A lifetime of experience at your service

Leveraging decades of teaching and facilitating, Muse Circle co-founder Flo Vinton is now a certified life coach. She has recently graduated from The Somatic School, London, the first somatic coach training to be awarded a Level 2 accreditation by the International Coaching Federation. After delivering more than 75 hours of coaching and submitting her work for review by top practitioners in the field, Flo is ready to open her doors for business. Coaching is available in both English and French, online and in person.

Lifelong Muse Circle collaborator Swan Vinton of Swan Dog Studios has produced an exquisite website that tells you all you need to know about Flo, her life, and her process: FloVinton.com.

What is Somatic Coaching?

From the Somatic School website, we learn: “Coaching is partnering in a co-creative process of enquiry in service to the potential which is seeking to emerge in the life of the client.” Specific modalities include:

• practicing presence and self-awareness

• connecting with your feelings and sensations

• developing a curious mindset about your bodymind continuum

• regulating your nervous system

• crafting your somatic practice

Flo puts it this way: “Together, we gain perspective on what is misaligned and generate possibilities for shift, growth, and understanding.”

somatic

[soh-mat-ik, suh-]/ soʊˈmæt ɪk, sə- /

adjective

1. of the body; bodily; physical.

[source: Dictionary.com]

Somatic coaches help their clients tune into their bodies and minds as a single, unified system, rather than as separate entities. This approach allows the creeks in the neck, the rumblings in the belly, and the tears of joy and sorrow to inform the process that coach and coachee engage in together.

To learn more about Flo’s particular qualifications and approach, you may book a discovery call here: Get in touch with Flo.

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Registration Form

Dear Friends,

We are thrilled to announce a four-part series of three-hour sessions in July featuring:

• Gospel Brunch

• Muse Circle Dance

• Play for Peace

Each will take place on Sundays in Mui Wo and will be facilitated by Flo and Thomas in Collaboration with creArte, That Space and Pause Cafe:

Mui Wo Chung Hau St, Lantau, Hong Kong

$300 HKD per 3-hour session, $1000 HKD for all 4 sessions: July 6, 13, 20, 27 (No charge for just attending Gospel Brunch)

Information:

10:20 am ferry from Central Pier 6 gives you time to pick up brunch items to carry with you on a short walk to the studios or to order a meal at Pause Cafe. After our sessions together, Mui Wo is your gateway to afternoon fun at the beach, waterfall or Lantau Trail.

What to expect:

11:30-12:30

First hour free of charge and open to the public, at the piano in front of Pause Cafe, That Space, and creArte, Thomas plays and sings gospel music in the widest possible sense of the term: inspirational and uplifting songs that ease the heart and soul while you enjoy brunch and an art exhibit. Feel free to sing along with Flo as your guide!

12:30-2:30

Enrolled participants move inside creArte to dance and engage in activities led by Flo and Thomas that are in line with the Play for Peace values of cooperation, inclusion, caring and fun. Sessions inside the studio are appropriate for adults and motivated teenagers. Please contact us in advance if payment is an issue for you.

Flo and Thomas have been leading expressive arts activities for more than 20 years. Founders of Conscious Dance Hong Kong and the Muse Circle collective, Flo has begun a new venture as a somatic life coach while Thomas is rekindling his love for performing music. Recently certified as Play for Peace facilitators, they are eager to share activities with you that foster a sense of community.

Looking forward to sharing this experience with you!

Love,

Flo and Thomas

Registration Form

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CUERPO Y VOX

Muse Circle Conscious Dance and Sounding with Flo and Thomas

Wednesday 30 August | 18.30 - 21.30 | €20 | Campanet, Mallorca

Please reserve your spot with Claudia at 609 331 385. Thank you!

Schedule:

18.30

Doors open. Take time to say hello, settle, change into comfortable clothes (barefoot or with indoor dance shoes), and rehydrate. Finish any conversations you need to before entering the dance area. 

18.45

Join us on the floor for a stretch, a moment to yourself, and time to let go of your day. 

19.00

Doors close for the welcome circle. We briefly greet one another and set the tone for the evening.

19.15

We begin with gently guided individual and group somatic awareness activities, weaving in vocal expression, and ramping up to a high energy dance experience. 

20.00

We jam. Letting ourselves go and following our hearts, we dance alone, with partners, and as a whole group. When inspired, our voices join in. 

20:30

We create our own sound bath. Having given ourselves over to dance, we allow our voices to produce beautiful harmonies that nurture our souls.  

20.45

Letting our own voices rest, we tune into the sounds of nature around us and enjoy a moment of relaxation, tenderness, time alone or with others, consensual touch or deep surrender to the ground below.

21.15

Each one has the opportunity to share from the heart their experience of the time we’ve had together. 

