As a facilitator of any kind of movement workshop, it is important to quickly establish trust, connection, playfulness, and flow. Doing so will not only create a positive and dynamic atmosphere instantaneously but it will help the group feel safe enough fully let go and be present to the magic of the session as it unfolds.

So now that you know how important it is to establish quick trust, connection, playfulness and flow, you are probably wondering, how on earth do I do it? 

Well, stay tuned because I’ve got some answers for you… 

1. Arrive in ample time before your participants so that you can create an environment that is inviting and warm. 

Take this time to prepare the sound system, props, or whatever else you need for the session. Then take some time to ground yourself and put your mind at ease. 

2. As participants begin arriving, have some calming music playing and make sure to establish eye contact and welcome everyone that comes in. 

This nurtures a personal connection, positive energy exchange, and a safe atmosphere in the space. Bonus if you remember their name. Why? Because “a person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie

3. Wait 5 minutes or so so that any latecomers have a chance to arrive. 

The reason for this is because it’s a drag to open the session, give initial information, start the journey, etc., and then have to stop when another person arrives late. In my experience, this is a big “flow killer” and should be avoided as much as possible.

4. Outline the “rules” for the session.

Here are a few of mine:

• “Nobody gets hurt.”

• “Take care of yourself and the others.”

• “There is no right or wrong movement.”
  
  

5. Invite people into a circle and then give them a short explanation of how the session will unfold. 

Setting goals and rules is one of the most important ways to establish trust because you are holding space for people coming from different backgrounds and life experiences,  and they all have different expectations and fears. As facilitators, it is our job to help ease their minds. An easy way to do that is by briefly outlining how the session will unfold. 

6. Have everyone introduce themselves by stating their name and in one sentence “I came here to____ (get what?) You can also get creative with your prompt, or you can simply ask them to share something interesting about themselves or why they felt called to join the workshop or class. This helps break down any initial barriers and allows everyone to get to know each other on a more personal level.

7. Then it’s time for a short 3-5 minute embodied “icebreaker” to create trust, connection, playfulness, and flow in the group. Below are a few modalities of many that tend to bring a lot of joy and open hearts: 

1. I named this “The Sacred Unity Dance: Honoring Yourself and Each Other". This short, beautiful, and meaningful modality is a powerful way to  bring people together, opens hearts, and brings joy:) Originating from the indigenous tribes, this practice is typically done to help bring the tribe closer together. By recollecting parts of themselves, such as thoughts and emotions, participants can acknowledge and honor themselves and one another before embarking on a shared activity together.
   
   

To begin, all participants hold hands in a circle and move in easy, rhythmic steps. Each person then sings their own name from the heart, using only the vowels in their name and surname. The tribe repeats and echoes the name back in unison, creating a powerful sense of unity and connection.

For example, my name, Goran Bogdanovski, would be pronounced as OA OAO and I would call myself from the heart. Each participant takes turns calling their “vowels only” name out loud, and then the tribe repeats and sings their name back creating a powerful sense of connection. This ancient practice offers profound wisdom and beauty in human connection.

2. Another short modality is a simple E-motion exercise I call “How do I Feel?” to develop an awareness of your own feelings and the feelings of others.
   
   

This playful game encourages participants to connect with their present feelings. It also bonds the group because then they can easily identify with each other’s feelings. They also break through the barrier of suppressing and keeping emotions inside, and learn to express them in a safe space instead. It is done in a group and in a space in a way that one person states how he/she feels, and finds a suitable position in the space, while the others find the same feeling with themselves and place themselves closer or further away from this person, depending on how they feel about this feeling – the closer to the person, the more you feel the same; the further away you stand, the less you feel the same. The game is repeated until all the people in the space express their feelings and create relations to all the stated feelings in the group.

It’s also a good way for you as a facilitator to “scan” what is the emotional space of participants at this moment, so you can adjust your next facilitation steps accordingly. 

3. Play “pass the clap”.
   
   

This short fun and engaging modality is designed to enhance group awareness, responsiveness, and reaction time. Here is the gist: a participant is asked to walk through space, connect with somebody and clap at the same time, and then that person has to pass a clap on to somebody else as fast as possible. You can also do the same game in the circle, passing the clap around the circle as fast as possible, changing directions… and finishing all together with one clap at the same time. 

After these initial steps of opening the session, outlining the rules, and a short “Icebreaker” it’s time to get playful with a 5-10 minute "Energizers" to warm up the body and lift the energy and spirit in the group. Through intense, gamified warm-up activities, participants connect with each other and experience feelings of enjoyment and vitality. This physical exertion is a key aspect of calming the mind and promoting focus.

Why is playfulness so important?

When you are playful, the spirit is open, the energy flows freely and you are like a “tree’s young branch” that can move and swing in the wind… But if you are too serious about it, you are like a “dry stick” that can break easily. 

So there you have it, my not-so-secret formula for starting a group session to quickly establish trust, connection, playfulness, and flow as a movement and dance facilitator. Follow these steps and you’ll be one step closer to facilitating a positive and dynamic atmosphere for everyone involved. And your participants will feel safe enough to fully let go, so the magic of the workshop can freely transform them.

These are just a few examples... from there, it's time to lift up the energy... and there are many modalities I use for short “Energisers” and I can talk about them in the next blog.