A regular program for Improvisation and Creativity
Manchester · Summer 2026
“Perhaps what matters most is not what we do, but how we meet ourselves, each other and the ever-changing world we inhabit..”
A sustained space for practice, inquiry, and developing work over time.
The invitation
This is a small group process for artists and improvisers working over time.
Using Contact Improvisation as a basis, we open into wider forms of improvisation and composition across movement, sound, and relational space.
We meet consistently across a series of sessions, allowing the work to build through repetition, attention, and shared experience.
Each session moves between guided practice, open exploration, and structured reflection.
We slow things down.
We stay with simple actions longer than is comfortable.
We notice what changes when attention is shared.
The work unfolds in relation, where attention, responsibility, and timing are held between us.
Support comes through the group, through shared attention, and through staying with the process together.
This is not a drop-in class, but a process that unfolds over time.
This asks for attention, consistency, and a willingness to stay with what is not immediately clear, without needing to resolve it.
There is space here for both rigour and curiosity.
The core cycle completes across five sessions, with an optional return session later in the summer.
The space is held by Alexander Dodgson, an interdisciplinary artist and facilitator working with improvisation, embodiment, and shared creative process, in dialogue with the group.
The work
The practice draws from five core orientations:
Embodiment
Mutuality
Shared attention
Spaciousness
Emergence
Each session places emphasis on one of these, using simple structures and scores to explore how they operate in practice.
In simple terms, we are working with:
- how attention shapes experience
- how relation informs movement
- how form emerges through interaction
We begin with guidance.
We open into shared process.
We reflect and integrate.
Over time, we begin to sense how individual choices affect the whole, and how the work takes shape between us rather than from us.
This is not about finding something new, but about staying long enough to notice what is already happening.
→ Read more about our Approach
Who this is for
This is for artists and improvisers with an interest in sustained practice.
No prior Contact Improvisation experience is required, though some familiarity with movement or improvised creative practice is helpful.
What matters most is a willingness to engage, to stay with uncertainty, and to work relationally over time.
We aim to gather a small, committed group who are curious, grounded, and interested in developing their practice.
This works best when participants can attend all sessions.
Practical frame
5 sessions across June and July
Tuesdays · Evening (approx 3 hours)
Dates:
2 June
16 June
30 June
14 July
28 July
Group size: small, consistent group
Location: Manchester (venue confirmed upon acceptance)
An optional sixth session will be offered later in the summer for those who wish to return and reflect on the work.
Contribution
This work is held through shared contribution.
£20 per session
Discount available for full commitment
Full details will be shared upon confirmation.
Not quite the right fit?
You can explore other offerings or read more about the approach behind the work.
Applications
Places are limited.
We are looking to gather a small group who feel ready for this kind of process.
You’ll hear from us personally.
Any Questions? Reach out…
If something calls you to us, feel free to reach out.
📧 commonbodycollective@gmail.com
‘Togethering’
Emerging from the Common Body Collective
A growing network of improvisers working across practice, gathering, and shared inquiry
📷 Instagram: @togethering.contact
🎥 YouTube: Togethering