training and labs
Play
There is something magical as an adult to find people one can play with; to feel safe enough to be fully engaged and present and embodied; to be spontaneous and improvisational; to be silly and serious; to try things out; to be surprised and to make mistakes. In the play space everything is allowed and accepted as part of the play. Being witnessed and witnessing is a key aspect when video and photographs come into the play. One can be witnessed and witness, and on viewing the videos and photos can witness oneself and make sense of the choices made and fall in love with one’s own movement as a true expression of oneself in that moment. The relationship to one’s play mates is full of sensitive attunement and stimulation for new possibilities and creative sympoeisis. When play occurs in nature all the elements of nature become partners in the play – wind, sky, clouds, trees, grass, sand, rock.
Amanda has facilitated and co-facilitated training and workshops in the creative arts therapies with many different intentions and audiences.
At present she is most interested in running experiential experimental labs for participants who are comfortable to work with movement, improvisation, performance and collaborative creativity. Participants experience the vulnerability and excitement of our individual and shared experience emerging.
current
Autumn 2025 Movement Lab Series
Professional Development for Creative Arts Therapists
The 2025 autumn series of experiential movement-based labs will be held monthly on a Saturday beginning in late March. There will be three sessions each co-hosted by Amanda and another dance/movement therapist, and each will be in a different venue with an opportunity to move in nature. The sessions will be an opportunity to explore, experiment and share with peers, and will progressively build on each other. The intention of the movement labs is to provide a space and time to extend your capacity for your own embodiment, as well as boosting your confidence and passion to extend these expressive movement principles into your practice.
First Lab
When: Saturday 29 March, 10am–4pm
Where: The grounds of Alberton House, 100 Mount Albert Road, Mount Albert, Auckland
Hosts: Amanda Levey and Gab Stoddard
Second Lab
When: Saturday 26 April, 10am–4pm
Where: Piha Schoolhouse Hall, 42 Seaview Road, Piha
Hosts: Amanda Levey and Poata Alvie McKree
Third Lab
When: Saturday 24 May, 10am–4pm
Where: Kohimarama Yacht Club, 80 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay, Auckland
Hosts: Amanda Levey and Dan Cunningham
About
Amanda Levey
After many years of holding the Creative Arts Therapy Programme at Whitecliffe, I now have more capacity to dive deeply into the roots of my movement-based training in my supervision and client practice. I feel inspired to share this knowledge and experience with other practitioners. I hope that participants will join me to extend our shared evolution of this work in our Aotearoa context.
Gab Stoddard
I am a Creative arts therapist, artist, and arts facilitator based in Tāmaki Makaurau. My work bridges between therapeutic facilitation of arts-based and expressive arts modalities. I facilitate workshops under Helping Hands Workshop, imagining and holding iterations of in-person happenings that explore a multi-modal exploration leading to collaborative making and conversations about ourselves and our environments. I am currently training under Tamalpa in somatic and movement based expressive arts practices. I bring to my work a strong grounding in body-based, somatic, and visual arts foundations to my work with others.
Poata Alvie McKree
(Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi ki Whangaroa, St Vincent, Barbados)
I am an interdisciplinary artist and arts therapist committed to telling stories that foster our connection to the earth, the ancestors, the divine, and each other. I write for live performance, facilitate therapeutic art and movement workshops, and offer ritual and ceremonial gatherings for women.
Dan Cunningham
I am a queer movement-based creative arts therapist based in Auckland, Aotearoa. With a deep passion for the transformative power of the arts and yoga, I integrate these modalities into my practice to support mental and physical health, personal growth, and resilience. My holistic approach combines movement, voice, visual arts, and performance to foster self-expression and enhance well-being. Currently, I facilitate workshops across Auckland and my practice emphasises the intersection between movement and the voice using yoga as a means to prepare for personal creative expressivity.
Cost
$100+gst per Lab. $270+gst for all 3 Labs.
Book
Bookings are online only – apply below
What to bring
Wear layers for outdoor and indoor conditions
A yoga mat or picnic blanket
A cushion
Water bottle
Journal and simple art materials (eg oil pastels)
A readiness to be in your body and your play self
Extras
For those who think monthly sessions will not be enough to quench your appetite for this work, additional individual sessions can be arranged between group sessions.