21.30

We share a potluck meal together, each one having brought their own dish and utensils. We carry out all that we bring in.

About Muse Circle Conscious Dance and Sounding

We’ve developed our style of conscious dance having practiced consistently with leaders in the field for more than fifteen years. Our exploration of 5 Rhythms, Open Floor, 360 Emergence, ecstatic dance, and contact improvisation have led us to our own non-directive way of facilitating that brings people to their own dance. Our sounding practice draws on the work of vocal improvisation teachers like Bobby McFerrin and Rhiannon. We intend to promote authentic expression for the wellbeing of individuals and harmony among people.

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A note to English-speaking subscribers: you will continue receiving newsletters in English. We hope you also enjoy our French content. Thank you for your support!

Les intervenants : Flo et Thomas Vinton, 20 ans d'expérience dans la thérapie des arts expressifs.

Caractéristiques : petite promenade méditative silencieuse, jeux de lâcher-prise, chants improvisés, résonance de groupe, appels / réponses et échos, découverte de la voix authentique, empathie et solidarité, partage des impressions 

Point de rencontre : Skatepark de Fabrègues, rue Jean Marc Rouan, parking du Gymnase Thomas Baronchellitre

Tarif : libre et conscient

La date : mer 12 et 19 juillet 

L’heure : 19h-21h

Information / Inscription : WhatsApp au 07 45 38 71 64 (sinon SMS, Telegram, Signal)

S'inscrire au Cercle de voix Fabrègues

Événements passés

Contactez-nous

Mention légale

Muse Circle est une association régie par la loi du 1er Juillet 1901
° Flore Vinton, Président.
° Thomas Vinton, Secrétaire.
° Aurélie Bourmaki, Trésorière.

A note to English-speaking subscribers: you will continue receiving newsletters in English. We hope you also enjoy our French content. Thank you for your support!

Depuis la création de Muse Circle il y a 20 ans, nos ateliers d’arts expressifs et d'apprentissage de langues aux USA, à Hong Kong, à Mallorca et en France ont servi des centaines de personnes dans une ambiance ludique, joyeuse et respectueuse. Aujourd’hui, dans le sud de la France, nous soutenons les individus et groupes qui cherchent à prioriser la conscience de soi et le lien à l’autre. Contactez-nous pour plus d'informations sur nos ateliers, consultations et cours particuliers en anglais et français. Ouvert à tous genres, toutes expériences, tous corps et tous esprits. 

Nos Activités

Parler l’anglais librement

Professionnel.le, étudiant.e, voyageur.e. : Dans une immersion totale avec un coach natif, vous développez votre anglais dans l’action pour lâcher prise et vous exprimer librement. Accompagnement aux intervenants de bien-être qui veulent developper leur présence internationale. 

groupes | particuliers | en anglais | en présentiel | en ligne | 

Coaching de chant en anglais

Vous aimez chanter en anglais et voulez maîtriser la prononciation des mots difficiles et la cadence particulière des mélodies, un musicien professionnel natif vous accompagne.  

groupes | particuliers | en anglais | en présentiel | en ligne | 

Art-thérapie en quatre modalités pour publics divers

Les arts expressifs tels la musique, la danse, le théâtre et l’art plastique, centrés sur les participants, sont réunis dans l'intérêt de la créativité et du bien-être de chaque personne.

groupes | en français | en présentiel

Danse consciente

Ecstatic dance ancrée dans la conscience somatique, ensemble on plonge profondément dans le corps pour découvrir les confins de notre esprit sans jugement, avec respect et amour.

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel | en ligne

Cercle de voix

Nous vocalisons verbalement et non-verbalement le ressenti de nos cœurs en se servant de méthodes anciennes et courantes qui nous permettent de lâcher prise et nous connecter aux autres dans la bonne humeur. 

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel

Activités dans la nature

Danser et chanter sur la plage ou en bord de rivière, lorsque nous communions avec la nature, nous faisons partie d’un collectif plus qu’humain qui nous ramène vers notre véritable source.

Basé sur la sylvothérapie, nous améliorons notre santé et bien-être pour mieux gérer le stress de tous les jours.

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel

Cercle de femmes (cis et trans)

Être entre femmes dans la solidarité, c’est reconnaître et partager notre sagesse pour se retrouver confiante et aimante envers nous-mêmes et l'autre.

Avec la danse, les arts plastiques et les jeux de voix, nous entrons en présence et découvrons notre potentiel ensemble.

groupes | en français | en présentiel

Jam Band

Improvisons ensemble avec la voix et des instruments de musique. Quelle que soit notre expérience préalable, un guide sensible intervient avec douceur pour faciliter un moment d’expression libre. 

