MASHA GRUDSKAYA (MOSCOW, RUSSIA)

Has been dancing CI since 2003, teaching in Moscow, other cities of Russia and in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel. Masha is one of the organizers of Moscow Contact Festival. Also, she explores dance improvisation in performance, works with dancers, musicians and artists in different performance projects.
“To me, in CI there are two worlds, closely connected and supporting one another: one is body organization, movement analysis, connections in the body, reflexes; other is expression, sense, composition. I enjoy the depth, richness and endless of both these worlds…”

SASHA BEZRODNOVA (MOSCOW, RUSSIA)

By education I am a social psychologist. In last years CI has become my main interest and direction in life, which I am very happy about. I practice CI and Authentic Movement since 2002, teach regular classes in improvisation and performance group in Praktika thatre in Moscow, as well as jams, labs, workshops for beginners and advances in different cities and countries. I participated in performance projects with Steve Batts, Karl Frost, Konstantinos Mokhos, Andrey Andrianov. I am happy to be a part of Moscow Festival team.

Themes and focuses interesting to me now are:
• Anatomical and structural fundamentals of movement
• Evolutional patterns and animal movement in CI
• CI for parents and kids, CI for kids with special development
• CI on the lawn, on the sand, in the water, on the stones…..

Teachers who influenced on my vision of CI are Andgela Dony, Steve Batts, Natanja Den Boeft, K J Holmes, Danny Lepkoff, Nita Little and Arye Burstein.

ANASTASIA SAEVICH (ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA)

For a while I didn’t dance and I was looking for my dance. The dance which combines improvisation and interaction, which has lots of freedom and also technique. And when I found Contact Improvisation I realized that my previous experience in ballroom dance, gymnastics, historical dance, choreography, movement theatre – it all prepared my body and mind for CI. This experience helps to open my dance, to open myself in the dance.

I participated and studied a lot and with pleasure at many festivals - in Moscow, Finland, Kiev and at workshops of different international teachers in St. Petersburg.

My favorite and important teachers are Adrian Russi, Angela Doni, Nancy Stark Smith, Ekaterina Basalaeva, Steve Batts, Benno Voorham and many others.

I teach since 2008, including Altay Festival 2009, Moscow Festival 2010, workshops in Minsk, Novgorod.

I am one of the organizers of Ladoga Contact Festival in Karelia and CI Festival in St. Petersburg, I organize regular classes and workshops of CI, performance and somatics.

I participated in projects with dancers and choreographers: Benno Voorham, Alexandr Andriyashkin, Karl Frost, Ekaterina Basalaeva, Ruslan Santah.
www.contact-piter.ru

MANUELA BLANCHARD RUSSI (SWITZERLAND)

Has been teaching contact improvisation and new dance for the past 7 years after having trained intensively and performed in dance, physical theatre, clown and synchronised swimming for many years. Discovering improvised dance touched a very profound core in her, and led her to meet great teachers and to continue to explore the form with others. Manuela is also a water body therapist, certified in “Water Dance”, “Watsu” and passionated by “Healing Dance”. Her love for contact improvisation and aquatic bodywork has brought her to teach regularly Contact in Water, in Switzerland and abroad.
www.earthandwaterdance.com

FILIP WENCKI (POLAND)

Filip Wencki – contact dancer, improviser, physical actor, all-the-time mover, director and teacher.
Cofounder of the physical theatre/dance company «The Line of Night». Member of an international theatre research group «The Bridge of Winds» lead by Odin Teatret. In the past occupied with traditional martial arts (Aikido, Wing Tsun) and modern fight systems (Krav Maga, Brasilian Jujitsu). For years now occupied with dance and physical movement. Performs and teaches internationally both for dance and physical acting. Worked with the most influential contact teachers: Nancy Stark Smith, Karen Nelson, Frey Faust, Andrew de L. Harwood and Keith Hennessy, as well as many other. After years of training, still surprised by the endless possibilities in movement and expression.

DAVID LIM (MALAYSIA)

David has been practicing and teaching CI since 2005. He studied the dance form with teachers such as Nancy Stark Smith, KJ Holmes, Martin Keogh, Ray Chung, Joerg Hassman, and Alejandro Rolandi, and his investigation into CI is informed by movement approaches such as Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, and Ideokinesis. He was the festival organizer for Contact Festival Kuala Lumpur in 2011 and 2012 and has taught CI workshops in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

NEVO BEN KNAAN (ISRAEL)

I'm curious to be a body, to breath, to open for movement, to divert my attention from inner dialogue to physical experience.
People make me curious, emotional. I love to meet people, to touch, to be touched, to dance...

Over the years I have studied Yoga and Shiatsu. I have danced in different places, I have surfed in the sea. Today I study and work as Grinberg Method practitioner.

ADY ELZAM (ISRAEL)

I did a two year training program for dancers in Haifa, Israel, after that I got excepted to Vertigo Dance Company and I danced there for two more years, then I left and danced for another year in DeDe Dance Company..
Now I'm a freelance for three years and dance in many different projects...
I practice Yoga for 4 years.
Teach Contact impro for 5 years.
And I practice Feldenkrais for 3.