Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) 2017

Join CEF Board Chair Duane Wilson, CEF Executive Director Beth Miller, and CPSI Director Steve Dahlberg for important CPSI information and updates about the Creative Education Foundation.

If this is your first time attending CPSI, come to First-Timer Orientation to hear about what to expect at CPSI and to get the insider scoop on how to make the most of your week. All are welcome to attend.

CPSI OPENING CEREMONY
Join Donna Luther, along with the Creative Education Foundation's Beth Miller and Steven Dahlberg to kickoff CPSI 2017!

CPSI 2017 KEYNOTE: STEVE STOCKMAN
To consumers, art “things” magically appear. You watch them on your iPhone or have Amazon ship them to you or buy tickets to them. But to its creator, art is not a “thing,” it’s an act – an immersive process, requiring personal risk and exposure at every step. This is why there are more accountants than novelists – it’s scary to commit to your own creative vision. Much easier to prioritize something like making money, shopping or cleaning your office — again. In this preview of the book he’s now struggling to write, Steve Stockman defines the process this way: Art is ripping your guts out and putting them on the table.
You’ll learn:
• Why making art is miserable and painful and why people do it anyway (which is only sometimes because they’re totally unqualified for other work).
• How creating art is related to – but not the same as – the Creative Problem Solving process.
• And why discovering where disaster lurks is the secret to becoming the artist you want to be.

Discover strategies for entering kinetic dialogue with others, which focus on our untapped capacity for observing, attending and responding to the environment and other moving bodies via tactile, visual and auditory investigation. We begin with exploring attending, observing and strategic decision-making via processes used by groups ranging from performers to the Naval War College. This approach nudges aside assumptions, accesses unexpected choices, and asks us to consider our accountability for making choices. We explore the politics of choice-making as creative individuals. You will:
• Engage in a process of personal discovery about creativity, communication and decision making.
• Gain new skill sets and strategies that will enhance your creativity.
• Engage in evocative dialogue and reflection to apply the concepts and learning experienced in this workshop.
Movers of all ages and abilities are welcome. This workshop is led by one of the CPSI 2017 Spotlight presenters.

In this highly interactive and experiential session, artist and improviser Gary Hirsch will explore the power of co-creation and how letting go of an idea can be one of your most powerful and surprising creative acts. You will gain hands-on experience in collaborative behaviors – such as Noticing More, Letting Go, and Using Everything – that you can apply to any creative endeavor.

The Breaking Ring frames the lively process of listening and decision-making in a work that exposes the creation process unfolding in real time.

The Breaking Ring takes place inside a 16’ x 22’ space, delineated by white picket fencing. The audience surrounds this enclosure, witnessing at close range, four performers taking a deep dive into physical listening and visceral decision-making, crafting small dances in real time.

The physical listening and decision-making process embedded inside this work is based on The Equus Projects’ inter-species performance works with horses – where listening, leadership, negotiation and adaptability play out with very real consequences. In The Breaking Ring we sense the same high stakes: The performers are deeply committed to listening and responding to kinetic situations that demand immediate, honest engagement and accountability.

The progression of visceral duets evolves into a format that playfully allows for two spectators to enter the performance, their movement decisions deftly woven into the theatrical trajectory.

The Breaking Ring playfully moves beyond traditional notions of dance and performance,
enticing viewers to experience the creative process along with the performers and embracing the possibility that an audience can indeed be both a spectator and active participant.

The performance will be followed by a dialogue with The Equus Projects’ Creative Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw, the performers, and Gary Hirsch.

Explore a variety of tools for engaging teams and communities in playful movement experiences with clear learning objectives. We will:
• Engage in embodied experiences – individually, in pairs, and in the full group – to improvise and create a composition.
• Explore full-bodied experiences, as well as movement devices for less-courageous movers.
• Focus on fostering immersive play.
Movers of all ages and abilities are welcome, so get out of your head and into your body to discover how you can "move to think" differently! This workshop is led by one of the CPSI 2017 Spotlight presenters.

“B” means to dance with life. Developed by a medical doctor, it reduces stress by combining music, movement and the expression of emotion in a progressive way to bring out individual and group expression and integrate all aspects of our humanity, including our passion, sense of vitality, and creativity. “B” uses music that is carefully selected for its rhythmic qualities to release the power of expression we all hold deep within us. It allows us to AMPLIFY and explore our potential and the principle of putting life first to promote health and a sense of well-being, as well as connect us to ourselves and others. “B” addresses the totality of the human being. It amplifies our entire perception of who we are. The exercises wake up our aliveness, and this allows us to really feel the intensity of each moment. Suspend your thinking for a while and immerse yourself in the joy and power of music and movement in a structured, guided process. No previous dance experience is necessary, as this does not involve specific steps. Self-regulation is key, meaning you move according to your own fitness and flexibility. You will:
• Amplify your sense of feeling alive and joyful.
• Increase your capacity for emotional expression without words.
• Enhance what lies within you and bring that into the world with more confidence.