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel

Consultations accompagnement au relationnel

Ensemble et heureux depuis 35 ans, parents depuis 26, un couple artistique dont la vie est une véritable improvisation avec un parcours atypique est à l’écoute de vos rêves, de vos contraintes, que vous soyez en solo, en duo ou en autre relation pour vous accompagner à vivre pleinement votre partenariat.

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel | en ligne

Evénements

Un concert chez vous pour vos ami.e.s, une séance de chant en groupe ponctuelle, une danse consciente sur un beau parquet, une retraite dans la nature, un grand art jam : ce sont le genre d'événements que l’on retrouve dans notre cercle de muses.  

groupes | en anglais | en français | en présentiel 

À vous de jouer !

Contactez-nous pour discuter quelles propositions vous intéressent et comment s’y inscrire ou créer un nouveau groupe.

+33 7 45 38 71 64 (Voix, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, SMS)

musecirclemedia@gmail.com

Contactez-nous par mail

Mention légale

Muse Circle est une association régie par la loi du 1er Juillet 1901
° Flore Vinton, Président.
° Thomas Vinton, Secrétaire.
° Aurélie Bourmaki, Trésorière.

Once we saw Jaehn’s answer, we both just had to go with it. Rather than responding with a different “most important thing,” we both chose to delve deeper into the idea of “learning how to learn.”

The most important thing I have learned so far is that presence is the key to learning how to learn.

by Thomas Vinton

Mom always said that presence was all we needed when being together. What we did or said was never as important as the fact that we were sharing the same space. Since her departure from this physical plane, I’ve cultivated the capacity to be present to her spirit and receiver her eternal presence.

Roll call: you can answer “here” or “present.” In retrospect I would have always answered “present,” though I always opted for the seemingly less haughty “here.”

I remember teaching myself to tell time on an analog clock during naptime in kindergarten. My body was not present to sleep, so my mind became present to the big hand winding its way down to the six, which signalled my chance to go out to play. Play was an act of pure presence and an opportunity to learn without the burden of perceiving knowledge as an object of study. Riding around the merry-go-round I heard “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” in a loop. I taught myself that music didn’t go in a straight line, but like the hands of a clock, in a circle (except the trumpet solo at the end; it was a tangent - not that I knew the word, just the concept).

By the time I got to geometry class a decade later, my presence to the squeaky turntable I rode round and round and the leaping off and running in a straight line probably helped with the collection of facts and such required of high school students. The clock I studied also taught me early on that I would be required to be “here” whether I was “present” to the task at hand or something more interesting to me at the moment. For example, I did learn how to take naps in high school math class.

The math teacher was present to his chalk, chalk board, lesson plan, and knowledge, but he was apparently not present to my classmates or me. Otherwise he certainly would have understood at some point that having us sit quietly in rows while he droned on was as an utterly useless way of teaching math and a perfect way to make sure I would never become present to the marvels that true math enthusiasts rave about. Dad would describe with great enthusiasm the joy of doing long division in his head. I’m sure the motion graphic artists had a field day with A Beautiful Mind.

One university math expert called me into his office and declared, “Never have I known a scholar such as yourself to be so gifted in the humanities and so pathetic in physics.” I was in an eclectic program that encouraged cross-pollination between the “arts” and “sciences,” so he and I had an unusual vantage point in the often segregated sphere of higher learning.

His presence was a model for me on several levels:

1. His passion for science’s place in society ignited mine.

2. His presence in his conversation with me entailed being brutally honest.

3. His attention to detail in the practice of science made it clear to me that I would not be present to that practice after finishing the trimester.

Similarly, when I tried to get permission from my economics professor to join an advanced class necessary for me to enter international business school, he flatly responded, “I cannot in good conscience endorse this path. If you try to enter the private sector as a business person, you will neither have time to play another musical note, nor the capacity to earn a dime.”

I went on to study and work in film and music production.

For these teachers, presence to the student meant encouraging me to be present to my gifts rather than obsessed with my shortcomings. Easier said than done. I would stumble throughout my career aiming to be practical rather than lost in a chaotic creative process. I have probably spent more time working on spreadsheets than actually pursuing artistic interests.

Even David Byrne admitted to this neuroquirk during a live interview at SXSW 2001, which I gleefully attended as a volunteer film crew member thanks to having recently lost my practical day job (a creative position which evolved into an administrative one). When asked what he thought about running Luaka Bop Records, he confessed that his biggest challenge was to go into the studio to make music because he could spend hours in the office doing busy work. Twenty-two years later, I scratch my head wondering how I could hear all these guiding words and still spend so much more time being present to the clock on the wall than to the very playground that would make the world more present to what I have to offer it.

Which is why I am present to you now.

