PODCAST · arts
Faces Of CI
by Aalia Hashem
Welcome to Faces of CI – Conversations in Contact ImprovisationI interview Contact dancers, teachers, strangers, and friends about the practice—and ultimately ask about Contact as a mirror for life. We journey primarily through the Contact scenes of Southeast Asia and Canada.I’m your host, Aalia—a lifelong dancer now based in Bali, where I share CI in workshops and retreats.📸 Instagram @momentumcontact🪩 Find Aalia: www.aaliadances.com🏫 Dance Workshops: msha.ke/momentumworkshop✍️ Learn Online: www.contactbody.ca
Episodes
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Aalia Hashem – The Shadow Side of Contact Communities : Rupture, Accountability & Gatekeeping
🎙️ New Solo Episode ~ Aalia here. In this personal solo episode, I share about the complexities of community, healing, belonging, and navigating conflict within Contact Improvisation spaces. ✨ Community conflict & gatekeeping ✨ Belonging, and being "cancelled" ✨ “Healing spaces” vs real human...
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Caiomhe Day Rush — From Practice to Facilitation in Contact Improvisation
Our guest today is Caiomhe Day Rush, a graduate of our Momentum Contact Facilitator Training, recorded December 2025. Caiomhe reflects on their experience moving from practice into facilitation — sharing what felt supportive, what felt challenging, and how the training helped build confidence to...
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Ivan Guryanov - Ci, Butoh, Water Contact + Our Wild Weird
🎙️ New Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation In this episode, I’m joined by my longtime friend and fellow Gemini, Ivan Guryanov — a dancer I’ve shared the floor with for years across Thailand and Bali. We sat down in Koh Phangan to speak about: ✨ Dancing with possibility…
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Leilani Weis — The Superpowers of Contact Dancers (Saltspring Contact Festival 2023)
Our guest today is the multi-directional being Leilani Weis — Contact Improvisation teacher of 26 years. Originally from Chile, she helped develop CI scenes in Mexico and Italy, and now resides in Barcelona. In this episode, we discuss: ✨ Her decades-long mentorship with Martin Keough ✨ Dancing...
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Aalia Hashem - Moving To Thailand, The Art of the Pauses, & Navigating Challenges in Communities
🎙️ New Solo Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation It’s Aalia here. I’m opening up in a raw and real solo episode: ✨ Transitioning to Thailand ✨ The Art of the Pause ✨ Being vulnerably first in new CI communities ✨ ADHD, mold illness & concussion recovery ✨ Getting...
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Sasha Bezrodnova — Ocean Dance, Aquatic Somatics & Eco-Activism (Russia)
Today I’m joined by Sasha Bezrodnova (Russia), recorded in Koh Phangan, Thailand. ✨ Her work in the Ocean Dance community — where Contact meets Freediving and Aquatic Somatics ✨ Entering the world of the sea and learning from dolphins ✨ Creating the eco-political water dance film Aquas in Mexico…
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Andy Chen — Mindsets & Choice — Momentum Contact Facilitator Training
New Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Today I’m joined by Andy Chen (USA / Portugal) — our newest graduate of the Momentum Contact Facilitator Training. ✨ Reflections on the magic of CI jams: "I really love the jams where I get to dance with a lot of bodies. Then I had…
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Authentic Movement — From Our Dancers of Momentum Contact Workshop
We’re coming to you live from one of our Momentum Beginners Contact Workshops — with a twist… our students are the guests! In this special episode, we hear their voices and insights on: ✨ What it means to move authentically ✨ How they see themselves as dancers ✨ The discoveries and surprises that...
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What Is A Dancer? What Is Flow? — From Our Dancers of Momentum Contact Workshop
In this episode, we sit with our students in a Momentum Contact Workshop, reflecting on the questions: ✨ What is a dancer? ✨ What is flow in your body? I’m in awe of my students’ shares each time we do this exercise. (Names have been withheld for privacy.) 🎧 Join our upcoming Momentum Contact...
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Sunny & Janice — Building Facilitation Skills for Safety & Gaining Confidence to Teach CI
New Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Our guests today are Sunny Zheng (Beijing, China) and Janice Chen (Berkeley, USA) — new graduate facilitators from the first edition of Momentum Contact Facilitator Training. 🎧 Reflections from both graduates on: ✨ Learning CI...
