Jennifer Monson, stayed at 2 Penrhiw while the cottage was still in transition. Her time here during July 2008 culminated in a sharing of elements of her practice with dancers and performers in a workshop titled absorption.

“Water has been a recent focus of my work. This workshop will draw on my time in residence in Abercych absorbing the local circulation of water.

We will work from the fluid systems of the body as well as from the metaphoric potential of water as a solvent – dissolving, seeping, and suspending the particular circumstances of the surrounding environment to create a process of moving. We will engage with our immediate surroundings by absorbing and being absorbed by it. As our process flows forward we will follow various tributaries into creative forms including writing, drawing, sounding and reflection. The workshop will conclude with discussion and engagement with processes and tools that have floated to the surface of our time together. All levels and disciplines are encouraged to attend.”

Jennifer Monson is artistic director of iLAND-interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art Nature and Dance www.ilandart.org. Her dance projects iMAP/Ridgewood Reservoir and BIRD BRAIN are based in the investigation of the relationship between environment and embodied practice. She is currently teaching at the Dance Department at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign as part of an initiative to bring environmental issues to the forefront of the university and the community at large. Jennifer integrates dance with migration science, education, conservation and community involvement.