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The Open Body System combines paths rooted in Western dance knowledge with oriental traditions and energy work. It has both an artistic and a spiritual-therapeutic dimension, incorporating exercises for emotional self-regulation through conscious movement. The method integrates tools from the Laban Bartenieff Movement System and elements of Dance and Movement Therapy, Authentic Movement, movement meditation, and improvisation.
Joanna “Gryf” Czajkowska, PhD in Dance, is a choreographer who merges artistic development with spiritual and personal growth. She works with the body and energy not only in the realm of art but also on a therapeutic level—through Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Nui and Kahi Loa, Japanese Reiki, tantric massage with Taoist and Tibetan Tantra elements, and as a certified instructor of OSHO dynamic meditations. Elements of Huna, Tantra, Reiki, and the Laban Bartenieff Movement System are key components of her Body Open program.
From 1993 to 2023, she co-created the Sopot Dance Theatre, producing over 60 performances showcased at contemporary dance and alternative theater festivals across three continents. She has received numerous awards, including the Gloria Artis Medal for Cultural Merit (2018), the honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” (2010), the Sopot Muse Award (2015), and a scholarship from the “Białe Plamy” program of the National Institute of Music and Dance (2023), where she researched the effectiveness of the Body Open method.
