MO
KATZMAN
Photo by Leslie Johnson
ARTIST
MOVEMENT FACILITATOR
EMBODIED STORYTELLER
QUEER SPACE MAKER
I work to hold an awareness
of how culture has taught us to be in our bodies.
I strive to offer a space that radicalizes
and transforms those learnings.
A space that is inclusive and welcoming, where what our movement looks like isn’t as important as arriving into a sense of belonging in our bodies. Where folks can feel and use dance as a medium for emotional connection with the self. Where bodily wisdom is uplifted and affirmed, and agency for what our bodies know is celebrated.
MO’OFFERINGS
Sign up for Mo’s mailing list for upcoming events or book them for specialized classes.
Photo by Crystal Birns
EMBODIED MOVEMENT AND STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS
Beginning with a slow arrival into our bodies inherent wisdom, we will ground, nourish and gently move. By intentionally inhabiting our bodies, we will be able to feel what our bodies know and the stories that are held there. My intention is to create spaces for folks where they can call on the felt experience of moments in their lives that meant something to them and be seen, held and savored in sharing them through movement creation and sharings .
No dance experience necessary.
Sign up for e-mail list for dates.
Photo by Crystal Birns
QUEER GRIEF AND JOY WORKSHOPS
As Queer folks, we most likely didn’t get the chance to grow into our desire. Our development was stymied by heteronormativity. The grief of what we missed out on and what we could have gotten is big and real. I want to offer not only a container to feel it, but to also feel what might become available on the other side of it. Through dance, story sharing, writing, and discussion we will hold the intention of shedding light on this collective Queer grief and explore what might be available if we let pleasure emerge.
No dance experience necessary.
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Photo by Yvonne Portra
DANCING FOR EVERY BODY
This class is meant to re-write the cultural script of how to be in and move our bodies. We are taught to experience our bodies with shame and there can be a forgetting to look upon ourselves with a loving eye; that our bodies are precious vessels and the expression of them is a gift. As we heal the severing from our magnificent, wise and creative bodies, may we feel ourselves become the shape of our own belonging.
All accessibility levels welcome.
No dance experience necessary.
This class is taught at London Nelson in Santa Cruz once a month in collaboration with Motion Pacific and The Diversity Center in Santa Cruz
Photo by Crystal Birns
CONTEMPORARY DANCE CLASSES
My Contemporary dance classes are a collage of somatic exercises, release technique, improvisation and contact. These classes are all about connecting to our bodies, our sensation and our joy of moving. My hope is that we fall into presence, allowing an exploration of the body wherein movement becomes pleasurable.
Beginning Contemporary Wednesdays 7-8:15pm at TWDCC
Advanced Contemporary Tuesdays 6-7:30pm at London Nelson through Motion Pacific
LOVE MAKING DANCES co-taught by Mo and Z
This workshop invites deep permission for your true expression and wholeness as we dance, warm up our hearts and our sensual erotic energy. Through performance ritual, we will receive and support each others expression as we reclaim the role of dance, story and sacred eros in village.
No dance experience necessary.
Sign up for e-mail list for dates.
Photo by Leslie Johnson
Photo by Leslie Johnson
Mo Katzman (they/them) is a Queer and non-binary teacher who has guided dance and movement classes for all ages throughout the Bay Area and beyond for the past 17 years. They are the Director of Queer Programming at Motion Pacific Dance where they have the honor of producing Queer spaces and events. Mo has also been a company member with the world-renowned Joe Goode Performance Group for over a decade where they have grown into their power for embodied storytelling. They live in the ancestral homelands of the Awaswas speaking Uypi tribe in Santa Cruz County.
Mo believes that dance is a liberatory and transformational art form that everyone should have access to, and are passionate about crafting spaces where folks can learn to come home to themselves.
ABOUT MO
Photo by Rose Calucchia