HeartSong: Winter Series

Singing and connection beside the fire
for teen girls ages 13-16
January 4th- March 1st
9 Sundays, 3:00-5:30pm

With Sophie Rog and Ida Rotto

Gathering around the hearth in the deep of winter we will sing, connect and speak our hearts in the coziness of the cold season. Singing together is an ancient form of human connection that helps us to remember on a cellular level that we are not alone and invigorates us with the beauty of our collective voice. Being together to share what is on our hearts and minds brings us fortitude and joy as we navigate life’s changes.

Our primary focus in this 9-week program will be to learn a repertoire of songs that we will share with our families at the end of our time together. Vocal and personal expression, improv games, and council practice will support our singing to be strong, meaningful and connective. We will gather in a beautiful home with tea and snacks and the wood stove to warm us!

Guides:
Sophie Rog (she/her) is a vocalist, potter, and massage therapist. Over the past eight years, she has sung with Sevda Balkan Ensemble, Laleta Ensemble, and Decorah’s Maritza. Steeped in community and folk singing since childhood, she loves to share her excitement and passion for singing with others, to hear each person’s unique voice, and the richness of our voices blending together.

Ida (she/her) was born and raised in the Upper Iowa River watershed along Canoe Creek, where she first learned to love the sensations of the world around her, the moist soil after the spring thaw, the blur of dancers moving to the fiddle, and the early morning voice of the wood pewee. With passion for the exploration of honest self-expression, she is a singer, songwriter, craftsperson and a student of the natural world. She is dedicated to making space where children can slow to the pace of nature and enter a give-and-take conversation of learning with the land. She sees self-love as the most foundational building block for learning and growth, from which authentic respect and curiosity can flow.

Ida is a graduate of Weaving Earth Center for Relational Education and Rx Outside Nature-Led Training for Mentors. Committed to the conversation between humans and land, she co-created the Canoe Creek Skills Gathering and co-directs Village Fire, an annual outdoor family singing festival attended by families throughout the Midwest. Since 2016 she has run both year-long and summer-long youth programs for Weaving Earth, along with summer camps for Friends of the Petaluma River, nature immersion programs for Calpella Waldorf School, the Willowers year long homeschool enrichment program, and Red Oak Outdoor School’s summer camps, backpacking trips, and homeschool enrichment programs. She is Wilderness First Responder certified.