Since 2006 I have been passionately developing my skills and knowledge as a Contact Improvisation dancer. From my first experiences, I felt deeply moved by the state of presence and creative expression that CI can bring forth. Personally, I find through this practice we can develop and embody the relational skills of connectivity, co-creation, trust, support & awareness into our lives.
In 2011, I co-founded Hampshire Contact Improvisation, which has grown into a thriving community of professional and social dancers alike from a variety of backgrounds, with regular classes and jams happening on a weekly basis.
As a teacher, I have a solid and clear approach to sharing the Somatics of CI, which in turn has led me to develop teaching scores that offer a rich clarity and accessibility into dancing CI. I also love collaborative improvisation scores that bring greater spontaneity and subtlety into the dance practice.
An aspect that I am also very passionate about, is how we hold space and offer boundaries of safety and accessibility within dance, especially when working with less experienced dancers. I feel it’s really important to develop clarity around how we perceive or hold our attention within a somatic and improvisational inquiry as well as in how the dance is perceived from the perspective of the witness.
In 2018, I started running 3 day National Jams within the UK. I also co-directed a small-scale research project with The University of Winchester that aims to explore and challenge the dynamics of the subject-object relationship within a gallery space. It involves creative research approaches with imaginative and somatic explorations with a group of dancers.
Richard has been facilitating workshops and events since 2004.