I am committed to presenting myself in a viable format to the world. My presence here is my present to you. By representing a creative journey in a multitude of media, including what I perceive to be the tangents, I enter a field with you and Rumi that is not only beyond right and wrong, it is also beyond the need to plan, to work, or to do, paradoxically allowing me to plan, to work, and to do without judging myself for it. In other words, for all the time I spent not doing my art, I can forgive myself because even that time was part of the craftwork I have at my disposal to present, an opus similar to outtakes, a distressed treatment of a piece of furniture, or a glitch in a pop record like California Dreamin’ with its chorus that comes in early.

Hold on a second; I’ll be right back.

…

I just spent a moment looking for the source of a brief story I’m about to tell you. Ordinarily I might spend up to an hour looking for something like this. But right now I feel like I’m running out of time, and the main point is so important to share with you, that I’m going to let somebody else figure out who told it first.

If it hadn’t been for all those hours I spent hunting down facts, I never would have learned to stop looking for them now.

The apprentice asks the master (let’s say Confucius for the sake of argument), “What’s the better path: planning ahead or being spontaneous?”

“The answer is that it doesn’t matter. The only important thing is to be present.”

And now Flo is really going to break it down for you.

Essential Components of Learning

by Flo Vinton

Thank you so much Jaehn for challenging me to reflect on what I’ve learned about learning. I’d first like to acknowledge that learning is a dynamic and diverse process that takes place in a multitude of brain and body configurations. For me, personally, with over 52 years of learning and 30 years of teaching, I’ve noticed 5 essential components:

1. Willingness: For true learning to take place, one has to consent to receiving it. Nothing stifles learning more than being forced to do so.

2. Meaning: When someone understands why they are learning a specific skill or concept, they become the agent of their own education and transformation and more eager to acquire new knowledge.

3. Experience: The most efficient way to learn is by putting it through the senses into the body. A good example is that receiving information about an orange by way of descriptive words and beautiful illustrations cannot compare to touching the spherical fruit, feeling its uneven texture, peeling it, smelling its fragrance, tasting the sweet juice, and playing with the tiny sacs of nectar between your teeth and tongue, a process that forever fixes the understanding of what an orange means to you.

4. Mistakes: “There are no mistakes, only lessons learned,” it’s been said. Trial and error are part of the process of learning. It is important to recognize the learning that takes place when a toddler falls down. Having our body or ego bruised allows us to suspend judgment and reframe failure as a positive and productive part of the learning process.

5. Trust: Having faith and being confident that what I’m learning fulfills a need and contributes to my wellbeing certainly facilitates illumination.

I have come to understand through my students’ and my own experiences that learning comes with an emotional cycle that merits one’s attention to support healthy attitudes toward the process:

Learning is inherent to humans, and as a mom and teacher, the best thing I’ve learned how to do is to stay out of the way of the natural learning flow, supporting with encouragement, neutral feedback, and unconditional love.

What do you make of this particular moment in history? Can people talk about difficult topics and still remain friends? Is it possible to make a living making art today? Do any of us really make a difference? How do patriarchal and colonial influences affect relationships in an evolving society? Will artificial intelligence allow people to continue living on this planet? How much time do I spend in the glow of a screen versus the glow of a campfire?

These are some of the questions that run through our head. What questions run through yours? What are you struggling with? What are you curious about? How can we further the conversation?

We invite you to enter your question in the comments below. Our response may appear as an article with priority given to our Substack subscribers.

Muse Circle is in full transformation as we discover our next phase of expression. We are launching Muse Circle on Substack to develop seven areas of interest with our expanding network. We call them WhatHowWhy?, OurArt, AskUs, HowTo, ListenUp, SpotLight, and MuseLists. Read more to find out what our hearts have in mind.

-Flo & Thomas Vinton, Muse Circle Founders

WhatHowWhy?

Remaining in the reflection of everything that makes us wonder, we don’t pretend to know anything. With you, we humbly explore a realm of possibilities, so why not title our articles with questions rather than declarations?

OurArt

Sharing what comes out of our imagination is another way of remaining in the realm of possibilities. Perhaps a performance, perhaps just a fragment of an unfinished piece, our music, dance, poetry, drama, memoirs and visuals are available for your enjoyment.

AskUs

Send us your questions, and we’ll do our best to answer. We invite you to try us on as your muses. They’ll inspire us, and you’ll become our muses, too!

HowTo

We share, from our experience, ways of doing art that might be helpful to you. We’ll suggest how to:

• Organize and facilitate conscious dance workshops

• Be artful in nature

• Jam with music, visual art, drama, movement, technology

• Be a creative (bio)logical family

• Build relationships and teams

• Creatively engage with alternative spaces

• Do things we haven’t thought up yet …

ListenUp

Sometimes you might just want to have us on in the background, your eyes on something else (or just closed). Keep your ear out for:

• Conscious Dance Mixes

• Read Alouds of Our Articles, Fiction, Poetry, and Memoires

• Soundscapes

SpotLight

We aim to share what inspires us most in the work of people we know and in that of the greater community.