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Stuart Phillips — Contact as Therapy, Shadowwork, and Deconditioning (Victoria, Canada)
New Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Our guest today is Stuart Phillips — Contact teacher since the 1980s, joining us from Victoria, BC, Canada. From his wild roots at Bates College in the ’80s — all-day improvising and “contact as charades on steroids” — we explore…
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Peter Bingham — Contact Mechanics and Choreography of EDAM Dance Company, Hypnosis, and Parkinsons
Peter Bingham is a force within the world of Contact Improvisation, teaching and creating performance works through his company EDAM Dance in Vancouver, Canada since 1980. In this episode we explore: ✨ Peter’s origin story in dance ✨ The physical mechanics of Contact in choreography ✨ His daily...
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Aalia Solo — Cultivating Joy, Play, and Self-Compassion in the Dance
New Solo Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation It’s me, Aalia! In this episode, I ramble and reflect on: ✨ Cultivating joy, play, and weirdness in jams to reset and shake habits ✨ Comedy improv and Circling as supportive mirrors to Contact Improvisation ✨ What it means to…
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Olivia Schaffer — From Contemporary to Contact at Edam Dance
New Episode ~ Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation I’m delighted to be joined by my first Contact teacher, Olivia Shaffer — dancer and Assistant Director at EDAM Dance Company. In this episode, we chat about: ✨ Her journey from ballet to Europe to Contact Improvisation ✨ Correcting...
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Andrew Harwood — Canada's Contact Pioneer (Saltspring Contact Festival 2023)
Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Our guest today is the legendary Contact teacher Andrew Harwood (Montreal). Since 1975, Andrew has been instrumental in spreading Contact Improvisation across Canada. In this episode, we discuss: ✨ His beginnings with Nancy Stark Smith ✨...
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Aalia Solo — Leadership & Embodiment in Dance Spaces — Momentum Contact Facilitator Trainings
Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation In this episode, I share details about an exciting new training I’ll be hosting in Bali: Momentum Contact Improvisation Facilitator Training 📅 November 4–13, 2023 | Bali This 10-day training will change the way you see yourself, the body, and…
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Manuel Rochette & Selena La Brooy — Creators of Saltspring Island Contact Festival (Canada)
Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Our guests today are Selena Lo Brooy & Manuel Rochette — hosts of Saltspring Contact Festival. We danced together for 10 inspiring days of Contact Improvisation at Rhizome Springs — a dancer’s and nature lover’s dream on the hillside of Mt.…
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Aalia Solo — Contact Jam Styles, Discovering Fusion & Nancy Wisdom
In this episode, I share more about my own dance journey: ✨ Discovering Contact Improvisation at a fusion festival ✨ The four dance styles I notice at jams ✨ Wisdom from Nancy Stark Smith ✨ Reflections on my background and influences 📄 Nancy Stark Smith’s Mini Solo Underscore:...
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Christina Dohr & Santiago Ortiz Heredia — Contact Architecture to Aikido (Towards CI Conference)
Our guests today are the dancing teaching duo Christina Dohr (Germany) & Santiago Ortiz Heredia (Spain) — in this bi-lingual episode (Spanish with translation) we explore: ✨ Architecture & Aikido in dance ✨ Touching in both directions ✨ Embodying being seen ✨ Psychomagic storytelling ✨...
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Tu Anh Le — Pacing & Paradox in Hanoi Contact (Vietnam)
Our guest today is Tu Le (Vietnam) — independent movement artist and teacher of Contact Improvisation, with a background in contemporary dance and ballet. In 2017, Tu founded Contact Improv Hanoi and has been sharing the essence of the practice ever since. For him, dance improvisation is a tool…
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Nitipat Ong Polchai — Physics & Queering The Practice of CI (Bangkok, Thailand)
Our guest today is Nitipat “Ong” Ong Polchai (Thailand) — performer, community builder, and long-time organizer of the Bangkok Contact jam scene. Ong’s journey began in San Francisco’s experimental-contact-art scene, training in Berkeley with Karl Frost. His work spans creative collaborations…
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Yasukichi Suzuki — Simple is Strongest (Tokyo, Japan)
Our guest today is Yasukichi Sazuki (Japan) — a pioneer of Contact Improvisation in Tokyo, sharing the form for over two decades and introducing it to her country. In this episode, we explore: ✨ Trusting the environment & culture of caring in Japan ✨ Staying rooted in CI fundamentals — gravity,...
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Kirstie Simson — Dancing in Resilient Times (Chiang Dao, Thailand)
Our guest today is Kirstie Simson — legendary improviser, award-winning dancer, and teacher of Contact Improvisation for over 40 years, described by The New York Times as “a force of nature.” In this deeply personal conversation, recorded during her 3-week Chiang Dao residency Resilience and...
