The Body Speaks: Storytelling Beyond Words

This workshop is the 2nd in a 4-workshops series. While the series is also for students involved in Upside Aerial's Fall 2027 production, Floriography*, you don't have to be part of the show or have taken previous workshops in the series to take any of the workshops!

*If you are interested in being involved with Floriography, all the details are here: https://www.upsideaerial.com/events-1/floriography . To be in the show, you'll start with at least 2 Intro to Partner Acro classes before 2/7/27 and at least 2 Foundations Workshops below (at least 1 with Stephanie and at least 1 with Robi).

These Foundations Workshops are open to all movers, age 18+ (no aerial experience required):

1. FROM SEED TO STORY: ROOTED IN BREATH, GROWING IN MOTION (Saturday, Nov 7th, 3:00pm - 5:00pm)

Led by Stephanie Martinez Ramirez

Every story begins with a seed, and every creative process begins with presence. In this collaborative workshop, we will explore how breath shapes movement, how rhythm creates connection, and how individual expression contributes to a larger collective experience. Through guided exercises, improvisation, and group exploration, participants will listen, respond, and create alongside one another while discovering how stories can emerge through the body and through collaboration. Open to all movers, age 18+.

2. THE BODY SPEAKES: STORYTELLING BEYOND WORDS (Sunday, December 6th, 5:00pm - 7:00pm)

Led by Robi Arce

What happens when words fall away and the body becomes the storyteller? In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how gesture, movement, rhythm, and physical presence communicate meaning across cultures and languages. Through playful exercises and guided exploration, participants will discover how emotion, intention, and narrative can be expressed without relying on spoken text. Whether experienced performers or complete beginners, participants will be invited to deepen their awareness of the body's expressive possibilities and uncover new ways of connecting with others through movement. Open to all movers, age 18+.

3. IMAGINED WORLDS, EMBODIED STORIES (Sunday, January 24th , 5:00pm - 7:00pm)

Led by Robi Arce

Every character, place, and story begins in the imagination, but comes to life through the body. This workshop invites participants to step into a creative process that blends movement, character exploration, and theatrical play. Drawing inspiration from physical theatre traditions, participants will experiment with transformation, presence, and creative expression while exploring how the body can shape compelling stories and vivid human experiences. Through collaborative exercises and imaginative challenges, participants will discover how physicality can unlock new pathways to creativity, communication, and performance. Open to all movers, age 18+.

4. WEAVING A SHARED STORY (Sunday, February 7th, 5:00pm - 7:00pm)

Led by Stephanie Martinez Ramirez

In this workshop, participants will bring together the tools explored throughout Foundations—including movement, acting, physical storytelling, and partner-acro to create collectively. Through play and experimentation, we’ll build images, movement phrases, and performance sequences from the ideas and experiences in the room, discovering how individual voices can become part of a larger artistic vision. Open to all movers, age 18+.

WORKSHOP PRICING & REGISTRATION:

Single workshops are $40 each, or get the Floriography Foundations Package (at checkout) to get all four workshops for $35 each. Register for individual workshops below (or all 4 here):

1. FROM SEED TO STORY: ROOTED IN BREATH, GROWING IN MOTION on 11/7 with Stephanie

2. THE BODY SPEAKES: STORYTELLING BEYOND WORDS on 12/6 with Robi

3. IMAGINED WORLDS, EMBODIED STORIES on 1/24 with Robi

4. WEAVING A SHARED STORY on 2/7 with Stephanie

ABOUT YOUR WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS:

Stephanie Martinez Ramirez is a public sociologist, researcher, educator, movement artist, and lifelong student of the mind and body. While much of her professional career has focused on research, community engagement, education, and evidence-based practice, movement and artistic expression have remained a constant thread throughout her life. Raised in Puerto Rico, Stephanie's artistic journey began long before she had access to formal training. As a child, she dreamed of gymnastics and dance, but financial limitations often placed those opportunities out of reach. Rather than discouraging her, those barriers fueled a deep curiosity about movement, creativity, and the many ways the body can communicate, connect, and transform. Throughout her life, she has pursued opportunities to move, perform, teach, and create. Her background includes dance, acrobatics, aerial arts, choreography, theatrical performance, and collaborative arts projects. She has led dance groups, performed in original productions, choreographed for individuals and ensembles, and contributed to interdisciplinary performance work in Puerto Rico and beyond.

Stephanie later discovered aerial arts, finding a discipline that brought together artistry, athleticism, storytelling, and self-expression. She continued her training for many years and eventually taught aerial silks and sling at Chrysalis Aerial Academy in Gresham, Oregon. There, she worked with students ranging from young children to adults, helping build not only technical skills but also confidence, resilience, and trust in their bodies. Her teaching philosophy centers on encouragement, growth, and meeting each person where they are.

Today, Stephanie lives in North Carolina, where she continues to explore movement while navigating the ongoing process of healing, rediscovering her body after pregnancy, and reconnecting with the creative practices that have shaped her life. She is so excited to direct an original show, Floriography, at Upside Aerial! For Stephanie, as a current student in Upside, Floriography represents more than a performance. It is an opportunity to reconnect with a part of herself that does not often take center stage in her day-to-day professional life. While she deeply values the work she does through the lens of research, public health, and science, Floriography offers a space to return to imagination, collaboration, and artistic exploration. She is excited to discover what can emerge when a group of people brings their niche talents, lived experiences, and creative voices together to build something meaningful, something collective, and something they are proud to share with others. Get all the Floriography details at INSERT LINK HERE.

Robi Arce-Martínez is a Puerto Rican director, actor, educator, mask-maker, deviser, artivist and community-engaged professor with an MFA in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell'Arte International. With over 20 years of experience, Robi’s artistry transcends borders and disciplines. His work is rooted in identity and shaped by a fusion of styles, influenced by magical realism, surrealism, poetry, and fueled by social justice and change. Robi’s creative passion lies in exploring the in-between spaces and the poetry of movement to create a physical storytelling that connects with audiences as sports connects with fans. He has performed, directed, and led workshops across México, Venezuela, Argentina, Italy, Perú, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and throughout the United States. 

As co-founder of Moriviví Theatre, a collective of multidisciplinary Latine artists, Robi seeks to cultivate a space of empowerment and education that honors the roots, stories, languages, and complexities of the Latine identities.

Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Movement and Acting at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and is a board member for the Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC.

Robi’s professional credits include collaborations with Teatro del Sesenta, Y No Había Luz, Circo Nacional de Puerto Rico, Escena Latina, Lucky Productions, The Dell’Arte Company, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Milagro Theatre, and Hand2Mouth Theatre.