Get to know the teachers & artists
TEACHERS of intensive, workshops and classes
Intensive
Paweł KUBIAK
Poland
Deeper Ground
During our meeting, through shared dance, we will explore how we can be together as a whole and how this influences the decisions we make - both on the dance floor and in life. Instead of focusing on the correct movement or action, we will try to create the right space by cultivating a certain attitude and values. We will work on the quality of the space, inviting wholeness, openness, generosity, and curiosity into it. Our goal will be to shift attention from an individual perspective to a collective one and to take responsibility for the qualities we bring into the dance - so that everyone feels safe enough to express themselves freely. We will seek a dance in which independence and community can coexist and approach lifts not
as a repetition of a sequence, but as a collective process open for improvisation, co-creating the dance and opening space to be ready for the unexpected.
Bio
Paweł Kubiak – a dancer and an educator. During his pedagogy studies, he worked in a forest kindergarten, led regular Contact Improvisation classes, and organized jams and workshops. He participated in laboratories and performances, exploring the performative aspects of Contact Improvisation. For the past four years, he has been traveling across Europe and Asia, exploring dance and leading workshops. Sharing his practice and interests is for him a way to deepen his own exploration, continuously learn new things, and rediscover the familiar.
He has taught Contact Improvisation at international festivals such as the Israel CI Festival, Beijing CI Fest, Solo&CI Tirol Festival, Warsaw Flow, and the FRU Contact Improvisation, Festival in Łódź.
Currently, he is studying the Ilan Lev Method and draws inspiration from the Feldenkrais Method. In improvisation, he sees a practice of life—a space for exploring values that support the process of co-creation and togetherness, based on presence, care, and mutual support.
Youtube
Fluid body
Coming to our very first natural habitat of warm water we will explore how our bodies can be nourished by this element, embracing qualities of release, flow and surrender. Creating space where effordlessness can emerge and inform how we move, both in water and on the land. Water is a great environment to continue the never-ending research about how to let the movement be born from listening to what is already present. That means opening ourselves to the deep listening of the space within the body and beyond. We will explore together how we can be moved from such spaces, rather than moving from an idea. And we will ask the water to teach us.
Workshop is based on bland of practices across (water and land) contact improvisation, somatic movement and aquatherapy.
Bio
Maysara Volf (Sára), traveler, massage therapist, dancer & photographer on land and underwater. In my movement practice I have been influenced greatly by Contact improvisation, Authentic movement, Feldenkrais method, Gaga, Qui Gong and more. I have been supporting a movement community in Egypt, by running a dance space in Dahab, Sinai or iniciating a small dance festival ‘Sinai Dancing Dream’. I currently study Feldenkrais method with Elisabeth Bloom in Ukraine in a four-year training and aquatherapy Watsu with Dita Linhartová in Czech Republic. I’m fascinated by gravity, somatics, water and the desert.
photo taken by Veronica Olariu
Water workshop
Maysara Volf
Czechia
Water workshop
Barbora Foxie Kiczková
Slovakia
Liquid Grace
In this workshop, we will immerse ourselves in the unique dynamics of movement in water, reconnecting with our aquatic memories and the fluid origins of our bodies. Exploring Contact Improvisation in the water’s embrace, we will discover a new relationship with gravity, unlocking a sense of original fluidity.
Through guided explorations, we’ll learn how to organize and relax your body’s structure in water, how to trust and use our breath to dive into underwater contact improvisations and develop confidence in disorientation.
This practice invites a meditative state, fostering deep connection and presence. Dancing in water opens new dimensions of time and space.
As we bring this watery flow back to the studio, we can experience greater relaxation, weightlessness, and sensitivity—feeling the air’s waves dancing us with grace and ease.
Bio
Although she has been working in the field of counseling psychology and psychotherapy for ten years, her great passion since childhood has been dancing. She started at the ballet studio, later moved to modern dance, but mostly her dance practice lies in contemporary dance and martial arts. She collaborated with different choreographers on different performances. Currently she focuses her dance practice on contact improvisation, creating performances merging CI with other dance styles, addressing psychological, social and environment aspects. Lately she is working on different project in Vienna, she is a member of the KIT Ensemble in Vienna and travels to various contact improvisation events.