MuseLists

We have so many favorites that sometimes it takes a list to gather them all in one place.

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Who Is Muse Circle?

Flo and Thomas Vinton

Together since the fall of 1987, we are a couple who has chosen to live, work, and play together. Thomas grew up on the west coast of Florida, Flo on the southern coast of Brittany. We met in the South of France, where we are resettling after many years in the USA and Hong Kong. Jam culture is our lifeblood. Making spontaneous music, dancing wherever we are, playing out our drama, and capturing what our inner eye sees keeps us alive and vibrant. We are now setting up a new center where everyday people can express themselves in the studio and out in nature. We look forward to taking advantage of the area’s many natural and naturist resources to ignite and share our passion. We are particularly attuned to the needs of frontline caregivers who work with people facing difficulties of all sorts and invite them to join us in our adventure. Eternal risk takers, we continually move outside of our comfort to grow as individuals, as a couple, and as part of a greater creative collective. We wouldn’t ask you to do anything we wouldn’t do ourselves.

Values

Our true nature … renewed through the arts

Renewing through the arts our true nature as living beings entails grounding ourselves in a truly natural environment and surrendering to its mysterious wonder. Our surroundings take on various forms from mountain, ocean and sky to wall, drinking fountain and ceiling. Many public spaces, including institutions of governance and learning, attempt to push nature out of its central role in our development. Many authentic learning moments escape our attention as we adhere to programs designed long ago to promote conformity and the status quo. Individuals and groups tend to adopt patterns that reward them with incentives, punish them with prescribed consequences and alienate them from their highest vision of themselves and society.

Production, transaction and consumption dominate public life and creep into the dreams of individuals who might otherwise be imagining and inventing greater goods. Nature is set aside as another commodity, taking the form of gardens, parks and conservancies. It becomes objectified as if we were not one in the same. We identify with artificiality and shun authenticity at every level, including our modes of creative expression. Our inner world risks becoming as sterile and impotent as the institutions we see wilting around the world. We find ourselves trying to change others while bending ourselves backwards to please them.

Perhaps the distress we witness out in the world reflects a loss we have already felt inside. Maybe if each of us recalibrates our inner landscape with the patterns found in water, air and land, we can relearn our own natural rhythms, melodies and harmonies. So we can dance a new dance that is as old - and wise - as the hills.

We go into nature - literally - to commune with and learn from it. 

It speaks to us and directs our play, conducts our music and choreographs our dance - so we don’t have to.

We go into nature - figuratively - to remember it and reproduce it. 

All that humans produce may be considered artificial, but our production can also be natural.

For this to happen … 

…we must get out of our own way.

… we must get out of the way of our children.

Typically, a child given a drum plays it naturally with a steady beat and a lot of flourish. Usually, a child left alone to play will act out wondrous stories in detailed scenes. Ordinarily, a child with crayons will make art that would have inspired Picasso. Predictably, a child who hears music will dance like nobody's watching. Many of us have had our music, drama, art and dance trampled on. We’ve been regimented, measured, judged, critiqued and eliminated.

Or trained, rewarded, glorified, consumed and spit out. We may believe we have no creativity, talent or worthwhile skills. We may believe that others should be producing art for us to consume.  And yet, free expression is our birthright. Without it we wither. When we cease to express our true nature freely, we enable the Behemoth of antiquated, dogmatic systems to run us and our planet. These systems tell us what to think, feel, say and do.  They put temporary gains in front of sustainable practices.

​They dehumanize and artificialize us.

Fortunately for our children and us, we can engage right here and now with our natural creativity. If we are in an artificial environment, we can take steps to go back home to nature. Just paying attention to our own body is a great start.  We notice our breathing, our heartbeat and sensations throughout the body. Being in nature facilitates this process, but we can access it anywhere. We can bring nature into any environment and benefit ourselves and others.

Going into nature with others, especially people who have had some experience creating in the wild, catapults the spirit into a new dimension, one where we can experience the joy of being a musician-dancer- actor-artist.

We understand that we are at choice and can recreate a world that is just as real - actually more real - than what people refer to as the real world.

And with the renewed energy we receive by being in nature and being natural, we can go out into the real world and inspire our communities and our world.  

We aim to promote a harmonious learning environment, accepting of all without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, gender, socio-economic situation, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or ability.

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History

We founded Muse Circle in Austin, Texas, USA in 2003 and have been facilitating expressive arts activities for groups and individuals ever since. 

