series.
international labs.
workshops.

A contemporary movement practice and workshop framework for artists, communities, and organizations who want honest, embodied spaces for research, training, and connection.

get to know emberkindjoin a series

English: “ember” as a glowing coal that still carries heat; “kind” as both “type” and “gentleness.”
Hungarian: “ember” means “human,” pointing to our shared, imperfect, living humanity.
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ember·kind is the name Sophie gives to a way of being together in movement: arriving as we are, staying with what is present, and meeting ourselves and each other with curiosity, courage, care, and kindness.
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The kind of light that sparks – not burning, not destroying itself or others – but when it connects, it creates a fire that keeps the ones close to it warm, ready to act, and brave.

what is ember·kind?

ember·kind is a contemporary movement practice created by Sophie Barbarics that lives where wildness meets form.

It invites the body to remember its untamed origins while cultivating the refinement of presence and attention.

Developed over many years of teaching and choreographing in Hungary and Canada, ember·kind moves between contrasts: exploratory yet precise, sensory yet athletic, grounded yet spacious.

It sits between contemporary dance, improvisation, and relational work — a field where instinct and intelligence dance together, and movement becomes a way of listening to oneself, to others, and to the spaces in between.

Who is it for?

[background image] image of a vibrant dance class in action (for a dance studio)

Artists and movers who want depth, not just steps.

Communities and organizations seeking embodied spaces for connection, reflection, and play.

Studios, festivals, and universities wanting research‑driven, heart‑centered workshops.

Ways to work with ember·kind

ember·kind movement series

ember·kind movement series are rigorously designed eight‑week processes that put the ember·kind practice at the centre: wildness meeting form, instinct becoming articulate.

Each cycle uses ember·kind’s clear structures, layered scores, and guided improvisation so movement becomes focused research into attention, composition, and relationship.

Participants train ember·kind principles in their bodies — refining sensitivity to space, timing, and contact while building nervous‑system awareness, creative range, and ensemble trust.

join a series

Cocoon - online laboratories

Online ember·kind laboratories bring together an international group of artists and movers to investigate a shared question through movement, writing, and conversation.
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They offer depth, continuity, and accountability without everyone needing to travel to the same studio.
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Labs are small‑cohort, mentorship‑infused spaces where you can test ideas, get feedback, and translate impulses into actual work — from early research to near‑finished pieces.

join a future online lab or Get lab announcements

Workshops & intensives
for communities

Sophie designs custom ember·kind workshops and intensives for studios, festivals, universities, residencies, and community projects.

Each workshop balances technical training, improvisation, and space for participants’ own research, shaped to the community and context.
These can stand alone as one‑off experiences or be part of a larger residency, performance project, or organizational process.

request a workshop

1:1 creative mentorship

In ember·kind‑informed mentorship, we work 1:1 on your creative questions, projects, or teaching practice. Sessions move between conversation, embodied tasks, and concrete planning, always with attention to your nervous system and context.

book a first meeting

Current Series

ember·Kind
Summer pop up classes &
into the wild session (July 2)

June 23 & 25, July 2
6-7 pm
location: Dance Fusion, 601 Vernon Street, Nelson, BC

A four-part movement experience open to returning movers and first-timers alike. ember·kind blends guided improvisation, movement research, and relational practice in an intimate, intentional setting with room for both skill-building and personal discovery.
The series closes with Into the Wild, a dance jam with a live DJ set by DJ Nadine Wildwood.

more inforegister
between tides
3-day advanced dance training

24-25-26 June,
10 AM - 4.30 PM
location: Dance Fusion, 601 Vernon Street, Nelson, BC

An immersive contemporary dance intensive for experienced movers ready to enter a shared choreographic landscape.
Rooted in ember·kind practice, each day moves between sensation and structure, intuition and precision, individual voice and collective presence.
For intermediate to professional dancers and artists who are curious, committed, and ready to go deep.

more inforegister

Recent Series / Workshops

Explore how embodied practice, creative direction, and collaborative workshops can support your next project or personal journey. Each offering is crafted with care, curiosity, and a commitment to honest storytelling.

Advanced Dance Training

Nelson, 2026

testimonial

"I have moved through many dance worlds—contemporary, modern, and ballet. Yet nowhere have I encountered the depth, quiet electricity, and “soul vocabulary” that lives within Sophie’s classes.

Movement becomes a language for the unspoken—the tender, trembling, ecstatic—and somehow, in that vulnerability, we are not exposed, but witnessed.
Strangers soften, breath synchronizes, and joy rises from places that once felt guarded.

After years of rigorous training that left me disenchanted with contemporary dance, Sophie’s classes brought me home, reminding me that dance is not something to perfect, but something to inhabit."

By Jess, series participant

The Cocoon Lab

Nelson - 2026
6-week series

testimonial

"thank you for the incredible experience that was the cocoon lab. It was everything I hoped for and more.

You have such obvious and beautiful talent - first in the way you dance, of course, but also how you hold space for people and make them laugh.

You have a wonderful way of eliciting and inviting curiosity, playfulness and creativity from within. I am grateful to have witnessed that awakening in our time together.
What you offer is a profound gift, thank you for sharing it with others."

By Tina, a series participant

Dance Through the Darkness

Rossland, 2026
8-week movement series

testimonial

"I have moved through many dance worlds—contemporary, modern, and ballet. Yet nowhere have I encountered the depth, quiet electricity, and “soul vocabulary” that lives within Sophie’s classes.

