Beyond the Hands
Invitations Through the Whole Body
Contact Improvisation Workshop & Jam with Richard Parker
In this workshop, we expand our capacity to relate and move through the whole body, not just the hands. While hands are often our most familiar tools for initiating contact, they can also become overly directive. What happens when we lead, listen, and invite through backs, legs, hips, shoulders, heads, even the breath or spine? What happens when a point of contact becomes not just a surface connection, but a deep, layered conversation?
We'll explore how different parts of the body can act as invitations into weight-sharing, into movement, into flight, not through force or overt direction, but through tone, readiness, and presence. By working with a range of contact, from broad surfaces to fine points, we awaken a fuller vocabulary for dancing and co-creating in duets and groups.
We’ll practice:
Making and receiving contact through a wide variety of body surfaces
Tracking how touch, tone, and weight travel across and through the body
Expanding awareness at the point of contact, not just across the skin, but into the deeper layers of tissue, sensation, and responsiveness
Learning to offer and recognise invitations through subtle shifts in tone, angle, or weight
Exploring how body parts such as legs, backs, and shoulders can initiate or suggest dynamic pathways, including lifts, rolling points, and shared momentum, without the need for hands to lead
Why it matters:
When we engage with the full body as a site of relational touch, we open up new possibilities for connection, movement, and co-creation. This supports both beginners and experienced dancers in becoming more adaptable, more curious, and more deeply attuned to what’s possible in each moment.
We shift from doing something to our partner to discovering what’s available with them, through invitation rather than instruction, through clarity rather than control. This enriches the dance with more shared agency and fosters both technical precision and poetic responsiveness.
This workshop offers a chance to:
Refresh and expand your movement patterns
Build sensitivity in your approach to touch
Develop tools for initiating dynamic exchanges without effort or push
Deepen your understanding of how the inner body supports outer expression
The afternoon will open into a Contact Improvisation Jam, beginning with a gentle guided warm-up. We’ll be supported by live music from multi-instrumentalist Simon Leach and Hang player Chris Cousins, whose improvisations will weave a responsive soundscape for our dancing. This blend of movement and music offers a rich playground to explore, integrate, and expand on the themes from the workshop in your own way, whether in quiet exploration or dynamic exchange.
Level
Open to all levels, whether you're seeking new pathways into Contact, or wishing to refine and expand the skills you already have.
Venue & Travel:
St Margaret’s Institute is on the outskirts of Oxford city centre. It has free on-street parking (on Sunday’s) and is only a 20-minute walk from Oxford Railway Station. Upon booking you’ll be sent more info about how to find us, parking and given access to a lift-share document.
The venue has a sprung wood floor, plenty of heating and natural light, with access to a kitchen.
Inclusivity:
At Emerging Hearts we hope to make our events as accessible as possible. We understand that while we try to price our events reasonably, support may still be needed. If you are on a lower income, we offer the option of paying in instalments, or at a reduced cost if the price is truly out of your range. Please visit our inclusivity page and we will be happy to assist you. Please note that while we offer further support beyond instalments, only a certain amount of these spaces may be available.