Soul Motion
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Soul Motion is a conscious movement and dance meditation practice that explores embodiment, relational awareness, and creativity through guided improvisational movement. It emphasises presence, curiosity, and connection with self, others, and the living world.
Soul Motion is practiced internationally through classes, workshops, retreats, and professional training programmes, and is known for integrating movement improvisation with mindfulness, relational inquiry, and expressive arts.
Origins
Soul Motion was developed by Vincent Martínez-Grieco in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Martínez-Grieco is a dancer, choreographer, and movement teacher whose background includes contact improvisation, contemplative practice, and expressive movement.
The practice emerged from a synthesis of dance improvisation, somatic awareness, and relational inquiry, with an emphasis on dance as both personal exploration and shared, participatory experience.
Core principles
Soul Motion is grounded in several guiding principles:
- Presence — cultivating awareness of sensation, impulse, and choice in the moment.
- Relationship — exploring movement in relation to others, space, and environment.
- Creativity — valuing improvisation and authentic expression over fixed form.
- Integration — bridging inner experience and outward action.
Rather than focusing on performance or technique, Soul Motion prioritises lived experience and embodied listening.
Practice
Soul Motion sessions involve guided movement explorations supported by music, verbal prompts, and spatial awareness. There is no choreography; participants are invited to follow sensation, curiosity, and relational impulses as they arise.
Common elements of a session may include:
- solo movement and self-attunement,
- partner and group improvisation,
- exploration of space, proximity, and boundaries,
- integration through stillness, reflection, or creative expression.
Teachers often draw attention to how movement choices reflect inner states, habits, and relational patterns.
Movement landscapes
Soul Motion uses a conceptual framework often described as movement landscapes, which support navigation between different modes of experience. These landscapes may include:
- inner awareness and personal movement inquiry,
- relational and social dance,
- collective and environmental connection.
These frameworks function as orienting maps rather than prescriptive structures, encouraging exploration and adaptability.
Teacher training
Soul Motion offers an international teacher training programme for movement facilitators. The training typically spans several years and includes:
- immersive residential modules,
- supervised teaching practice,
- mentoring and peer learning,
- personal process and creative inquiry.
Graduates are authorised to teach Soul Motion classes and workshops and participate in an ongoing professional community.
Community and reach
Soul Motion is practiced in many countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. The international network is supported by Soul Motion International, which coordinates training, teacher support, and global events.
Relationship to conscious dance
Soul Motion is part of the broader conscious dance and movement field and shares affinities with practices such as contact improvisation, Open Floor, and other improvisation-based movement modalities. It is distinguished by its strong emphasis on relational awareness, creative process, and participatory dance.
External links
- Official website: https://soulmotioninternational.com/