Movement becomes a language for the unspoken—the tender, trembling, ecstatic—and somehow, in that vulnerability, we are not exposed, but witnessed.
Strangers soften, breath synchronizes, and joy rises from places that once felt guarded.

After years of rigorous training that left me disenchanted with contemporary dance, Sophie’s classes brought me home, reminding me that dance is not something to perfect, but something to inhabit."

By Jess, series participant

Cocoon Online - Mentor program

International, 2026

testimonial

Dancers: Mikayla Osborne, Lia Kajari, Sophie Barbarics
Choreographer, director: Sophie Barbarics
Camera: FMRL Production / Jonathan Robinson
Producer: Sophie Barbarics, YolOne Art Group

Floorship

Nelson, 2025
contemporary floorwork workshop

testimonial

For over 10 years, Sophie has been someone I’ve learned to be vulnerable with — and somehow, also someone who made that vulnerability feel safe.
I found Sophie’s classes at a moment when I was on the edge of quitting dance altogether. And somehow, everything shifted. Not just my relationship to dance, but my understanding of what it could be.
There’s this idea that dance spaces are toxic, especially when you start taking it seriously. And I’ve seen that too. But with Sophie, it was never like that. She created a space where you’re constantly pushed — but never in a way that shuts you down. It’s more like an invitation to go further, to risk more, to stay with the uncomfortable just a little longer.
And that’s actually the hardest part. Allowing yourself to be playful, to be exposed, to not just “do” choreography, but to make it your own. To let go of what you think it should look like and actually listen to your body.
That kind of trust doesn’t come easy.  Sophie gave me the space to even begin that process — without paralyzing fear, without judgment, without feeling like I have to protect myself.
I don’t think I would have found that kind of relationship to dance — or to myself — without her and her classes.

By Lia, dancer & student for over a decade

Advanced Dance Training

Nelson, 2026

testimonial

"I have moved through many dance worlds—contemporary, modern, and ballet. Yet nowhere have I encountered the depth, quiet electricity, and “soul vocabulary” that lives within Sophie’s classes.

Movement becomes a language for the unspoken—the tender, trembling, ecstatic—and somehow, in that vulnerability, we are not exposed, but witnessed.
Strangers soften, breath synchronizes, and joy rises from places that once felt guarded.

After years of rigorous training that left me disenchanted with contemporary dance, Sophie’s classes brought me home, reminding me that dance is not something to perfect, but something to inhabit."

By Jess, series participant

The Cocoon Lab

Nelson - 2026
6-week series

testimonial

"thank you for the incredible experience that was the cocoon lab. It was everything I hoped for and more.

You have such obvious and beautiful talent - first in the way you dance, of course, but also how you hold space for people and make them laugh.

You have a wonderful way of eliciting and inviting curiosity, playfulness and creativity from within. I am grateful to have witnessed that awakening in our time together.
What you offer is a profound gift, thank you for sharing it with others."

By Tina, a series participant

Dance Through the Darkness

Rossland, 2026
8-week movement series

testimonial

"I have moved through many dance worlds—contemporary, modern, and ballet. Yet nowhere have I encountered the depth, quiet electricity, and “soul vocabulary” that lives within Sophie’s classes.

Movement becomes a language for the unspoken—the tender, trembling, ecstatic—and somehow, in that vulnerability, we are not exposed, but witnessed.
Strangers soften, breath synchronizes, and joy rises from places that once felt guarded.

After years of rigorous training that left me disenchanted with contemporary dance, Sophie’s classes brought me home, reminding me that dance is not something to perfect, but something to inhabit."

By Jess, series participant

Cocoon Online - Mentor program

International, 2026

testimonial

Dancers: Mikayla Osborne, Lia Kajari, Sophie Barbarics
Choreographer, director: Sophie Barbarics
Camera: FMRL Production / Jonathan Robinson
Producer: Sophie Barbarics, YolOne Art Group

Floorship

Nelson, 2025
contemporary floorwork workshop

testimonial

For over 10 years, Sophie has been someone I’ve learned to be vulnerable with — and somehow, also someone who made that vulnerability feel safe.
I found Sophie’s classes at a moment when I was on the edge of quitting dance altogether. And somehow, everything shifted. Not just my relationship to dance, but my understanding of what it could be.
There’s this idea that dance spaces are toxic, especially when you start taking it seriously. And I’ve seen that too. But with Sophie, it was never like that. She created a space where you’re constantly pushed — but never in a way that shuts you down. It’s more like an invitation to go further, to risk more, to stay with the uncomfortable just a little longer.
And that’s actually the hardest part. Allowing yourself to be playful, to be exposed, to not just “do” choreography, but to make it your own. To let go of what you think it should look like and actually listen to your body.
That kind of trust doesn’t come easy. Sophie gave me the space to even begin that process — without paralyzing fear, without judgment, without feeling like I have to protect myself.
I don’t think I would have found that kind of relationship to dance — or to myself — without her and her classes.

By Lia, dancer & student for over a decade

Bring ember·kind to your community

If you’re interested in hosting an ember·kind series, booking an online lab, or inviting this practice into your festival, school, or organization, I’d love to hear about your people and what you are dreaming of.

start a conversation

Movement connects us all.

zsofibarbarics@gmail.com

Website designed & created by: Lia Kajari

Photo credits to: Jani Lakatos / Moving Target Photo, Annika Faith & Zsofia Kovats