Originally focussing on after school activities, our offerings have always promoted individual and group expression over performance and virtuosity. 

Much of our work has served communities learning additional languages and very young children developing their first skills. 

Early on we discovered that people learn more when they forget they are supposed to be learning and are immersed in an experience that allows intuition and creativity to bubble up naturally. 

As we began working more with families and adults, especially in the field of conscious dance, we continued embodying the philosophy of non-directive coaching and sourcing creative flow without imposing steps or rigid structure. 

In our current phase, we are diving deeper into nature and bringing people out into the wild to become the wild creatures we are all meant to be as human beings. 

While we the founders, Flo and Thomas, have led Muse Circle since its inception, our children Swan and Tifenn, now adults with careers of their own, have been - and continue to be - an indispensable part of our story, participating in the creation and performance of nearly every interactive event we have produced since 2003.

2022-2023 Transition

Sarasota, Florida, USA; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Hennebont/Paris/Montpellier and surrounding areas, France

We pause to care for and commune with family members, to enjoy the natural environment and urban settings, to touch base with our birth places, to consult with expert colleagues in the field, to immerse ourselves in ecstatic dance and contact improvisation communities, to establish a new online presence that supports a digitally nomadic lifestyle, and to anchor ourselves in the land where Muse Circle founders first met 35 years prior.

2022

Lantau Island, Hong Kong

After serving Hong Kong’s international community for seven years, we cease normal operations and focus on creating original art-in-nature pieces and workshops in the wild, following up on experiments previously relegated to our spare time.  We develop and deliver a conscious dance facilitator workshop and pass on our weekly practice to a devoted group of leaders who continue to expand the collective we had been serving for 8 years (3 years as crew and 5 years as organizers and facilitators). 

2015-21

Hong Kong Island

We develop and facilitate after school arts activities that include early childhood and primary school music and movement, art and drama, in French and English for international schools, clubs and families.

In addition to facilitating directly at the Canadian International School, The Harbour School, The Repulse Bay Club and others, we develop parent and teacher trainings for arts integration at Discovery Montessori, ESF Language and Learning Centre, EtonHouse International, Fairchild Kindergarten, Hillside International Kindergarten and Kornhill International Kindergarten.

Our students engage in jamming, songwriting, recording, creating scenes, telling digital stories, making art, dancing and experimenting with sensorial games. 

Our focus is creativity and fun.

With adults, we host weekly conscious dance sessions and offer several nature-based workshops, including barefoot walking meditation and spontaneous art making in the woods. 

In response to the pandemic and to accommodate diverse needs, we develop a flexibility strategy that allows for dynamic shifts from dancing together in the studio to participating only online, moving outdoors and combining live and online learning.

We ally with local artists to produce live events and videos, becoming a regular feature of Le French May with frequent collaborator, May Yeung.

Other collaborators include Marloes Van Houten, David Yeung, Paul Yip, Ernest Chang, Kai Djuric, Elizabeth Ehrig, Lydia Liu and Liane Mah.

Our collaborative video series, The Fifty Flo Show, includes contributions from our wider circle, culminating in the music video, “Let Love Flow.”

We relocate to Lantau Island and fully immerse ourselves in its natural beauty and unique culture.

2013 - 2014

Nantes, France

Teaming with L’Atelier du Coteau, We launch arts activities and events, in English as the target language, for multigenerational gatherings and for every age group.

Events include spontaneous musical parades through the outdoor market, large group creative experiences in the studio and themed birthday parties like our interactive tribute to American Graffiti.

Our partnership culminates in the production of Identité à la carte, a live original stage production featuring a multigenerational ensemble performing on live instruments and dancing in front of an elaborate multimedia display. 

We also joined Urban Voices Nantes’ massive drum corps and choir Tambours à Nantes led by Karim Amour, learning call-and-response anthems from around the world and singing with a diverse group of people from all walks of life.

2004 - 2012

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

We develop arts activities for local schools, including Atlanta New Century School (ANCS), where we produce a dozen student shows, often featuring original music and student-authored dramatic scenes.

Our musical worship series, The Gospel According to Pop, an investigation into the power of mass communication in expressing spirituality, becomes a recurring Sunday morning service at the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

We write and compose the original musical, Acoustic Mouse, Electric Mouse, and produce it first in English at ANCS and then in French at Lac du bois, Concordia Language Villages, Minnesota, where we are artists in residency for a summer.

We bring forward the importance of immersive language learning through the arts and develop activities in French for English speakers, featuring Chez Flo, an exquisite evening of French wining and dining, singalongs and interactive games.

