On Pico, she dances not to perform — but to belong.
It’s Wednesday afternoon at The Future Lab. Small footsteps and soft laughter fill the hallway as toddlers arrive for Jindriska Čermák’s creative dance workshop — a space where movement begins as play and slowly unfolds into connection.
Here, amidst the sound of bare feet on wooden floors and the ocean wind just outside the window, Jindriska invites the youngest islanders to explore what it means to move, to listen, and to belong.
Roots and Journey
Originally from the Czech Republic, Jindriska grew up surrounded by dance. At ten years old, she joined her first after-school dance class — a step that set the rhythm for her life. She later studied choreography and contemporary dance at the Duncan Centre Dance Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where she discovered her artistic language: a form of expression made of gestures, rhythm, and stillness.
In 2023, Jindriska moved to Pico Island with her husband, Ales Čermák and their two children — an artist family drawn by the island’s elemental beauty and slower rhythm of life. Together, they are part of Sea Water Amplification, an art and research collective exploring the dialogue between the ocean, the body, and sound.
“Movement is our first language — it connects us long before we learn to speak.”
Creative Dance on Pico Island
Jindriska teaches Creative Dance for toddlers and children over six. Her workshops are less about choreography and more about curiosity — an open invitation to explore the world through movement. Each session is a discovery of joy, rhythm, and connection — how children express themselves, find confidence, and learn to sense one another beyond words.
“For me, teaching dance is a way to nurture connection and joy — to weave a little social cohesion through movement and play. On Pico, this feels especially meaningful, because community here is not abstract. It’s alive, visible, and embodied.”
Hatha Yoga Lajes do Pico
Alongside her creative dance classes, Jindriska also leads Open Hatha Yoga Classes in Lajes do Pico. Hatha yoga focuses on balancing body and mind through postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. The word Hatha combines the Sanskrit for “sun” (ha) and “moon” (tha), symbolizing harmony between effort and ease, movement and stillness.
Her classes move slowly and intentionally — creating space to feel, correct, and align the body. It’s a grounding practice, ideal for both beginners and experienced movers seeking calm and clarity.
Connection to Pico
Through their involvement with Sea Water Amplification, Jindriska and her family first discovered Pico during the winter of 2022. While her husband, Ales Čermák was writing his PhD thesis about ocean seascape epistemology.
What began as a brief escape became something deeper — a quiet recognition of belonging. Surrounded by vast horizons and the constant rhythm of the sea, they envisioned a life shaped by this landscape. Not long after, they relocated from Prague and made Pico their home.
On Pico, time moves differently — guided by tides, clouds, and volcanic stone. Jindriska feels this rhythm deeply in her practice. Her work mirrors the island’s essence: fluid yet grounded, gentle yet powerful.
Each workshop echoes the island itself — a balance between motion and stillness, effort and ease. Her classes become a kind of conversation with the island: bodies responding to nature, to one another, and to the present moment.
Life Philosophy
Life on Pico has taught Jindriska the art of slowing down.
“In dance, as in life here, things unfold in their own time. You can’t rush a child’s movement, just as you can’t rush the sea. You learn to trust the rhythm — and to be present in it.”
For Jindriska, this is where performance ends and belonging begins — in the shared silence after movement, on an island that dances to its own ancient rhythm.
Learn More
For more information on dance workshops, Hatha yoga classes, and creative movement sessions organized by Jindriska Čermák, visit the event calendar.
See also: Performance, Art & Creativity amid Volcanoes and the Atlantic
