Getting In Touch
Making Contact
360 Dancing
Dancing Alone & With others
Connecting through Dance
Dancing with what Is
Contact
Me & you Dancing
Us dancing Me
Dancing Exploration
Infinite Dancing
Dancing with(out) Others
Moving into Presence through Solo Dancing and Contact Improvisation
Meeting in Movement
Dancing Alone and Together
Getting in Touch
Making Contact
Orsolina - Italy
February 28 - March 7
Dancing as a bridge between Somatic Practice, Athletic training & Formal Meditation
Šuka’s teachings are a deep dive into the world of movement, meditation, and the relationship between the two. In his approach, dancing is treated as the essential ingredient that connects several other methodologies for the development of “Body, Heart, and Mind”.
We will spend 6 hours each day exploring the following topics:
❋ Somatic Research
By refining our capacity to listen to and interact with our sensations, we develop a heightened sensitivity to the needs and abilities of our bodies in the moment. This attunement becomes the foundation for navigating challenging, dynamic movement scenarios skillfully and safely. It is also essential for our emotional intelligence and self-reflective capacity.
❋ Dancing Inside Out & Upside Down
Rather than focusing on performing for an audience, we will approach dancing as an embodied examination and celebration of our anatomy and the physics of motion. Through floorwork, rhythmic phrases in standing, soft acrobatics, and contact improvisation, we will study fundamental principles of movement that can greatly enhance movement quality, not just in dancing but also in other contexts.
❋ Meditation
Observing the internal dance of attention and relating skillfully to our thoughts, emotions, and sensations helps us be more present in whatever we do. Cultivating a curious, kind, and peaceful mind is arguably one of the most important projects there is, since the quality of your mind largely determines the quality of your life.
❋ Movement Games & Contact Improv
Embracing the unpredictable by inviting play into the practice helps us build skills that are widely applicable and improves our ability to be with the unknown. Most importantly, it connects us to the intrinsic joy of movement and snaps us out of a serious self-improvement mindset.
What is the relationship between mindfulness and playfulness?
What would a dance practice be like if it was not about performing for an audience?
What kind of qualities do we cultivate through dancing?
What could a 21st-century meditation/movement practice look like?
Can moving help us pay better attention?
Can paying attention help us move better?
What is the essence of a given method?
How do we know that something is working for us?
How can we detect where we are working against ourselves?
How do we learn to move? When does (verbal) thinking get in the way?
Why does everything become so much more interesting if we pay attention?
If these questions seem interesting, this retreat might be for you – not because they will be definitively answered, but because the continual asking of them has shaped the material you will engage with at the retreat.
Who is it for?
This retreat is open to anyone with a curiosity for movement and mindfulness. Since we will be a group with varying experience levels, I will offer various modifications to each exercise in order to make it easier to meet everybody where they are. You are also encouraged to adjust the material to find your optimal level of challenge.
About Šuka
Šuka Horn was born and raised in Germany, where he began his early training in martial arts and music. His passions found a meeting point when he discovered breakdancing at the age of 12. This love for dance eventually led him to earn a degree in Dance from Codarts University in Rotterdam. After performing in projects across Thailand, Spain, and the Netherlands, Šuka relocated to Athens in 2020 to join Dimitris Papaioannou’s production, Transverse Orientation. This collaboration led to another creation: INK, a duet performed with Papaioannou himself.
During this time, Šuka also developed a deeper interest in meditation, which led him to begin an ongoing mentoring process as a private student of Mushtaq Ali al Ansari, supporting his journey toward awake living. He also deepened his studies of the human body and movement training with Frey Faust. After touring the world for five years with Papaioannou’s productions and conducting his own workshops, Šuka decided to move to Leipzig to focus solely on developing his research and teaching. His workshops and retreats have been held in universities, dance companies, festivals, and studios in more than 20 countries.
About the Location
"Orsolina28 Art Foundation ETS was born to promote dance as a movement discipline, an art form and an instrument for wellbeing, in a multidisciplinary approach. Its vision is to create a unique and special place that fosters encounters and exchanges between different cultures and disciplines, where people can rediscover the importance and beauty of reconnecting with the surrounding nature and landscape while deeply respecting them."
Meal and Food Options
Breakfast is included for all participants on all days. Dinner on the arrival day is also provided.
There is the option to book full catering for the entire week at an additional cost of 300€. Vegetarian and vegan options are available for those who prefer.
If you prefer to cook for yourself, you're welcome to use the communal kitchen. It has four independent units, each with two burners, an oven, a sink, a dishwasher, and an extractor hood. You'll find all necessary kitchenware, tableware, fridges, a pantry, and a filtered water dispenser.
Accomodation
You will stay in shared bedrooms at Le Magnolie, a peaceful house located within walking distance of the studio.
Bed linens and towels are provided.
The ground floor includes shared kitchens, laundry facilities, and a spacious common area with tables, a lounge, and a projector. The house opens onto a garden that can be used for relaxing, socializing, or enjoying some quiet time outdoors.
Click here to learn more about the accomodation: https://www.bio28.it/le-magnolie
Pricing & Registrations
The retreat is offered on a sliding scale to make participation accessible for people with limited financial resources. This is based on the idea that those in a stronger financial position may choose to contribute more than the minimum.
You can freely choose any amount within the given range:
Early Bird: 580–700 € (until November 15)
Medium Bird: 630–750 € (until January 15)
Late Bird: 680–800 € (after January 15)
These basic prices include the teaching, accommodation in shared rooms and breakfast. They also includes dinner on the arrival day.
If you would like full catering for the entire week, there will be an additional cost of 300€ on top of the basic fee. Vegan and Vegetarian options are available if needed, and you can indicate your preference in the registration form below.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel your registration before December 31st, 2025, you will receive a refund minus a 50€ cancellation fee. After this date, cancellations are non-refundable except in cases of genuine emergencies. However, you are welcome to transfer your spot to someone else at any time.
I am excited to invite you to my playground – a time and space for quiet reflection, wild play, and asking interesting (embodied) questions.
QUESTIONS?
Feel free to reach out to me at hornsuka@gmail.com.
Please keep in mind that I’m organizing (and teaching) everything on my own, so I’d really appreciate it if people could double-check whether the answer to their question can be easily found on this website or through a quick Google/ChatGPT search. This will save me a lot of work, and I teach much better without a headache from too much organizational stuff. So it’s a win-win situation!