The Forty Flo Show, a one-woman show produced by actor, teaching artist, and Muse Circle mentor Jaehn Clare, featuring our founder Flo and a cast of local heroes like Elise Witt, Virginia Schenck, and InTown Band pays tribute to the families and friends who have inspired the ethos feuling Muse Circle’s interactive cultural experiences.

We run a successful Kickstarter campaign to produce our video webseries, Atlanta to Nantes, which documents our transition from the US to France.

2001 - 2003

Austin, Texas, USA

Founder Flo teams up with artist Valerie Chaussonnet, whose home and garden become a nature-filled playscape for learning French through the arts, La Petite Provence.  

We launch Muse Circle with the release of the children’s CD and accompanying concerts, Nommi: My Name Is Nommi Girinkinin, featuring our founder Thomas plus family and friends.  

We develop our first after school program to facilitate collaborative songwriting.

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Services

Muse Circle provides expressive arts facilitation for individuals, families, groups and corporate clients online and in person. Please contact us for more information regarding:

• Conscious Dance

• Arts in Nature

• Drum Circles

• Family Jams

• Couples Retreats

• Teambuilding

• Alternative Space Engagement

• House Concerts

• Online Learning

• Teacher Training

Who pays for all this?

Our plan entails making our content available using a multi-tier approach:

For now, everything we post is free for everyone. Soon we will ask for founding members and paid subscribers. Even then, we will create an avenue for a certain number of people to receive complimentary subscriptions, and some of our posts will always remain free for everyone.

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Why do I facilitate?

by Flo Vinton

Life is hard enough without trying to go it alone, and I find that we can ease into it when we are there for one another.

That being said, giving support is no easy task. It takes a lot of inner work to give from a place that is neither judgmental nor transactional, but unconditional. Giving –  like really giving – is an act of generosity with no anticipation of a return. Ultimately it fulfills the needs of both the giver and receiver.

How do we know when support is the receiver’s legitimate need and not just one’s claim of superiority over them? Sometimes giving is a given! (I give my breast to nourish my baby.) I have learned through a lifetime of experiences, 52 years worth to be exact, that I'm a natural giver, and with age comes experiential feedback from a multitude of receivers.

One particular example that I received from my adult children is that giving them autonomy as they were growing up did not always feel like a present, but more like a lack of presence from their mom. My defense mechanism of the Mother-Giver reacted dismissively, saying that no matter what I might have done, they would have wanted the opposite. I could have come up with all kinds of reasons to take what they said personally, rationalizing for example that complaining about my parenting was part of the human development process of detaching from one’s parents. But since I had been working hard on not taking things personally, I was able in time to take their comment with love and go inward to ask myself what valuable lessons I could learn in order to balance giving with what others wished to receive. Why was I giving my children so much space? Was I struggling to fit into their worlds, having been a “cool mom” when they were little but no longer the center of their attention as they entered adolescence? In other words, was I operating from my ego or from my deeper self? With the perspective afforded by time and personal work, I can now see that giving them space was crucial for their personal development and detachment. However, I noticed that my defensiveness came from my ego, which was so uncomfortable with the idea of letting them be separate entities. In retrospect, I could have asked them what they really wanted/needed from me over time, and I could have modulated my giving depending on my ever evolving capacity.

That brings me to a more recent experience I had when my life partner and I lived for a while with a family member to implement a system of in-home care. Their cognitive decline could no longer be disguised or denied. They "needed" help with basic activities of daily life as well as a renewed sense of love from their family after an intense three years of isolation during the pandemic. Meanwhile, our daughter was going through a challenging and transformative process of understanding herself and the way her brain and body work, while trying to receive care from mental and physical health practitioners. She found insight and gained tools about caregiving that she shared with us, including the importance of consent. She sensitized us to the idea that regardless of the state of the recipient of the care it is essential to make sure that they feel that receiving care is their choice. This approach is a very humane way of seeing things that makes a lot of sense but is not always respected.

As we devoted ourselves to the care of our dear elder, this advice was crucial for us to learn how to facilitate their understanding and acceptance of their limitations. We had to tell them they could no longer drive their car that sits in their garage, that someone had to prepare each meal and they couldn’t just eat ice cream all day and all night, and that a family member was going to live with them from then on. We empathized very much with their loss of independence as we left our autonomous artistic life in Hong Kong to come live and care for a conservative individualist who didn't think they needed anyone in their home. Consent became a principal agent for change so they could receive the care they definitely needed without feeling it was being imposed on them. We modulated care in a way that gave them as much control as they wanted along the way. They became grateful for the care we provided to them directly and for the long-term systems we put in place. We were all faced with a new situation that required dignity, fairness, and acceptance and created an environment in which responsible care became possible.   

