Principles and Practice

About this event

Principles and Practice is a four-day Contact Improvisation intensive for advanced CI dancers with Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser at Studio Movity in Uster, Switzerland (October 9–12, 2026). Friday 13:00–19:00 · Saturday 10:00–17:00 · Sunday 10:00–17:00 · Monday 10:00–16:00 The workshop focuses on developing physical intelligence and emotional resonance in Contact Improvisation. Physical intelligence is not about specific movements but the ability to solve emergent tasks and situations that evolve through the dancing — providing mobile support, organising the body to be lifted, finding fluid pathways into and out of the floor, and the ability to push, yield, and pull away from a partner. It includes the ability to creatively engage: this is the poetics underlying the form. Physical intelligence involves perceptual acuity, the ability to hone in on what is significant to guide movement, and the capacity to be in touch with oneself, partners, and environment. Emotional resonance is the ability to notice how the dancing is affecting you, others, and your environment — the senses and the imagination of how we impact one another, including the ability to inhibit choices and to ask: "What if we tried something different?" or "What is missing here?" The 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 recognised performer and teacher of dance improvisation and Contact Improvisation. He has performed and collaborated with Angie Hauser, Kirstie Simson, Nancy Stark Smith, Peter Bingham, Andrew Harwood, Joerg Hassmann, Ray Chung, and Steve Paxton, and taught throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His practice draws on years of dance and somatic training including the Alexander Technique, Gyrotonic/Gyrokinesis, ideokinesis, and myofascial bodywork. He is a Professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Angie Hauser is a BESSIE Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and teacher whose work is grounded in improvisation, performance, and collaboration. Her long-time collaborations with Bebe Miller, Darrell Jones, and Chris Aiken have shaped a distinctive artistic practice. She has taught at the International Festival Freiburg, iDance Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival, Moab Jam, and the Montreal Jam. She holds an MFA from Ohio State University and is a Professor at Smith College.