Don’t miss the Early birds offer for Women’s Touch on June 15th!

Women’s Touch 4th edition: Refining Nonverbal Communication in Contact Improvisation 

Co-facilitated by Claudia Richli

June 15th, 10am-4pm / Siobhan Davies Studio

Early birds tickets end on May 3rd.

Booking here

After a very successful and fully booked Women’s Touch event on Mother’s Day last March, there was a clear demand for another workshop.

This fourth edition focuses on exploring the intersections between Laban Movement Analysis and Contact Improvisation.

Hereunder is a video from the past workshop posted on Instagram.

Photo by Sol Ji Park

What is Women’s Touch?
Women’s touch is an event curated by Marie Chabert, that offers a space for those who identify as women and non-binary to explore movement practices that are mainly based on touch (Contact Improvisation, somatic practices, improvisation) in a safe environment. It aims to empower women to claim their space and redefine it within a framework that challenges prevailing patriarchal norms. It offers both a place to embody and share our experiences verbally.

Our intention to foster a safe and supportive environment, where women and non-binary participants feel safe to take risks, be vulnerable, and share their humanity, free from the pressure of dominant dynamics.
Cultivating such spaces requires trust, shared language, and mutual care. It allows us not just to survive, but to thrive in connection.

Who is this for?
Those who identify as women and non-binary, whether you have taken part in the first workshop or not you are welcome.
It welcomes all levels and can be applied to other practices than Contact Improvisation.

What is the content?
We cover material from Laban Movement Analysis to give us tools that are both theoretical and embodied in order to feel confident being in and out of touch.

We will cover concepts such as Relationship structure and the 2 Motion factors of Space and Time. We will have time to reflect, share with others, explore various qualities and structures in our dance, in solo, with a partner and with the whole group in a jam.

Sharing open to all genders

We will have an informal sharing at the end of the workshop with a Q&A. The idea is to share the research and the findings with others, with the wish to create safer spaces in Contact Improvisation and other embodied touch based practices. The sharing will be open to all genders.


What is Laban Movement Analysis?
Developed by Rudolf Laban, a choreographer, dancer, and movement theorist, Laban Movement Analysis is a comprehensive system for observing, describing, and interpreting human movement.

Claudia Richli will introduce us to concepts focusing on how movement affects interpersonal dynamics. We will explore the Structural Model of Human Movement which offers a comprehensive and accessible framework for understanding and analysing movement. We will particularly focus on the relationship structure and dynamic structure.

Relationship Structure: We will examine different ways of interrelating through movement—such as different types of touch and proximity without contact—to develop greater awareness of how physical interaction influences perception and communication.

Dynamic Structure: The “how” of movement—the quality or impulse behind it—reveals the mover’s intentions, moods, or emotional states. We’ll explore how movement qualities affect both the dancer’s experience and the interpretation by others.
By reflecting on the diversity of sensations while dancing in different dynamics, dancers will understand that how they feel may differ from how their partner perceives the interaction.

Through this training, dancers will refine their ability to navigate nonverbal communication with greater consciousness, fostering more respectful and mindful physical engagements in contact improvisation.

Schedule (may slightly change)
10-10.30am: arrival, tea and intro in the kitchen/lounge area
10.30am-1.30pm group agreement and workshop facilitated by Claudia Richli in the research studio (includes writing and sharing)
1.30-2.30pm: lunch break (food sharing)
2.30-3pm: Contact Jam
3-4pm: Informal sharing with Q&A facilitated by Marie Chabert in the rooftop studio


Claudia Richli’s bio
Co-Founder of The Life of Movement, Teacher and Trainer at Barre&Baby, Claudia Richli is a mother, movement poet, Tanztheater dancer and a firm believer in the power of movement as an expression of the inner self.
Experiencing early motherhood as an identity shift, full of emotional contradictions, Claudia found in movement the power to find her essence. She is now dedicated to exploring how movement, particularly through Laban Movement Analysis, can assist new mothers in expressing their personal journeys and achieving balance in their lives.
She went on to study Rudolf Laban’s movement theories at Trinity Laban, as well as created training programs that integrate the physical and emotional aspects of movement.

She believes in the power of movement to help us live in deeper harmony with ourselves, and with the world. This is why she is so devoted to movement education, not only for mothers but for everyBODY; not only for dancers, movement practitioners but for anyone who believes in a more embodied way of being.
Instagram : @move_your_emotions