Dancing into Wholeness
Contact Improvisation: An Intimacy with Nature
4 Night Residential
Led by Richard Parker and Lucy Thomas
Wednesday 15th April to Sunday 19th April 2026
Findhorn Ecovillage, Scotland
20 Spaces Available
Instalment payment options available via the Ticket link
About the Workshop
Immerse yourself in a unique Contact Improvisation residential retreat that honours the intimacy between your body and the body of Nature. Spring is the time to come to Findhorn; gorse is in full golden bloom, skies tend towards blue, and the silky calm of Findhorn Bay makes for such beauty in the exhilaration of cold water dipping.
Morning studio practice in the magnificent Universal Hall will focus on Contact Improvisation, while our afternoons will take us into the dunes and woodland to explore scores that invite our bodies' ancient knowing to the surface. Our evenings will be time for CI jamming accompanied by live musicians, stargazing from the hot tub and a beachside sauna and fire.
Findhorn Ecovillage, with its rich natural environment and new emerging community initiatives, supports the heart of this retreat. It provides the perfect backdrop for Contact Improvisation with its beautiful landscapes inspiring grounding and presence, and its community culture of warmth and togetherness.
We want you to walk away feeling deeply relaxed and embodying the preciousness of life. This is an opportunity to dance into wholeness, and, through your being, model the pathway for a positive future - now.
"This retreat allowed me to experience parts of myself that I had forgotten that I had access to, a version of myself that was funny, relaxed, trusting in my intrinsic value without needing to do or change anything. A sense of abundance is still with me, almost half a year after the retreat - can only warmly recommend it!" - Teresa
About the Facilitators
Join Richard Parker, the founder of Emerging Hearts Contact Improvisation Dance Camp, and Lucy Thomas, the creator of Being Whole, for this immersive and collaborative residential that explores the practice of Contact improvisation as an inspiration for a life fully lived; aligned, creative and spontaneous.
Richard Parker the founder of Emerging Hearts Contact Improvisation Camp, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the realm of Contact Improvisation, ensuring a dynamic and enriching experience for all participants, known for his focus on community and transformative dance experiences.
Lucy Thomas is a skilled facilitator of transformational spaces which encourage embodiment, spontaneity, joy, relaxation and intimacy with Nature. She is committed to serving the people and land of Findhorn Bay and weaves nature’s principles into the many local movement-based events that she organises on both land and water.
This retreat offers an opportunity to experience the unique blend of Richard and Lucy's expertise within the holding of this natural landscape. Prepare to be immersed in the elements, unplug, have your cobwebs blown sideways, and feel the earth beneath your feet; reconnecting you with your sense of natural wholeness.
"The retreat at Findhorn was a beautifully paced time with a real depth to what I feel I learnt. Moments of silence, stillness and shared love and laughter are my memories." - Johnny
Programme
Mornings: Contact Improvisation Classes in The Universal Hall
Afternoons: Reflective Movement & The Work that Reconnects in Nature
Evenings: CI Jams (with live musicians) / Hot Tub / Sauna to Sea Dip
Sunday Morning: Bless Dance (a weekly Findhorn community dance gathering by Findhorn Bay)
Sharing Circles
Heartfelt Community Experience
Delicious Food (three meals a day included)
The sessions will be held in a mix of venues around Findhorn: The Universal Hall, The Hinterland Woods, Findhorn Beach and Dunes.
Level
This retreat is not suitable for anyone completely new to Contact Improvisation, but it welcomes anyone who has begun to explore the practice, from those with some basic experience to well-seasoned practitioners.
Venue
Nestled along Scotland's stunning Moray coastline, Findhorn Ecovillage an internationally recognised long-standing intentional community, strives to be a model of low-impact, connected living. Now beginning an exciting new chapter of its life where independent community initiatives are at the forefront. There is huge excitement in welcoming visitors who will enjoy and add to the creative, emergent dynamic.
Whether in the studio or moving under the open sky, Findhorn offers a space to deepen your practice and nourish your connection to the earth and one another.
The Universal Hall, our main studio for the retreat, was built by literally thousands of people over ten years and at its heart, is an auditorium that is great for dance.
There is the Phoenix shop and cafe on site and a 15-minute walk into the historic Findhorn Village gives you two more cafes and two pubs.
