Art, Movement & Spirituality

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Friday, September 27th, 2013
27th, 5-9 pm 28th, 10 am - 8 pm 29th 10 am - 4pm

Gianni Capitani was born in Rome in 1949. He has fine arts degrees from the Liceo Artistico de Roma and the Accademia di Belle Arti, also in Rome. He received a diploma in Gestalt Counseling from the Gestalt Institute of Florence, Italy. In 1993, Gianni founded the Fenix Centre for the Development of Human Potential. He is a member of the Italian Counseling Association and has taught in the School of Art Therapy at the University of Rome as well as in other universities in Italy, Spain and Mexico. He has also conducted workshops throughout Italy, Spain and Mexico. Since 1990 Gianni has collaborated with the SAT program, directed by Dr. Claudio Naranjo.

From 1978 to the present, Gianni Capitani has had numerous exhibitions of his artistic work in Italy, Spain and Mexico.

The work of Gianni Capitani as a facilitator of human growth and development has been informed by many sources, one of which is known as Rio Abierto. Rio Abierto, or Open River in English, is a system of body/mind development which was created more than 45 years ago in Argentina by Maria Adela Palcos. Rio Abierto works by incorporating movement, meditation, expression, voice liberation and relaxation in a manner that breaks us out of our habitual, mechanistic way of relating to others and to the world around us. The work is energizing and awakening, and as it moves us physically we are moved emotionally as well. Perhaps its greatest beauty is that it is profoundly spiritual without being either religious or dogmatic.

�The workshop with Gianni was playful and light-hearted.... I was surprised and overjoyed to find that I was awakening to my own creative, potential.� (Tom Hunsberger, participant)

A typical workshop includes periods of group movement directed by the facilitator. The movements are simple and require no special skills or experience. These repeated movements have the effect of softening the physical and emotional rigidity demanded of us by the modern world. Periods of movement are followed by time for meditation and self-reflection leading to creative expression in a variety of forms: paint, theatre, sculpture, poetry and more. The shared experience is one that leads to a new appreciation for those around us, and we leave the workshop with a warmer, wiser way of greeting our world.