Maria Rutanen (FI) is a dance artist, teacher, and choreographer. Her approaches to dance and choreography are inspired by various somatic practices, instant composition, and contact improvisation. She holds a Master's degree in choreography from the Inter-University Centre for Dance Berlin (HZT). She has studied movement for years under the guidance of various methods and teachers, as well as through independent research. When teaching contact improvisation, she is interested in researching solo movement and movement qualities as part of CI practice. In particular, research on the effortless sharing of weight, the ability to suspend, expand, recoil and soften movement, and how the body sensitizes with another body. Working with touch raises questions about the potential of touch to meet others as equals, which she is intrigued to ponder. She taught CI in several European countries, Iran, Bolivia, West Africa and India.