In short, I facilitate in order to create a space in which people can feel loved and cared for. They receive with consent, so they are empowered to do their part in allowing their higher selves to shine through the limiting patterns and programming developed over a lifetime from family, schools, institutions and society at large. They overcome their trauma and hard living at their own pace without my needing to retraumatize them or give them a hard time. In that space, people have the opportunity to be present to self and one another. They can express themselves in the way they dream of in the deepest parts of their being. I also facilitate in order to keep learning how to give and receive from a selfless place, dropping my self importance whenever I can, to serve myself, my family, my friends, and our communities fully.

Why do I facilitate?

by Thomas Vinton

I realized one day that we find the sweet spot in life when our heart’s desire meets the needs of our community. I believe it was while reading Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak that I came to understand that fusing what I want and what you need might not only be mutually compatible but essential for both of us. Often, the nagging voice loops that have cluttered my mind for as long as I can remember might respond with something like: “How pretentious to think anyone would need what I have to offer at all!” 

Twenty years after shifting careers from media production to group facilitation, I still sometimes ask myself why I facilitate. Let’s start with why I’m not doing what I was before. Throughout the 1990s I wanted to produce music, film, digital media, and eventually online content. I had to have my hands on the latest tools that would let me get stuff done on time so it could get out to the world and please my collaborators, clients, and hopefully an ever-expanding audience of fans. I always had a work-for-hire day job in a studio with high-end clients paying a premium for services that today most kids are expected to master before turning in their homework. My ulterior motive during that decade was to have a place where I could do my own projects after hours using state of the art equipment. 

My strategy paid off in that I made decent money, got work on highly visible commercial campaigns for bigtime players and was able to boast about being on the cutting edge of new technology. The downside is that I started loving machines more than people, avoided handling personal and social needs, and developed all kinds of pain everywhere along the body-mind continuum. In the end, with work and family constraints, I never really took the time to develop my own art. By Y2K - that’s what my generation called the Year 2000 up until the Year 2000 - the tech market was crashing and I was officially and undeniably burnt out. 

As the economy rebooted, I chose not to zap my P-RAM anymore. (That’s what we used to do to our computers when they’d keep freezing up.) I mean rather than using a shortcut to get back into someone’s posh digital workspace, I chose to make an edgy DIY CD at home for kids and start performing live in schools, libraries, coffeeshops, places of worship, and festivals. Having two young children at the time prompted me to combine my artistry with a family-friendly lifestyle. What I discovered along the way is that just performing for kids might not be enough to hold their attention - or mine. What I found lacking was a heart to heart connection, and to get it, I ended up teaming with my beloved to offer after school programs. 

Approaching music and movement as a form of pure self expression without the need to perform or measure success became primary. I began to savor that special flow that arises when time stops, thoughts subside, and I am being simply who I am with you being simply who you are. To practice this approach daily for 20 years, embracing in time all the awkwardness that surrounds these crystalline moments, means doing the work it takes to find stillness within and intimacy with others. 

Working responsibly with children over a long period develops a particular quality of presence, especially if one has personal sensory needs that include a critical need for a working level of harmony. Facilitating spirit-freeing music and movement activities requires hearing, seeing, and feeling a variety of potentially challenging sound clusters, colliding bodies, and a hell of a lot of drama. To be good at my craft required that I submit to creative processes that made me childlike myself in groups of adults and multigenerational gatherings expressing all manner of unprocessed trauma. Large group awareness training sessions, conscious dance workshops, drama jams, mindfulness training, and other modalities, most of which I attended in the company of my beloved, provided the catalyst for inner growth and interpersonal exploration my heart desired and what I could plainly see the world community needed. 

Now, just as I felt cornered in my first career as a media producer, I recently found myself yearning to break out of the after school arts provider box. I have no regrets for having devoted myself to either of these phases, but I know that after 10 years learning how to produce and another 20 years learning how to bring a zen like quality to the expressive lives of children, it’s time for me to integrate all I have experienced and make things easier for people on a wider scale. 

And here’s how that might look:

• To make it easier (the very definition of “facilitate”) for you facilitators, coaches, teachers, social workers, organizers, and others to accept, embrace, and then let go of inhibitions or any other filters that keep you from just being you and finding intimacy with others

• To lead by example as I produce - along with my beloved and beloveds - new, compelling, and relevant art that stirs my soul with the intent of stirring yours

• To gather ancient and so far unthought of technology to bridge the perceived gap between natural wisdom and artificial intelligence

• To ovulate and inseminate with reckless abandon inside our universal womb the wildest expressions of what it means to be alive

Let’s see what happens as this adventure continues!

We invite you to read about our plans at musecircle.substack.com and to subscribe to our newsletter.

Muse Circle

Welcome to our expressive arts collective. Jam and rewild with us as we inspire one another to explore life's essential questions.