2026 Spiral Body Techniques® 80-Hour Teacher Certification Workshop

2026 Spiral Body Techniques™ 10-day teacher certification workshop.

July 6-17, 2026 | 10:30am-4:30pm M-F | The Theatre School at DePaul University | Chicago Illinois

This professional movement workshop is geared toward a cohort of 3-4 advanced dancers and aspiring and experienced teachers with an interest in deeper study with Shanahan and Spiral Body Techniques®. Those who successfully complete this workshop can become certified to teach Essential Level Spiral Body Techniques studio classes in January 2027.

Spiral Body Techniques® is a movement and pedagogical framework developed by Molly Shanahan that centers the body’s innate intelligence, emphasizing spiraling connectivity, release of habitual holding, and responsive relationship to gravity, space, and others. Rather than relying on fixed exercises or predetermined class structures, teachers learn to construct classes spontaneously through observation, listening, and moment-to-moment responsiveness to the group, allowing material to emerge rather than be imposed. Benevolent observation functions as a core discipline within this process, inviting teachers and movers to attend closely without judgment while engaging productive spatial and other constraints that redirect focus away from perfectionism and toward curiosity, specificity, and relational awareness. Learning unfolds rhizomatically, through nonlinear pathways of sensation, association, and relational exchange, and supports multiple points of entry that honor the intelligence and capacity for complexity present in all bodies.

Within this framework, spontaneity is inseparable from radical trust in one’s own sensing body and in the observer-observed relationship that develops within a group. Teachers cultivate environments where forgiveness operates as a practical creative principle, not a nicety. This discipline encourages dancers to productively mine so-called missteps, remain in process, and continue generating material without retreating into self-protection or evaluative pressure. This approach reframes virtuosity as a profound form of present-moment adaptability, awareness, and humane relational practice, cultivating dancers who move with greater freedom, specificity, and agency.

Training Structure

The certification process unfolds across several phases:

• 60-hour in-person intensive (July 2026) focused on movement practice, observation, pedagogical translation, and the relational foundations of teaching Spiral Body Techniques®
• 20–30 hours of integration including reflection, solo practice, and continued cohort dialogue
• Zoom gatherings (2–4 months) with Shanahan, cohort members, and SBT teachers to support integration and emerging teaching questions
• Teaching practicum (October–November) in which each participant records and shares a 60–80 minute class for detailed feedback
• Individual feedback and cohort dialogue addressing shared themes and pedagogical development

Following successful completion of these phases, participants will be certified to teach Essential Level Spiral Body Techniques® for a three-year period.

Most participants will have prior experience studying with Shanahan through classes, workshops, or ensemble work. Those newer to Spiral Body Techniques® are welcome to inquire; upcoming workshops and classes will serve as prerequisites and will be announced throughout the year.

Application details, schedule, scope of study, reading recommendations, and payment information are shared individually with interested dancers.

Cost: $2850

Payment plans are available.

The workshop is taught by Molly Shanahan with pedagogical and research support from Kristina Fluty, Jeff Hancock, and guest collaborators.

To inquire, request full information, or begin the application conversation, please reach out.

Spiral Body Techniques® is a registered trademark and can only be taught by certified teachers.

Image of Mol Shanahan, August 2023 by Lady Red Photos.