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Damla Ozcelik — Contact-Tango & Contact for the Blind (Turkey)
Live from Towards CI50 Conference, we welcome Damla Özçelik — Contact Improvisation facilitator from Turkey. In this conversation, we explore: ✨ Teaching CI to blind dancers ✨ Body–self–empowerment workshops for teenage girls ✨ Navigating consent in CI ✨ Fusing tango with contact improvisation 🌐...
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Francisco Borges & Geraldine Acevedo | Philos of Contact and the Water Body (Portugal, Columbia)
Recorded in the mountains of Chiang Dao, Thailand at a mystical monastery during Part 2 of the Towards 50th CI Anniversary Conference. For 10 days, 35 contact dancers lived together beside a hot springs “Heaven.” Our guests are CI teachers and dear friends Francisco Borges (Portugal) & Geraldine...
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Khuyen Bui — Dancing With The Voices In Your Head (Vietnam)
This is one of my favorite episodes so far! We’re live in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the Towards 50th CI Anniversary Conference — a month-long dance festival intensive. Our guest is Khuyen “Kasper” Bui — teacher of CI, philosopher, TED speaker, and writer based in Vietnam. 🌐 More about his work:...
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Bari Kim — Dancing Landscapes & Performing CI (Korea)
We’re live in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the Towards 50th CI Anniversary Conference — a month-long dance festival intensive. Our guest is Bari Kim — teacher of CI, Body-Mind Centering®, and choreographer based in Seoul & Jeju, Korea. 🌐 More about her work: Instagram @bari.dance &...
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Anne Cooper — Improvising At A Distance at Edam Dance
We’re in Vancouver, Canada at EDAM Dance Company — the first studio where I learned Contact and a space that holds a special place in my heart. Our guest is Anne Cooper — Contact Improvisation teacher at EDAM for over 20 years, artist, performer, and choreographer. Her Sunday classes offer a...
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Ubud, Bali — Our Contact Community with Helena, Anika, Fay & Somaji
Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation Ubud, Bali — a place that’s become my unofficial new home after spending 9 months here this year. 🌿 In this (long-awaited) episode, we’re joined by local teachers and friend- dancers: ✨ Helena Kober (Spain) ✨ Somaji Surya (Costa Rica) ✨ Fay Yeo...
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Koh Phangan, Thailand — Dolores Dewhurst-Marks, Bernd Vollmer & Astrid Van Zon
Welcome to Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation We’re in Koh Phangan, Thailand, during Art Continuum Nomadic Residency, joined by guests: ✨ Dolores Dewhurst-Marks (England) ✨ Bernd Vollmer (Germany) ✨ Astrid Van Zon (Netherlands) Together we explore: 🌊 Dance as life philosophy ✨…
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Chiang Mai, Thailand — Vangelis Legakis (Greece) & Man Yee Cheung on Teaching (China)
Welcome to Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation We’re in Chiang Mai, Thailand, joined by CI Facilitators: ✨ Vangelis Legakis (Greece) Creator of Contact Beyond Contact and Unity Space Performance Trainings ✨ Man Yee Cheung (China) Dancing Contact and navigating sexuality in China....
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Arambol, India — Vega Luukkonen & Dancers — CI as a metaphor for life
Welcome to the first episode of Faces of CI: Conversations on Contact Improvisation We’re in Arambol, India, joined by Contact dancers and teachers in casual discussions about the practice: ✨ Orion Freeman (USA) ✨ Vega Luukkonen (Finland) ✨ Ambarish Shiva (India) ✨ Harmandeep Singh (India) ✨ Nati...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Faces of CI – Conversations in Contact ImprovisationI interview Contact dancers, teachers, strangers, and friends about the practice—and ultimately ask about Contact as a mirror for life. We journey primarily through the Contact scenes of Southeast Asia and Canada.I’m your host, Aalia—a lifelong dancer now based in Bali, where I share CI in workshops and retreats.📸 Instagram @momentumcontact🪩 Find Aalia: www.aaliadances.com🏫 Dance Workshops: msha.ke/momentumworkshop✍️ Learn Online: www.contactbody.ca
HOSTED BY
Aalia Hashem
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Faces Of CI have?
Faces Of CI currently has 32 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Faces Of CI about?
Welcome to Faces of CI – Conversations in Contact ImprovisationI interview Contact dancers, teachers, strangers, and friends about the practice—and ultimately ask about Contact as a mirror for life. We journey primarily through the Contact scenes of Southeast Asia and Canada.I’m your host, Aalia—a...
How often does Faces Of CI release new episodes?
Faces Of CI has 32 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Faces Of CI?
You can listen to Faces Of CI on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Faces Of CI?
Faces Of CI is created and hosted by Aalia Hashem.
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