Summer CI Retreat with Rick Nodine: Tender Agility
21-27 August 2025,
Gaia Terra, Italy

It is called Tender Agility, and it's all in the name:

tender: /ˈtɛndə/ 1. showing kindness and affection
agility: /əˈdʒɪlɪti/ 1. ability to move quickly and easily

5 day CI intensive (21-27 August 2025) in the North of Italy, with Contact Improvisation workshops, bodywork and somatics sessions, Jams, hang out in the sun and swim in the river.

Mornings will begin with a deep and gentle exploration of our internal connections that will uncover how our skeletal structure can be accessed through its relationship with soft tissue, breath, and gravity. Through somatic practice we will harness a mindful attention to cultivate a heightened awareness of ourselves and our sensations.

This embodied awareness will support the release of chronic patterns of tension and open new pathways and movement possibilities with greater ease, coordination, pleasure, and grace. We will carry this sensitivity into our Contact Improvisation practice, discovering how the athleticism of Contact can emerge from the fluid, open state of mind brought about by our somatic explorations.

Afternoon sessions will develop our CI practice into a larger space of whole-group awareness and include witnessing each other's dances as an expanded way of connecting. We will work on relating to multiple partners simultaneously and on how to get in and out of contact with a partner while maintaining the integrity of our own dance.

Restorative bodywork sessions guided by Halina Rozensztrauch, along with time to relax by the river and under the sun, will offer essential moments of integration and rest, woven  into the rhythm of each day.

Evenings will unfold organically between studio jams and relaxed time on the terrace, nourishing both creative expression and connections to friends and nature.

Registrations are open:
Infos: https://www.ricknodine.com/italyciretreat
Bookings: https://forms.gle/D9TUyP55Qg3YyJsJA

We have been wanting to collaborate with Gaia Terra for a long time, so we are excited about spending a week in this Ecovillage nested in beautiful countryside, equipped with a state-of-the-art dance studio and gardens where they grow the food we will eat.