ECITE Italy 2026

About this event

ECITE 2026 Italy — 'On Teaching Contact Improvisation' — is a six-day European gathering of CI teachers at Studio Danza Chianti in San Casciano Val di Pesa, Tuscany (September 1–7, 2026). Now in its Italian edition, ECITE brings together practitioners across Europe and beyond to think and move together about what it means to transmit this practice. Contact Improvisation carries a history. Born from experimentation, from questioning form, from listening to gravity and to each other, it was consciously kept open — without a single definition, without one official method, without a formal institution claiming ownership. A practice shaped by many voices, many bodies, many approaches. In this gathering, teaching is approached as a living practice. What are we passing on when we teach CI today? A technique? A lineage? A way of relating? Through embodied research and shared reflection, participants explore how knowledge moves in the room — through touch, timing, language, attention. Teaching becomes not only the delivery of tools, but the creation of conditions to learn. From Thursday Sep 3, the daily schedule is self-organised around the groups' evolving needs. On Saturday Sep 5, a site-specific performative afternoon invites contributions — dance, lecture, performance, installation — offered as a gift to the village. The Circolo Arci serves lunch at 13:00 and dinner at 19:30 daily. Dorm accommodation (mattress on floor, max 35 people, bring sleeping bag) is available on site. Solidarity pricing available for participants from countries affected by war or economic crisis — write to ecite2026italy@gmail.com. Organised by Nica Andrea Portavia, Samuel Fuscà, and Marta Iucci.