Contact Improvisation: Principles and Practice Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser
9. Oct – 12. Oct 2026
- 09.10.2026 Friday 13:00 – 19:00
- 10.10.2026 Saturday 10:00 – 17:00
- 11.10.2026 Sunday 10:00 – 17:00
- 12.10.2026 Monday 10:00 – 16:00
This workshop focuses on developing physical intelligence and emotional resonance in contact improvisation. Physical intelligence is not about specific movements but the ability to solve the emergent tasks or situations that evolve through the dancing. This manifests differently in each person and includes the ability to provide mobile support, organizing your body to be lifted, finding fluid pathways into and out of the floor, and the ability to push, yield, and pull away from your partner. We would also include here the ability to creatively engage with your partner. This is the poetics underlying the form.
Physical intelligence involves perceptual acuity, the ability to hone in on what is significant to guide your movement, and your capacity to be in touch with yourself, your partners, and your environment. Emotional resonance is the ability to notice how the dancing is affecting you, others, and your environment. It involves the senses and the ability to imagine how we impact one another. It includes the ability to inhibit one’s choices and to imagine beyond the sensorial moment, asking questions like, “What if we tried something different?” Or, “ What is missing here?”
Our work seeks to help dancers deepen their understanding of the core principles of CI and to become inspired through the interplay of touch, movement, and imagination.
Chris Aiken is an internationally recognized performer and teacher of dance improvisation and contact improvisation. Chris has performed and collaborated with many renowned dance artists, including Angie Hauser, Kirstie Simson, Nancy Stark Smith, Peter Bingham, Andrew Harwood, Joerg Hassman, Ray Chung, and Steve Paxton. He has taught throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He draws on years of dance and somatic training, including the Alexander Technique, Gryotonic/Gyrokinesis, ideokinesis, and myofascial bodywork. He is currently a Professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts (USA.)
Angie Hauser is a BESSIE Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and teacher whose work is grounded in improvisation, performance, and collaboration. Hauser’s work is marked by her long-time collaborations with artists Bebe Miller, Darrell Jones, and Chris Aiken. She has taught Contact Improvisation and Improvisation throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Colombia, and Peru including featured artist/teacher at International Festival in Freiburg, iDance Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival, Moab Jam, and the Monteral Jam. She received her MFA in dance from the Ohio State University. She is currently a Professor at Smith College in Massachusetts (USA.)
Pricing:
- Early Bird CHF 400.00 paid by 31.May 2026
- CHF 450.00 paid by 31. Aug 2026
- CHF 475.00 after 31. Aug 2026
Space is limited. Register early!
Insurance is the responsibility of the participants!