Sarah Sea Clarke

Sarah Sea is a multi-disciplinary Artist who works with movement, film and facilitation. She is certified by the Work That Reconnects Network (USA), trained as a Movement Pedagog by the The Holistic Dance Institute (Austria) and has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree from Sussex University (UK). Originating from the British Isles, Sarah has lived and worked internationally since 2008. A major theme within her work is connecting inner with outer, drawing on the felt sense of the bodymind to guide movement within the individual and the collective. 

A solid ground…

Sarah’s ancestors are English, Welsh and Irish. Born in London, she grew up in a village in Hampshire (UK) and took inspiration from expansive fields, rivers and woods to adventure in. She was naturally gifted with movement abilities, spending hours in nature running, climbing, jumping and riding around. Thanks to her visionary and hard working mother, Sarah was blessed with the opportunity to commune with magical equestrian beings. As an early teenager she learnt and excelled at jumping and flying, on and off horses at high speed for the local mounted games team. Having always been a tactile learner and athletically able, these activities formed the base of her movement practices, ongoing sensory development and inquiry.

Engulfed in a hub of creativity in London between 1998 - 2008, Sarah curated live events at 333 & Mother bar (London, UK), worked as a DJ, founded The International Love Collective - a multi disciplinary performance group, formed SeaBuzzard “rock and roll” video partnership with Fay Milton to tour with legendary musicians and cult comedians, performed immersive theatre rituals as part of The Psychedelic Kidnap Experience (UK & Czech Republic) and was an Associate in Tino Sehgal’s These Associations 4-month long exhibit in Tate Modern (UK) .... plus many other art happenings! 

At the end of 2008, Sarah left the UK in search of the rest of the world and so followed a second wave of filmmaking, focusing mainly on humanitarian and social documentary. Along her journey (as an anecdote to carrying a lot of film equipment and tensing her body to ‘hold the frame’), Sarah was drawn deeper into movement arts. The discovery of Capoeira in Brazil in 2008 was a game changer, she started practising immediately and by 2011 taught basic skills to refugee children whilst living in Cairo. Between 2013 and 2017, alongside her colleagues in the UAE and Jordan, they collectively hosted sessions at schools, public events, and weekly open beach rodas. Sarah performed and taught capoeira at various events in the UAE including at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1, the Dubai Boat Show, Brazil Day sponsored by Puma, Maculelê dance performances at Dubai Drums & the Dubai Food Festival, Jess Jumeirah School, Dubai Government’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Rhythm on The River at Riverland and Médecins Sans Frontières, (Irbid, jordan). Sarah was part of the founding team that set up Capoeira United Middle East, with the intention of creating a ‘power with’ dynamic between all teachers and students in the region.

Moving into contact…

After dancing the form of contact improvisation Sarah fell in love. Immediately sensing transferable skills from capoeira, she became an advocate for CI and started sharing it to new audiences. In 2015, Sarah along with Tara Akinson, co-founded CI DXB (Dubai, UAE) to teach Contact Improvisation principles and host weekly jams. Additionally she taught at Dubai Daily Fitness (UAE), NYUAD (New York University, Abu Dhabi, UAE) and Manna Desert Gathering (Beida, Jordan). 

In 2017 whilst living in the USA, Sarah taught regular Contact Improvisation classes at Maple St Studios (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA), reviving a Contact Improv scene which resulted in weekly jams being held at the local Aikido centre. And back in the UAE, she collaborated with musician Aaron Sherwood, facilitating ‘Improvised Movement: Individual and Collective Bodies’ workshop and ‘Improvised Movement & Dance Workshop’ for Woman exclusively, both at Sharjah Arts Foundation (Sharjah, UAE). She also facilitated dance at the launch of Mind Body Soul: A Happiness Center, (Dubai, UAE) and taught contact improvisation at Mystic Earth (Shouna, Jordan).

Joining the dots…

During 2017, as a group facilitator Sarah introduced the practices of Work That Reconnects to the inhabitants of Dubai & Abu Dhabi, facilitating a WTR workshop as part of the Liwa Art Hub Desert Retreat, (Liwa, UAE) and collaborated with Solla Pizzuto for a ‘Women's Vitality Empowerment’ workshop at Taijitu the House of Om (Dubai, UAE), where she integrated WTR practices with elements of Contact Improvisation dance. Along with her colleagues, Marwan Ali Ghunaim and Dana Dajani, Sarah co-created and facilitated the first one-day Work That Reconnects workshop in the UAE. 

In 2019 Sarah continued to use Work That Reconnects methods to facilitate groups in UAE and Austria. Partnering with mindfulness teacher, Maria Paz, they offered a ‘Deep Time’ workshop, to reconnect with mother earth, the ancestors and the generations to come at The House of Om (Dubai, UAE) and Sarah also created multi-day workshops with the WWF Austria and Generation Earth, Reconnect2Nature (Scharnstein, Austria), plus workshops at activist weekends: Tipping Points (Graz, Austria) and a 3-hour Future Beings workshop at Jacaranda School for Orphans (Blantyre, Malawi). In 2021 Sarah facilitated a ‘Deep Time’ workshop at a healing retreat for young activists from the Lobau Protest camp, organised by Humus (Pernitz, Austria)

Since 2020, Sarah along with her colleagues Marwan Ali Ghunaim and Dana Dajani, have been developing a programme and international community called The Spiral Sessions. They facilitate monthly digital Talking Circles and offer group courses for transformation of self and community.  

During 2021 & 2022, Sarah has been sharing her movement project research ‘Sphere’s of Being’ in the form of Embodiment training to small groups in the studio, online and to the My Body (my) Rules! (Vienna, Austria) group, she taught ‘Contact Improvisation: Essentials’ series, teaches CI weekly at Wohnraum Künstlergasse, (Vienna, Austria) and is part of the rotating teachers that lead in Matan Levkowich’s weekly contact improvisation ‘The Stuwer jam’. (Vienna, Austria)

Inspiration…

Influences on Sarah’s movement style, teaching and facilitating include: climbing trees, horse riding, rivers, Capoeira Arts, Axis Syllabus research - Kira Kirsch (Movement Artisans, Berlin, Germany) and Frey Faust (USA), the sea, surreal improvisation Action Theater training with Ruth Zapora (USA), Holistic Dance and Movement Pedagogy teacher training by Sabine Parzer (Holistic Dance Institute, Austria), Mountains, Contact Improv with Sebastian Flegiel (Poland), ‘Systems Thinking and the Work That Reconnects’ seminar with Joanna Macy (USA, Authentic Movement, digital Talking Circle training with Hereditary Chief brother Phil Lane Jr. (Ihanktonwan Dakota & Chickasaw nations), healing art reiki in Usui Shiki Ryoho (OGM) system, the vastness of the universe… 

Filmmaking…

Sarah is also well known as a Filmmaker with over 15-years experience, she has worked extensively across Europe, Africa & the Middle East with grass roots organisations, NGOs, broadcasters, businesses, artists & high-end clients. By reflection, her video art poses questions to roles and forms of humanity and impermanence. You can watch some of her work on her website or on vimeo.