Question 1

What is your movement background and how did you each find your way into contact improvisation?

Accepted Answer

Emma:I grew up deeply immersed in ballet, dancing almost every day until university. While I loved movement, over time I felt limited by the structure, precision, and focus on performance. I longed for a way to move that felt more expressive, playful, and connected to myself. I explored other dance styles, but often found myself still caught in the mindset of choreography and getting things “right.” Eventually, I stepped away from dance altogether because I had lost the joy and freedom I once felt in my body.
After exploring Systema, a Russian martial art focused on awareness and movement, I discovered contact improvisation, and it immediately felt like something I had been searching for all along. It was unfamiliar and pushed me outside my comfort zone, but it also opened a whole new world of creativity, play, trust, and authentic expression. Through contact improv, I rediscovered the joy of moving simply for the sake of being present and connected.
Pablo:
Dance came into my life later than it does for many people. When I first started dancing, I was incredibly stiff and disconnected from my body, but through persistence, practice, and curiosity, I discovered how much we can grow when we allow space for exploration.My journey began through more solo improvisational practices, including 5Rhythms, before I started exploring different movement forms. I first encountered contact improvisation through ecstatic dance, which at the time was one of the few spaces where I could experience movement purely for the joy of moving, without performance, expectations, or the social pressures often surrounding dance spaces.Contact improv immediately felt like a natural fit. The practice invited me into deeper body awareness, presence, and connection with others. The ability to listen through movement, share weight, find moments of lightness and play, and create something together without knowing where it would go was incredibly inspiring.What continues to draw me to contact improv is the way it teaches us to be adaptive, sensitive, and open. Every dance is a reminder that when we approach movement with curiosity, compassion, and trust, we discover new possibilities for connection, with ourselves and with each other.

Question 2

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from contact improv that you carry into everyday life?

Accepted Answer

Emma: 
One of the biggest lessons contact improvisation has taught me is how to move through uncertainty and challenges with trust. Before Colours in Contact, I never had a space that gave me such a strong sense of safety, support, and encouragement to explore the things that scared me. Through this practice and this community, I’ve discovered a capacity within myself that I didn’t know was there. Now, I approach challenges with confidence, curiosity, and trust in my own resilience, and in the support of the people around me.
Pablo: 
One of the greatest reminders contact improv has given me is that the body carries so much wisdom. Through movement, we can learn about ourselves and each other in ways that words don’t always reveal - what we carry, what inspires us, what brings us joy, and how we connect. When we approach movement without judgement and instead with curiosity, compassion, and play, we discover new possibilities for awareness, expression, and connection.

Question 3

Are you two life partners as well as dance partners?

Accepted Answer

Indeed we are! We first met on the dance floor and, about a year and a half later, our connection grew into a life partnership as well.
Contact improvisation has been part of our relationship from the very beginning. It’s a practice that asks us to listen, trust, adapt, and communicate beyond words. We once shared a 1.5-hour uninterrupted dance that moved through joy, connection, challenge, and emotion, and it became a beautiful reflection of the kind of relationship we continue to build both on and off the dance floor.
We bring different strengths, perspectives, and experiences to Colours in Contact, and we love the way we complement each other. Our partnership is rooted in curiosity, creativity, and a shared belief in the power of movement to bring people together.

Question 4

How do you guide people who are completely new to contact improv?

Accepted Answer

We love welcoming people who are new to contact improv! In fact, many people who join our spaces have never moved this way before. No previous experience is needed - the practice is not about performing, being “good”, or learning a set choreography. It’s about curiosity, listening, and discovering what happens through connection and movement.
We introduce the foundations gradually, creating a supportive environment where people can build confidence at their own pace. We explore simple practices around awareness, weight-sharing, communication, boundaries, and responding to another person’s movement. From there, participants are invited to experiment and discover their own way of moving.
Our role is to create a space where people feel safe to explore, make mistakes, ask questions, and find their own relationship with the practice. Contact improv can be playful, surprising, and deeply rewarding, and we believe the most important skill is not knowing how to move, but being willing to listen, stay curious, and connect.

Question 5

What’s your favourite way to reconnect with your body after a long day?

Accepted Answer

Emma: 
One of my favourite ways to reconnect with my body comes from contact improv. There’s a gentle lift called “the shelf,” where one person offers their back as a stable support for the other person to rest on. After a long day, I love climbing onto Pablo’s back and simply letting my arms and legs hang loose. It helps me feel weightless, releases tension, and gives me a chance to relax, stretch, co-regulate and reconnect with my body.
Pablo: 
Meditation is one of the practices that brings me back to myself. I've learned that sitting with the tension of the day, rather than trying to push it away, is often exactly what it needs. Those quiet moments give me space to soften, process what I've been carrying, and notice what I may have missed - whether it's a moment of gratitude, a feeling I hadn't acknowledged, or something I was holding onto that was ready to be let go.

Question 6

What inspires you most as facilitators?

Accepted Answer

Emma:What inspires me most is witnessing people surprise themselves. I love seeing someone arrive feeling nervous, unsure, or disconnected, and then watching them slowly soften, take a risk, and discover a confidence or playfulness they didn't know they had. Those moments remind me that we all have so much more potential than we often give ourselves credit for. It's a privilege to create spaces where people feel safe enough to grow, connect, and come alive.
Pablo:I'm continually inspired by the transformations that happen when people feel genuinely seen and supported. Through movement, people often discover parts of themselves that words alone can't reach, like greater trust, freedom, creativity, or connection. Watching strangers become a community and seeing people express themselves more fully with each session, reminds me why I continue to facilitate. Every group brings something new, and I learn just as much from the people in the room as they do from me.

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