Tom Goldhand

The Grammar of Contact Improvisation 

An invitation to slow down

Contact improvisation has its own language. A physical grammar that makes your dance clear, fluid, and communicative. In this one-day workshop, you’ll delve into the fundamentals of this practice. Ideal for beginners or those who want to refine their foundation.

Contact improvisation works around three core principles: weight sharing (giving and receiving support), the rolling point of contact (continuity and listening in movement), and the shared center of gravity (finding a center for movement together).

Through focused exercises, solo exploration, and partner work, you’ll develop a sense of timing, direction, and tone. This workshop invites you to slow down, observe more sharply, and discover how small, precise choices lead to spacious and vibrant dance. No high-partnering tricks or spectacle, just clarity, simplicity, and embodied understanding.

Teacher

Tom Goldhand is a dancer and instructor at Sadhana Dance School. He has been creating and teaching dance and movement scores for over fifteen years. He co-founded the Amsterdam-based company Mono Collective and holds a master’s degree in dance therapy from Codarts in Rotterdam. In recent years, he has led intensive movement and personal development workshops and retreats. As an improviser, he explores dance as a practice of consciousness – from contact improvisation to authentic movement and ecstatic dance – and shares this investigative approach with his participants.

Accessibility

• The workshop is not physically demanding
• The workshop is accessible to wheelchair users
• The ability to memorise long phrases or structures is not a requirement