Our Values

At Open Floor International we are guided by these values:

1. Movement Heals

Movement is an antidote for our increasingly solitary, sedentary, digital lives. When we dance freely with mindful guidance and make connections with others, our stress levels drop, our physical and mental health thrives, and we age well.

We Value: Healing

2. Movement Connects Us

Moving in rhythm is written into our genes. The simple act of moving to the same musical pulse connects people from different backgrounds, cultures, politics and values. In our increasingly polarized world, dancing can unite us.

We Value: Connection with others

3. Move & Include

When our body moves, everything moves. A gesture can bring a flood of thoughts, feelings and sensations. On the Open Floor we welcome the elation dance can bring. We also value the challenging moments: fatigue, shyness, aches and pains, our fear of the other and self-limiting beliefs. Including it all is how we learn to be true, fluid, whole, and connected.

We Value: Moving with all thoughts and feelings

4. Open Floor is Open Source

Even the most radical artists and philosophers stand on the shoulders of those who have come before. In turn, they become the ground for those who come after. In this spirit, our work is licensed with Creative Commons, which both protects the integrity of Open Floor Movement Practice while making it available for creative remixing. Professionals of all kinds are encouraged to integrate what they learn from Open Floor International, acknowledge the source, and add it to their own offerings.

We Value: Creativity and sharing ideas

5. Everybody’s wisdom matters

Our operational model, Dynamic Governance (DG),(Sociocracy), reflects the same values we teach on the dance floor. It fosters equity, transparency, inclusion, and shared decision-making. We continuously strive to extend our reach and train an even more diverse group of teachers to share Open Floor practice in ways that speak to the needs of additional communities and cultures.

We Value: All voices and perspectives

6. Every dance and every BODY matters

Open Floor values all ages, physical abilities, body shapes and sizes, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual preferences, levels of wealth and education, and levels of experience. Everything we’ve experienced lives in our body, and each body has its own language to express it. Any movement can be the seed of something beautiful and meaningful.

We Value: All abilities and all levels of experience

7. We dance to learn rather than learn to dance

Dancing opens many doors of awareness. We explore what our bodies have to teach us about our emotions, individual histories, relationships, our similarities and differences. Dancing connects us to spirit and nature. To deepen the learning, we make time for inquiry, writing, art and silent reflection.

We Value: The wisdom that our bodies teach us

8. Moving Forwards, Moving Back

We value the courage it takes to acknowledge the habits, prejudices, and unconscious biases that keep us separate. The pain of separation and othering lives in the body. Only by unraveling these limits do we become whole and connected. Freedom is available to all when those that have traditionally been privileged move back and listen, and those who have been marginalized feel safe to move forward.

We Value: Equity, justice and inclusion

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