The Space
Grounded, elevated, The Ground Flow was designed with a nod to Thai vernacular architecture, in which houses stand on stilts and plenty of natural airflows harmonize with tropical surroundings. The deck flooring provides a ground for movement. There's no mirror here, but open vistas.
Situated in Chalokbankao, a residential neighborhood in a verdant heart of Koh Phangan, the space is accessible from all corners of the island. The dance floor overlooks a valley of coconut trees and striking mountainous range--a beautiful space perfect for both tuning into your embodiment as well as dancing it out to your heart's desire.
Paisid Aramphongphan ("Map")
Founder
I grew up in Bangkok with a passion for dance since a young age. On a scholarship I furthered my studies in the US, eventually earning a PhD in History of Art from Harvard University, specializing in the intersection of visual art and dance in the 20th century. I've taught at the university level in the US, UK, and Thailand and am the author of Horizontal Together: Art, Dance, and Queer Embodiment in 1960s New York (Manchester University Press), which made the de la Torre Bueno Dance Studies Book Awards shortlist. You can find more information about my academic writing here.
Having put mind over body on my academic journey, I turned to yoga as a modality for re-uniting them, in the process also re-awakening my love of dance. In 2019 I found myself on Koh Phangan and fell in love with the island's natural beauty and warm-hearted community of movement practitioners. I decided to pursue yoga and dance teaching full-time because I had experienced first-hand, in myself and in others, the body-mind disconnect, and love nothing more than to hold space for all to experience their innermost humanness through the joy of movement.
As a teacher, I draw on my experience in modern and contemporary dance, ballet, release technique, exposure to somatics work, and anatomy-informed inquiry in order to offer a playful movement journey imbued with the flow of rhythm. More recently I've also developed interests in the neuroscience of movement and dance & movement as a therapeutic/wellness modality. When not teaching, you can find me petting island dogs (or more like giving them treats in order to pet them) or floating on the seashore somewhere along the western edges of Koh Phangan.