Basics of CI
Very simple :) In these regular classes we will come back to the basics of CI - weight, point of contact, centre body mass, body mechanics, transitions, planes, quality of touch, listening, invitations, small and simple "flying" and how to go into contact and go out of contact (useful mainly for entering the jam constellations). Everyone who would like to embody tools and experience them in contact is very welcome. We would love to create a save space for anyone who would love to improve their dance ability and jamming ability. After the classes, you will have some tools you can play with in jams :)
Bio
I am a dance movement therapist, TRE® (trauma release exercise) Provider, Craniosacral therapy provider, CI teacher and embodiment/somatic/authentic movement facilitator. Since 2019 I have co-created and held Movement LAB space in Bratislava, constantly building up CI community in Slovakia. My dance background is folk dance, modern dance, contemporary and contact improvisation. I have a lot of experience with performance (folk dancer, inclusive theater with people on wheel chair, contemporary performances and instant composition). As one part of me is a therapist, I use body, movement, sensetions, imagination, meditation and heart-opening practice as a gateway to soulful experience and connection to our higher self and wisdom.
Magdaléna Takáčová
Classes&Labs
Slovakia
Water workshop
Martina Melissa Qalbi
Austria
Water dance with fabrics
On this journey we are going to explore our aquatic beings held in a piece of cloth. The fabric surrounds us, holds us softly and serves as a membrane. We can stretch against it, unwrap ourselves and tune into deeper layers.
Bio
Many years ago Martina went traveling with the question in her heart: "What is my unique gift to the world?" Experiencing aquatic bodywork for the first time in immense joy and wonder she knew, it is that. She studied with different teachers Aguahara and Janzu in Mexico, Aquatic Bodywaves in Europe and continuously explores the universe of waterdance. She offers workshops, monthly waterdance jams and 1 : 1 Aguahara sessions in Vienna, Hungary and wherever we make it possible.
Touching your waters
I will go quiet, a real quiet in order to hear and feel your inner waters in my palm. Patiently waiting for the will of your body to let my touch echo in within your body and to let it softly vibrate your waters into a flowing movement, into a dance...
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In these classes focused on bodywork and touch we will try to dive into the liquid tissues let it be the fascia, cells or the space in between the cells.
Like a drop of aquarelle paint that spreads into the texture of wetted paper we will spread into the structure of the bodies we touch, searching for pathways of water moving in them.
We will explore and experience the possibilities of touching further and deeper than we think we can touch. We will try to quieten enough to be able to hear and listen to the subtle and ethereal substances flowing within our bodies and let them take us on a journey of our mutual dance.
Bio
I have danced since my young age. Starting with classical ballroom dances, I slowly danced my way over to modern dance and improvisation, contact improvisation(CI), somatic practice and Authentic Movement (AM).
I have completed a three year program of Mindful Body in Prague which enriched my knowledge and experience in Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, BMC, Dance therapy, Eco-somatics and other. I was an external student at the Faculty of AMU in Prague taking mainly classes of instant composition. I have expanded my dancing skills and education in different somatic programs and CI workshops all over the Europe, where from I take an inspiration and motivation for my work.
I co-teache at the program of Mindful Body (Czechia), I am a founder and a lecturer of somatic programs Vivid Body and SOMatically in Body (Slovakia). I am a co-founder of a dance group of Improvisit (Czechia). Apart from that I teach at the University of Conscious Life (Slovakia) where I explain and demonstrate the personality and relation behavior patterns through dance, movement and the principles of CI.
Last but not least, I’m a passionate tea ceremony, poetry and nature lover:)
Bodywork workshop
Žubra K. Žubretovská
Slovakia
Other facilitators
Helmut Schabschneider
(AU)
music & singing circles
Panda
(SVK)
kids activity facilitator
Pavel Hak
(CZ)
music & morning practice
Nayeli Špela
(SI)
land photographer
Marco Klokner
(SVK)
morning practice
Maysara Wolf
(CZ)
water photographer