Susanne Gärtner
Sustainable activism
Susanne works at the intersection of cultural studies, social pedagogy and political education. She brings long-standing experience in facilitation, memory work, participation and sustainable activism.
Field of practice
Re_Connection
A secular ritual practice of collective reflection and body-based research. Sound, movement, conversation and witnessing form a frame in which political, social and personal questions become bodily experienceable.
Body work · Live music · Political education · Artistic research
In many social, ecological and cultural contexts, people encounter exhaustion, tension and a sense of being overwhelmed. Questions of engagement, belonging and focus touch concrete action as much as emotions and bodily experience.
In Re_Connection, participants move together, listen, observe bodily reactions and reflect on open questions. This structured frame connects body-based attention, shared reflection and collective movement. What happens in the room is observed, shared and developed further: how does a thought change when the body thinks along and a group listens?
How the practice works
01
Body-based exploration
The practice begins with non-verbal group activation and body work, inspired by dance and movement therapy. Breath, spatial awareness and simple qualities of movement sharpen sensitivity to bodily states, emotional resonance and relational dynamics.
02
Reflection & dialogue
The second phase works with philosophical impulses and social questions. Conversations, exercises from transformative education and short written reflections create attention for emotions, social reality and shared responsibility.
03
Movement & integration
In the final phase, verbal and non-verbal elements combine into collective movement and sound. Live music provides a temporal structure that supports transitions between individual and collective experience.
Team & collaboration
Re_Connection sees itself as a shared think tank and practice context. The format emerges through exchange between artistic practice, political education, body work, theory, facilitation and therapeutic perspectives; those involved develop, test and reflect on it together. Arystan Petzold contributes in particular his experience from music, ritual research and artistic practice. Beyond this core, Re_Connection is in ongoing exchange with people from different countries and contexts who research or practise at similar intersections of ritual, body, art, political education, community and transformation.
Carolina Márquez
Dance therapy & psychology
Carolina is a professional dancer, psychologist and movement therapist. Her work combines body awareness, expression and trauma-sensitive support.
Arystan Petzold
Music & ritual practice
Arystan Petzold brings experience from music, ritual research and artistic practice. With instruments from various traditions, voice and Live Looping he contributes to the musical framing.
Context & development
Re_Connection grew out of a pilot phase in 2024 and has since been carried out with support from the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) at riesa efau. Kultur Forum Dresden.
The format continues to develop through regular practice sessions, multi-day retreats and ongoing exchange with participants. Insights from previous cycles feed into theory, method development and community work.
Formats
Monthly sessions
A recurring format for groups who want to explore Re_Connection as a regular practice.
Workshops for institutions
Sessions for cultural organisations, educational institutions and civil-society initiatives.
Festival & conference modules
Shorter formats for gatherings addressing cultural, social or political questions.
Residencies & extended formats
Longer working phases for artistic research, method development and process-oriented practice.
Foundations & influences
Re_Connection draws on approaches from several fields:
- Somatic and movement-based approaches from dance therapy and body psychology
- Dialogical and reflective methods from transformative education
- Ecological and relational perspectives on interdependence and orientation in times of crisis
- Ritual, music and temporal structuring from artistic practice and improvisation
Contact & collaboration
For workshop enquiries, institutional collaborations or programme development, feel free to get in touch.
info@arystan.de Request a workshop