Before technique, before concept, before form: there is the body.
This retreat is an invitation to return to it. Through somatic movement and somatic writing, we explore how sensation, emotion, and intuition can become the foundations of artistic creation. For five days, artists gather to listen, observe, experiment, and rediscover their own singular ways of expressing through movement and words.
—Anna Ádám
Founder of the School of Disobedience
This 5-day urban retreat introduces the two core methods of the School of Disobedience: Somatic Movement and Somatic Writing. Both practices are grounded in what we call somatic art: an artistic approach where the body becomes the primary source of creation.
Most artistic processes today start from the outside.
From references. From formats. From expectations.
Here, we start elsewhere.
From sensation. From attention. From what is not yet clear. This is not about producing faster or better. It is about learning how to stay long enough for something to emerge on its own terms.
The 2 practices
The retreat is structured around two complementary approaches that follow the same logic: working from within.
Morning practice
Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám (3h / day)
Morning sessions take place in the studio and focus on Somatic Movement, combining elements of performance art, improvisation, and composition. Through repertoire fragments, improvisational scores, and somatic practices, participants explore:
Afternoon practice
Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai (3h / day)
Afternoon sessions focus on Somatic Writing, where language emerges directly from bodily perception and lived experience. We move into Budapest's parks, forests, and riversides, and if the weather allows, even the Danube.
Through guided exercises participants explore:
What you will learn
Participants leave with concrete methods and tools they can integrate into their own artistic or educative practice.
Rhythm of the retreat
Monday, June 22
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Tuesday, June 23
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
16.00-19.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Wednesday, June 24
Rest & digestion — time to integrate, wander through Budapest, swim, or simply rest.
Thursday, June 25
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Friday, June 26
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai + Closing circle
Who this retreat is for
No specific technique is required — only curiosity, openness, and willingness to explore. It's for you if you are:
Most artistic processes today start from the outside.
From references. From formats. From expectations.
Here, we start elsewhere.
From sensation. From attention. From what is not yet clear. This is not about producing faster or better. It is about learning how to stay long enough for something to emerge on its own terms.
The 2 practices
The retreat is structured around two complementary approaches that follow the same logic: working from within.
Morning practice
Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám (3h / day)
Morning sessions take place in the studio and focus on Somatic Movement, combining elements of performance art, improvisation, and composition. Through repertoire fragments, improvisational scores, and somatic practices, participants explore:
- movement emerging from sensation and emotion
- attention, focus, and presence
- working with autobiographical material
Afternoon practice
Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai (3h / day)
Afternoon sessions focus on Somatic Writing, where language emerges directly from bodily perception and lived experience. We move into Budapest's parks, forests, and riversides, and if the weather allows, even the Danube.
Through guided exercises participants explore:
- writing from emotion, sensation, intuition, sensorial perception
- translating bodily experience into language
- intuitive, expressive, and immersive writing processes
What you will learn
Participants leave with concrete methods and tools they can integrate into their own artistic or educative practice.
Rhythm of the retreat
Monday, June 22
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Tuesday, June 23
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
16.00-19.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Wednesday, June 24
Rest & digestion — time to integrate, wander through Budapest, swim, or simply rest.
Thursday, June 25
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai
Friday, June 26
10.00-13.00: Somatic Movement with Anna Ádám
15.00-18.00: Somatic Writing with Fruzsi Kovai + Closing circle
Who this retreat is for
No specific technique is required — only curiosity, openness, and willingness to explore. It's for you if you are:
- curious about somatic art and somatic methodologies
- interested in performance, improvisation, movement practices, and somatic writing
- seeking body-based creative processes
practical information
When: June 22-26
Where: Budapest, Hungary
Communication language: English. For the somatic writing sessions, you are welcome to write in your mother tongue.
Application deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and will close once all spots are filled.
Spots are limited, apply early: min. 4 - max. 8 / retreat
Price: 500 €
Discounted price through the work exchange format: 400 € + publication of one article
Accommodation & Meals: Not included
Your facilitators:
Where: Budapest, Hungary
Communication language: English. For the somatic writing sessions, you are welcome to write in your mother tongue.
Application deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and will close once all spots are filled.
Spots are limited, apply early: min. 4 - max. 8 / retreat
Price: 500 €
Discounted price through the work exchange format: 400 € + publication of one article
Accommodation & Meals: Not included
Your facilitators:
Anna Ádám
Somatic movement facilitator
Anna Ádám is an artist, choreographer, and cultural entrepreneur whose practice unfolds at the intersection of performance, text, pedagogy, and community-based art. After more than fifteen years of creating performances, immersive installations, and sensitive, transitional spaces across Europe, Africa, and South Asia, she founded the School of Disobedience as a living, evolving alternative to academic art education. Her work is grounded in somatic and experimental approaches, with a strong focus on small-scale, artistic autonomy, and autobiographical material. In recent years, her practice has shifted increasingly toward writing, voice, and performative text, culminating in lecture-performances and text-based works. For Anna, teaching is cultivation: preparing the soil so singular practices can grow.
Fruzsi Kovai
SOMatic writing facilitator
Fruzsi Kovai is a visual artist, poet, and workshop facilitator whose practice is deeply rooted in the body, perception, and transformation. With a background spanning literature, film, illustration, design, and fine art, she works across disciplines while remaining anchored in somatic drawing and writing. Her research moves through anatomy, movement, non-Western knowledge systems, ecology, science fiction, and microscopic worlds, treating the body as both subject and method. Her pedagogy invites slow attention, embodied observation, and long-form engagement with text as a living, changing organism.