Deep in the concrete jungle a spirit is reawakening...WILD Workshops come to Evolve Wellness Centre from October 1st. For the last five years the wild rumpus that is Artful Badger has held court in the bosky woods of Wilderness and Secret Garden Party. By night their carnival of creatures lures festival-goers into rapturous adventures of dance, ritual and theatre. When the light returns each day, the Badgers host a selection of unique and extraordinary WILD Workshops to explore and play with the edges of your wild selves. Now, for the first time WILD Workshops are travelling from their woodland home to reside for a season in the beautiful setting of Evolve Wellness centre, West London. Evolve will host 6 workshops running from the 1st October to the 1st April 2016 exploring the relationship between our imagined self and our physical bodies through practices from mask medicine to dance meditation. Freddy Drabble the co-creator and co-director of Artful Badger is delighted to be able to offer this programme to a London audience: Artful Badger’s core objective has always been to encourage people to express themselves freely and authentically; to liberate their bodies from the stresses and strains of urban living and help develop a deeper sense of self. In fact the party side of Artful Badger grew from transformational workshops, and so the opportunity for us to bring them to London feels like we are returning to our deep and wriggly roots! All our workshops are designed to be a safe spaces to play, to dance to our edges, to go deeper into the untamed, unnamed parts of the self that often get neglected in our fast-paced, high-tech world. We want to show that it is possible to connect with our wild sides in a city setting. In the same way that the mindfulness movement has brought meditation practices down from the mountain and into people’s everyday lives, we hope these workshops will show people how to retain this connection with the rich innately wild part of themselves wherever they are. [caption id="attachment_9062" align="aligncenter" width="714"] Wilderness[/caption] WILD WORKSHOPS are proud to be part of the conscious celebration movement, alongside pioneers like Morning Gloryville and The Summer House Weekend. The aim through shows, events, practices and information sharing is to emphasise the importance of health - not just of the body, but also the mind and spirit, and uncover how all three are intrinsically linked. This joy-infused, youth-led movement is emerging everywhere from festivals to food stalls, from yoga schools to online MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). It centers around detoxing, stress release, mindful practices, self-expression and radical acceptance. The practices central to this movement aren’t new, in fact most reference the ancient indigenous connection between communities and nature, through costume, ritual, song and dance. The WILD WORKSHOPS have been particularly designed to invite participants to uncover and re-establish this innate connection. 6 unique workshops exploring movement, meditation, magic of masks and merriment…. Saturday October 1st 2016  - The Connection Creature - an afternoon workshop exploring identity, self development and group dynamics through movement with internationally renowned theatre director Zoe Cobb. Saturday November 5th 2016 - Free Dance - a joyful journey of self discovery through movement, visualisation and guided meditation led by Artful Badger co-founder and director Freddy Drabble and Skinner release teacher, choreographer and dance theatre performer Maria Rita Salvi. Saturday December 3rd 2016 - The Revelation of the Mask - an afternoon of luxurious creativity and self discovery. Come and create a wonderful 3D mask as unique as your fingerprint and explore deeply and creatively your sense of self! Led by  Charlotte Dillon Founder of Head of House Designs and UK’s first Kinetic museum, Kinetica Saturday February 4th 2017  - Dance Your Naked Truth - an opportunity to explore liberation, expression and radical acceptance through the symbolic action of shedding clothes and coverings. A safe a guided space to explore and celebrate your raw beautiful self. Led by yoga and dance teacher and director of The Dancing Universe, Cloe Jackson with musical accompaniment from Michelle Crozier.   Saturday March 4th 2017 - Divine Ridiculous - join us on a unique journey, a ritual, time and space to play with ideas of psychomagic theatre, awareness of spirit, mask, clown, storytelling, improvisation...not to mention mischief and merriment! Led by seasoned performer, clown and musician Dan Hernandez.   Saturday 1st April 2017 - Brazilian Bioenergetics  - a form of body psychotherapy that works to relax the armours and holding pattern of chronic muscle tension and emotional tensions which may have got stuck in the body. Rob Wilson who leads this afternoon workshop trained with world renowned practitioners in Brazil and has been practicing all over the world for the last 7 years. He leads these therapeutic workshops with a playful heart-centered approach.   **Quotes from workshop participants ** Dance Your Naked Truth is a wonderful, wild, heart-warming experience. It always amazes me how each one is different and yet the quality of open, expansive, tribal celebration remains the same. In a very subtle and unobtrusive way, Cloe created a very safe space for people to let go of what holds them back from being their true self. A rare combination of humanity and divinity accepted as one. Jenny, Bristol about Cloe Jackson’s Dance you Naked Truth workshop, 4th Feb 2017 I really connected with hidden aspects of myself, Hernandez really allowed for an environment to play freely within. His close attention to each one of us in turn really nourished this freedom and he was able to draw more out of us than we thought we could give. Workshop participant about Daniel Hernandez’s Divine Ridiculous workshop, 4th March, 2017 Zoe's playful and curious approach leads you to unexpected places within your own physicality, the meeting of bodies and what happens in the spaces between them. Her enthusiasm for creating art and adventurous spirit is truly infectious. Rachael Alexander about Zoe Cobb’s The Connection Creature workshop, 1st October 2016 For more information about the workshops and how to book please go here