Community Calls: In Conversation with Ashley Rucker
Embodied sensuality, how movement can express what we cannot say, & art as a means of processing inner conflict.
The first time I ever attended a movement session with Ashley Rucker it was exorcismic.
A handful of women, in a park, howling, crawling, dancing, shaking.
I can’t tell you how good it feels to behave absolutely feral adjacent to a men’s intramural soccer team.
It was as if everything that lay just beneath the skin had bubbled up & flowed over — & there she was, feet bare, playlist booming, shepherding us through release.
Ashley’s energy precedes her.
You feel her warmth long before she brings you in for a hug — & it will only be moments before you realize that you want whatever she’s having — an elixir of incarnation & prowess.
As it turns out you can have it, she will even teach you how to tap into the fluidity, the wisdom, the embodiment of all that makes us the dynamic beings that we are.
Ash is dedicated to sharing the power of movement, dance, & visual arts as a form of self-exploration, & a means of healing.
Through her organization Therapart, she has redefined what tangible & actionable well-being can look like on an individual & community level.
It’s only right that she’s my first guest on Community Calls.
The idea sprouted to life about a year ago, via a flimsy Facetime connection from LA to NY as Ash & I fell into our natural rhythm of collaborating — conspiring. It would be my way of folding my own community, & the people I admire into the bigger conversation of intimacy, connection & desire.
Ever conspiring, Ash & I talk all things sensuality (my current philosophical fixation), how movement can express what we cannot say, & art as a means of processing inner conflict.
Read on to find out where you can catch up with Ash this week in LA & more.
Where are you based? Fort Greene Brooklyn
What is your title? Founder of Therapart and Co-founder of the Inhabit Method.
Can you tell us a little bit about what shaped you into the woman you are today?
My experiences, my challenges, and my hardships have shaped me into the woman I am today. The sum of all parts of me. If it were not for the things I have gone through I wouldn't be where I am today. It sounds cliche, but it is true. This past year was one of the most transformative years for me and still is. I am able to step back now and let spirit do the work. Guide me, hold me, and protect me and all I really do now is listen and find flow when I feel things becoming rigid.
How did you come to dance & movement as a form of self-expression?
Through deep pain and hardship is how dance and movement formed as a way of expressing myself. I was simply suffering, but with all suffering comes immense change. Dance has let me express things I was not able to speak. Movement allowed me to be free, to be weird, and to have a conversation about untold parts of my body.
What does sensuality mean to you?
Sensuality to me means embodying. Embodying the Sum Of Us, loving each part deeply with care and admiration. Finding flow and fun and softness and unconditional love for being exactly who you are.
How do you embody sensuality in your everyday life?
I move, I create, I love, love, and love some damn more! I go within and listen to what my mind, body, and soul needs as soon as I wake up.
What would you tell individuals who are feeling inner conflict or at a crossroads?
I would say breathe and most importantly let go. One of the biggest lessons I have received this past year is to simply let go, as we can't control the outcome. Spirit or whomever you believe in, if anything will guide you and hold you. Go within and get really silent, begin to be the observer and step back and let life happen with ease, grace and love. That's the fun part I am starting to realize is as long as I do my best to show up and be the best person I can be today, the rest is not really in my control, I can really drop into the experience of being human, of being me.
Photo by Lucette West
Can you tell us more about Therapart?
Therapart was born in my body, out of a feeling. It sounds crazy, but I got a download from spirit and I just kept listening, and following instructions, I’m still in awe of where Therapart is today because it was a dream and is now a reality. Therapart is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, we believe art and movement can heal and change the world. TherapART's mission is to provide individuals with a community-led space that shapes healing and growth through creative expression — dance, movement, arts, music — all that we can relate to on a soul level and connect with. We are here to amplify voices unheard, and provide safe and sacred spaces for vulnerability through story-telling and facilitation programs that guide students on the power of healing pain and trauma through movement and self-expression.
What’s your vision for its impact on the world?
Wow, my vision for Therapart is huge! But to sum it up, my dream is for Therapart to become the new YMCA. A place where the youth can go and explore and be free. To create the world they want to see. From Music, dance, poetry, and writing I envision TherapART to be this hub, this community arts center where if someone wants to go make a beat after school they can head to the TherapART center, or if someone wants to work on a new dance piece, they can do this at TherapART. I envision each floor to have different offerings where the youth can choose, create and simply have fun!
A safe and sacred space for all things art and creativity! I envision Therapart programming to be in schools, hospitals, and all over the world. I know it will happen, and for now, I am just enjoying the journey and the ride. I want to continue to give back, help the community and dream BIG, for all of us.
Anything else you want to share with the community?
My Co-founder Robert Vail and I are launching Inhabit Method in March which is a multidisciplinary movement practice, grounded in the pursuit of training and connecting the body, mind, and soul.
Catch up with Ashley Rucker in LA this week:
Sum of all Parts
She will be co-hosting a gallery exhibit with ceramicist Lucette Romy, taking place Friday, February 24th @ 6pm, 3021 Rowena Ave. No tickets needed.
Part of the proceeds of prints and sculptures sold will be donated to In Our Own Voice National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda.
A Story Do Tell which is a spiritually guided movement and meditation experience at Storyhouse Foundation.
Saturday, February 25th, @ 7pm, Storyhoues Foundation.
