Contact Improv is a partner based movement practice inspired by dance, martial arts and somatic movement. A gentle and beginner friendly workshop!

SOMAA Co-Lab is delighted to collaborate with Margaret Dewes, fresh off her performance in the Hamilton Art’s Festival, to offer a beginners’ workshop in contact improvisation!

Contact Improvisation (CI) is a partner-based movement practice exploring physical listening through touch, shared weight, and spontaneous collaboration. Emerging in the 1970s, it draws from dance, martial arts, and somatic approaches.

This workshop offers a clear, embodied introduction to the core principles of CI, supporting both conceptual understanding and direct physical experience. It is designed for beginners, while also offering useful foundations for those wishing to deepen their practice.

Together we’ll explore skills such as:

• awareness of centre
• maintaining and following a shared point of contact
• linking and delinking through the joints
• spiral pathways
• sensing and receiving weight
• directional listening

No partner or experience is required. Please arrive on time, bring water, and wear loose, comfortable clothing that covers the legs and shoulders.