integrating critical pedagogy and ecology-based practices

    • Gain tools to apply experiential, body-based learning in diverse settings that support emotional, social, and cognitive development

    • Learn to design inclusive learning spaces grounded in creative autonomy, ecological attunement, and somatic self-trust

    • Cultivate a joyful, creative, and compassionate relationship with the body—and the more-than-human world

    • Enhance skills in body language, improvisation, public speaking, and performance

    • Develop a sustainable, long-term approach to integrating dance and movement in educational, therapeutic, or social contexts

    • Understand creative dance through lenses of dance history, anthropology, drama, choreography, and embodied education

    • Strengthen ecosomatic awareness and contribute to pedagogies of sustainability and ecological peace

  • Şiirlerle Dans

    Şiirlerle Dans

    Şiirlerle Dans Atölyesi, yetişkinlere duygularını ve düşüncelerini hem kelimelerle hem de bedenleriyle ifade etme fırsatı sunan yaratıcı bir alan sağlar. Bu atölyede, katılımcılar şiirsel ifadelerin derinliğini keşfederken, bu şiirlerin ruhunu ve ritmini dans yoluyla canlandırırlar. Doğaçlama ve yorumlamaya açık olan atölyede her oturumda yeni bir şair ve şiiri üzerinden metnin duygusal katmanları, bedensel hareketlerle araştırılır, bireyin otantik dansı ile ifade edilir. 

    Kazanımlar

    • Şiir ve dansın birleşimi, katılımcılara çok boyutlu bir ifade biçimi sunarak hem zihinsel hem de fiziksel farkındalıklarını artırır. 
    • Atölye, bireylerin sanatsal yaratıcılıklarını beslerken, aynı zamanda kendilerini daha derin ve anlamlı bir şekilde ifade etmelerine olanak tanır. 
    • Şiirlerle Dans Atölyesi, katılımcıların içsel dünyalarını keşfetmelerini, duygusal rezonansı deneyimlemelerini ve sanat aracılığıyla kendileriyle ve başkalarıyla bağlantı kurmalarını sağlar.
  • Dancing Within Poetries

    Dancing Within Poetries

    Dancing Within Poetries workshop provides a creative space for adults to express their feelings and thoughts with both words and their bodies. In this workshop, participants will explore the depth of poetic expressions and bring the spirit and rhythm of these poems to life through dance. In each session participants explores a new poet and his/her poem, exploring the emotional layers of the text through improvised bodily movements and expressing them through their authentic dance.

    Outcomes

    • The combination of poetry and dance offers participants a multidimensional form of expression, enhancing both their mental and physical awareness.
    • The workshop nurtures artistic creativity and allows individuals to express themselves in a deeper and more meaningful way.
    • Dancing Within Poetries workshop enables participants to explore their inner worlds, experience emotional resonance, and connect with themselves and others through art.

  • Book on Creative Dance Pedagogy

    The book is written in Turkish by Lerna Babikyan, to spread the creative dance culture in Turkey, including history of creative dance, lesson plans, family activities and embodied learning though dance; published in 2022 by Töz Publishing House; ISBN number 9786057186409

    “Dance is not only fun, encouraging, and motivating activity for children, but also a wonderful tool for learning by internalizing concepts.”
    From the earliest years of our lives, we naturally learn through movement—we connect, we touch, we respond. Movement and dance, which have existed since the beginning of the universe, have been part of human history through natural phenomena, mythological figures, and rituals; they have also visited our lives through performing arts and stage shows.
    This book has been written as a guide to move beyond the “guest” status of dance in the lives of individuals living in postmodern society, aiming to bring dance back to the center as a vital, educational, and artistic activity—to experience it anew.

    Creative Dance has long been used across the world both as an artistic activity and as an alternative educational tool, without enforced imitation, pressure, or comparison. Suitable for individuals of all ages who wish to explore their bodies through dance and discover their unique expression, creative dance practices not only nurture the physical and mental creativity of children and adults but also support the development of a positive body image beyond conventional notions of “beauty” and beyond gender norms.
    They invite us to live a life in harmony with and awareness of our bodies, to engage with the world in a playful, body-centered space that transcends words, and to learn and teach abstract and concrete concepts through dance.