‘When it was time for me to form our mask I dove straight in, there was no patience in me to feel my way through with my eyes closed; my hands knew what they wanted to do. They clawed bold crevasses in the clay….I saw one side of my mask as rough and rocky, like a boulder or a cave, and the other side smooth and sleek like a bird. I knew what colors were needed….It sends and electric shock through my body to grip it and sends me into motion, which I discovered the first day we danced the masks.’

“The joy of touching the fire in me …my inner confidence, my determination.. Thanks to the mask, I touched it profoundly…”

“The mask work, which involved first, the shaping of the mould in clay, and then the internalization and wearing of the mask, brought the improvisation work to a whole other level. It taught me to gather impulse and stimulation from other senses….internal life is externalized….abstract images become concrete through the body… the unconscious becomes physical; barriers and defining limits dissolve to make room for purely physical expression”

“By using mask, I have seen a change in my ability to witness. I feel like I have eyes throughout my body.
….’
“I learned a lot from working with the clay …..it taught me about the role of weight as it related to momentum’

At the beginning of the year I could not see a difference between the concept of improvisation and authentic movement. I have come to understand at this point, that authentic movement is exceptional because it involves reaching into impulses within the physical body and following them.’

“I am not afraid of uncharted feelings any more…. I understand that they can come in waves…. I have so much fun delving into the other mediums now … and I have learned to release my expectations and explore through my body not my mind.’

“She (Candace) establishes a place for structured improvisational investigation within defined boundaries,”

‘the teaching of bodywork as a regular part of the class grounds the work in the physical….”