Accommodation
At Findhorn Ecovillage, your retreat experience is complemented by warm and inviting accommodations in the Guest Lodge. Situated in the centre of the eco-village, this space offers comfort and simplicity, creating an ideal home base for our retreat; a sanctuary to rest and reflect and also a place to foster a sense of community connection.
Food
The residential is fully catered with vegetarian/vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner. We’ll be cooked for by one of our well-loved and experienced retreat chefs.
Travel
EasyJet flies directly to Inverness Airport from Gatwick, Luton & Bristol Airports (about 1 hour 15 minutes).
From Inverness Airport, there is a direct train to Forres that takes 20 minutes, from there it is a short 10 minute taxi ride to Findhorn Ecovillage.
Lift-share options are available, and there is the possibility of extending your stay with extra nights before or after the retreat.
Please get in touch if you have any questions about travel, additional nights, or the retreat itself.
Timings & Costs
Wednesday 15th April to Sunday 19th April 2026
5 nights and 5 days.
20 spaces available
Full retreat residential options vary from £475 - £525
Accommodation check-in from 2pm on 15th April, check-out by 10am on 19th April.
There is the possibility of extending your stay with extra nights before or after the retreat.
Full retreat non-residential option for £325
Arrange your accommodation either camping/campervan/B&B onsite or stay offsite.
Instalment payment option via our Ticket Site.
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Richard Parker
Richard Parker is passionate about the relational and deeply human experience that can be revealed through Contact Improvisation. His workshops are a refined balance of skills, creativity & free exploration, taking participants on a journey into the co-creative wonders of this practice, which always includes a healthy dose of safety and care for one another. With a grounded and easy-going approach, he loves sharing both his detailed and extensive understanding of the principle movement forms within Contact Improvisation alongside the subtle nuances, helping people to truly embody the fundamental aspects of the dance. Most importantly creating a sense of relational awareness and a sense of togetherness as we co-create within the dance space.
He has been developing his skills and knowledge as a Contact Improvisation (CI) dancer since 2006. Over the years he has extensively trained with many amazing international teachers within CI including Karen Nelson, Lisa Nelson, KJ Holmes, Nita Little, Andrew Harwood, Ray Chung, Martin Keogh & Joerg Hassmann. Since 2011 he has shared his teaching of CI within Professional, Educational, Festival & Community Organisations as well as organised his own CI Festivals, Retreats and Camps.
“A true love for the form and genuine investigation is at the heart of Richard's teaching. He plans and delivers material in a thoughtful, reflective and thorough way, each exercise leading on to the next fluidly. His gentle, clear and encouraging manner gives students the confidence to push their practice further and his commitment to staying true to the form ensures that others can continue to discover and enjoy the beauty of the dance.”
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Lucy Thomas
Lucy holds space with a unique warm presence, humour, generosity and deeply embodied wisdom. She synthesizes the width of systemic perspective with the depth of somatic presencing and points towards our multi-dimensional nature. Her offers are informed responses to the severity and multiplicity of the challenges we are facing. They inspire her dedication to the cultivation of togetherness, spontaneity and our capacity to weave the coherence of Nature's principles back into our societies. She is here for the collective remembering of humanity's power, beauty and wisdom.
Lucy grew up doing various dance classes and was smitten by CI in the 1990s. She trained and worked as a teacher specialising in experiential pedagogy in schools and later shifted her focus towards healing, training and practising in systemic constellations and the subtle energetics of personal and collective health. Now in her 3rd decade as a facilitator of transformational experiences, she returns her focus to dance and the wonder of the body itself. Lucy is evolving a practice which connects intimate somatic awareness with systemic shifts; engaging the non-linear, unspoken knowing that is how Nature 'wired' us. The authenticity of this offers relief and relaxation and seeds changed attitudes, perspectives and behaviours. She works therapeutically 1 to 1 and with small groups. Her current community projects include weekly CI classes, Bless Dance, an intergenerational outdoor dance, Danced by Water in the local hydrotherapy pool and 'Sing the Earth', a new venture highlighting the transformational power of spontaneous, simultaneous song and movement.
People say:
“I have never felt so held, valued and seen.”
“So much has shifted in me which I can see and feel in my body, in my thoughts and things I've been looking at came together like a puzzle.”
“My whole concept about 'the body' has been shaken. I guess what showed up was much bigger than just the physical part.”
“My experience with you in the pool opened up a new, different aspect of our human beingness.”
Get In Touch
If you have any questions about the residential or in general about contact improvisation then please don't hesitate to get in touch via the contact page.