Join us for Movement Labs on Wednesdays at 7pm in the Safe Harbors Multipurpose Room (enter through 111 Broadway entrance) with Jonathan Matthews-Guzmán.

About Movement Labs

Movement Labs is a weekly dance improvisation offering led by Jonathan Matthews-Guzmán, a dancer, musician, and educator based in Newburgh. Every Wednesday, Jonathan takes participants on a journey that starts with solo exploration and expands to group movement. Movement Labs is a creative process and is open to anyone who is interested in going along for the ride. This class is free and open to all – no dance training is required.

From the Instructor: We begin each week by sharing a positive thought that will enliven the space and guide us through our practice. We then embark on a period of time to “come as you are,” an opportunity to move freely in accordance with the body’s desires. From there, we take a moment to recall one action from that movement, and dive into an investigation of it as a motif, playing with its expressive potential. Drawing from Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies, each participant receives a prompt to further develop their motif. From this internally focused exploration, we expand our focus to find inspiration from the space and our fellow movers, developing a communal vocabulary.

The culminating challenge is to navigate through the movements we have generated and discovered to find a period of unison movement, known as “flocking,” completing our journey from separateness to togetherness, but still honoring each individual component’s contribution.

About the Instructor: Jonathan Matthews-Guzmán first came to Newburgh in 2017 to dance in the Newburgh Illuminated Festival. They eventually moved up in 2024. Prior to coming to Newburgh, Jonathan spent 13 years in New York City, studying at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and accumulating a diverse array of experience as a dancer, musician, educator, and more. They have collaborated with such ensembles as Darrah Carr Dance, Valerie Green/Dance Entropy, This is Not a Theatre Company, and ChristinaNoel & The Creature, and co-founded BREAKTIME, a performance duo with former classmate Holly Sass. Jonathan recently began serving as Music Director at St. George’s Episcopal Church on Grand St., as well as providing live music for dance classes at the Newburgh Performing Arts Academy, a position they additionally hold at NYU, Barnard College, and the Alvin Ailey School.

This class is FREE and open to the public.