EMPTINESS AND THE CLOWN – GHENT, NY
Thursday October 03, 2024 - Sunday October 06, 2024

with Vivian Gladwell and Sarah French
October 3 to 6, 2024

“There is no such thing as an empty space
 or an empty time. 
There is always something to see, 
something to hear. 
In fact, try as we may to make a silence, 
we cannot.”

John Cage, Silence: Lectures and Writings

This course aims to explore the clown’s relationship to emptiness. 

We will play with silence and stillness, spaciousness, invisibility, and our yearning for certainty.

What happens when we resist the temptation to be busy, meaningful, or purposeful?

How can we be present to the anxiety and fear that emptiness brings?

In shifting our attention from what we are doing to how we are doing it, we open a space for poetry, relationship and love.

No prerequisites. Experienced and beginners welcome.

The group is limited to 12

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Facilitators: 

Sarah French

For as long as she remembers, Sarah has been interested in how people play. She was a practicing psychotherapist when she stumbled into the paradoxical world of Clown, which set her on a very enlivening path, despite her hesitations & fears. She has collaborated with Vivian Gladwell of Nose to Nose, since 2012. She considers that she has many teachers, including the spinner dolphins of Hawaii, who are the clowns of the sea. In 2015, Sarah created OOFA to share and promote discoveries with larger communities. 

OOFA offers clowning workshops & creativity labs, & makes books & games that are playful, if not also practical (The Book of Greetings, The Dance of Pants & Other Dances, Party of Animals…). Sarah’s approach to teaching is inspired by her adventures as a social worker, psychotherapist, English language teacher, elementary school teacher, actor, museum docent, & more. 

In 2021, Sarah moved to Ghent, NY, & started Fool Tree, a center for the playful arts, where she continues to facilitate clowning workshops & community events. 

*Sarah also gives private sessions to support individuals on their pathways to wholeness. 

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Vivian Gladwell

Vivian is the founder and director of Nose to Nose and has given hundreds of workshops around the world. He lives both in the UK and France where he started clowning in 1978. He speaks French and English fluently.
Vivian began teaching in 1988 as part of the Lifeways Festival at Emerson College – UK. He trained as a facilitator with the Bataclown in 1990 and joined their team in 1991 also working as a modern day Court Jester (Clownanalyst).
He created Nose to Nose UK in 1990, Nose to Nose of North America in 2006 and Fool View, the Social Clowning group and has trained facilitators in the UK, the USA, Germany and Italy – view history.
He continues his role as ambassador for the work by researching the applications of clowning in the context of teacher training, medicine, conflict management, ecology and intercultural work in many countries (South Africa, USA, Senegal, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, Norway…)

He holds clowning as a social playground for exploring our humanity.

DATES:
October 3 to 6, 2024

VENUE: Ghent, NY

ACCOMMODATION:
We can provide you with a list of possible accommodation options and prices in proximity to the venue. 

MEALS:
Bring your own – Communal lunches.

For enquiries please email Sarah: sarahfrench@nosetonose.info

Click here to book this course or enquire

Note: On some IPADS or IPHONES you may need to “long press” the link above.

To book a course follow the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places.  Submit the form with your details and we will let you know how to proceed with payment of your deposit. Your deposit is REFUNDABLE  MORE than 2 months before the start of the course. There is a $30 admin fee for refunds.  If the course is cancelled your deposit will be refunded in full.

Deposits are paid  online.

NOTE: Your place can only be confirmed after we have received your deposit. As the fee quoted usually only covers the course fee, please check you know the total cost of the course.

Once your deposit has been accepted, we will notify you to confirm your place on the course.
You are booked on the course ONLY when Nose to Nose confirms your place.

If you have questions or problems, email us at sarahfrench@nosetonose.info
If full email us at sarahfrench@nosetonose.info to go on our waiting list. We’ll let you know when a place becomes available.

MORE INFO CONCERNING COURSE FEE…

Q: Can I talk to someone? A: Yes, just send an email with your phone number to  and we’ll call you as sarahfrench@nosetonose.info soon as we are free to do so.

Q: Are there still spaces available on the course? A: Just click on the link Click here to book… above. You will see on the form whether there are available places.

Q: Can you put me on the waiting list? A: Sure, just click on the link Click here to enquire and fill the form. We will put you on our waiting list and let you know when a place becomes available.

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