Description
Dance…
Partnered movement is a conversation without words. It is a way of speaking and listening through the body, feeling another person, their responses, their whole self. When we drop into embodiment and attune to another being, the dance becomes a dialogue: somatic, intuitive, playful, soulful.
In this workshop we’ll explore how to listen with nuance and express with authenticity.
You’ll learn to connect deeply through movement, to co-create a dance conversation that is playful, rich and joyful, and to communicate through breath, touch, rhythm, and movement.
Laugh, cry, shake, roll, melt into stillness or expand into bigness. Come as you are, and let your full expression meet others in motion.
Play…
Play fighting is all about connection to your own body and energies flowing through it first. Only from that space you can wrestle and play in a wholesome, connected, delicious way with other beings. What you discover in this kind of deeply embodied connection with others is likely to surprise you! Perhaps your body, and spirit, crave gentleness and flowing, perhaps there’s a lot of passion, fire and wildness yearning to be expressed. You might awaken your creativity or meet your inner child or feel silly and full of life!
You won’t know until you dive into it full in!
In the workshop, we will talk through and demonstrate safety aspects of play fighting, demonstrate techniques and go through a series of exercises to warm up and connect with others. Importantly, we will explore boundaries and consent, communicating them in both verbal and nonverbal ways.
Everyone who wants to, will have an opportunity to challenge another for a play fight in the circle. Typically, rounds last 2 minutes and can be include 2-4 people, depending on space and skill levels.
You are welcome to bring in all your energies – playful, silly, competitive, gentle, caring, soulful or in eros. However, please note that this workshop is not sexual.
- Stretching and warm up exercises
- Consent and boundaries practices with both verbal and non-verbal communication
- At least 90 minutes of play fighting rounds
- Confidentiality: Outside of the event, please refrain from identifying anyone else who you have met there when sharing your experiences, unless you have explicit consent. You may talk about what the facilitators share and identify them.
- Sovereignty: Notice what you need to step in, and step out of engagement and interaction. Try to invite a beginner’s mind, embrace discomfort and give yourself time and space to notice its impact on you. Ask for what you need and be explicit in your agreements around touch and sexuality, including safer sex practices.
- Consent: Move away from what you don’t want, and towards an authentic, full body yes. Practice empathetic connection to be aware of your own boundaries and the boundaries/limits of others. Give others time and space to consider any request you make of them, and receive a ‘no’ with grace and gratitude. Remember you are empowered to pause or stop any interaction when you feel unsure if it is the right thing for you at the moment.
- Participation: Everything we facilitate is an invitation. The most important experience of the workshop isn’t to take part in all activities, but to make the choice in the moment that best aligns with your truth, check-in with yourself and give yourself permission to change your mind, at any time.
Safety
This a summary of the safety protocol that we explain and practice each session prior to play-fighting.
- Universal safety rules and call-outs when we see a safety breach:
- Neck: no choke-holds (even those that may be accepted in wrestling & martial arts). No interaction above the neck (general wrestling rules).
- Knee: always keeping one knee on the ground, to keep the centre of gravity low (avoids injuries to ankles).
- Space: Those sitting around the circle can call out when the sparring people come too close to them.
- Ways of checking-in or pausing a fight due to concern
- Check*: calling this is a reminder for the play-fighters to do a mental check-in, coming momentarily from body to mind to ensure they are comfortable with the situation. Can be used when a watcher has a general concern.
- Pause: Can be called by anyone for a concern about boundary violation or safety risk.
- Stop/Red: Can be called by anyone for a concern about boundary violation or safety risk.
- Double tap the floor: by a play fighter who is non-verbal.
- Energy regulation to prevent overwhelm or getting carried away with the excitement and adrenaline rush
- Self check-in during warmup, bringing awareness to your present energy levels.
- Opening ritual and communicating personal boundaries before the play fight.
- Closing ritual and co-regulation / down-regulation after the round.
To learn more about play fighting workshops, please go to this page and read the feedback from past participants.
Accessibility:
- This event is suitable for people who are comfortable in queer inclusive.
- There is no expectation of skills or physical ability. It is important to reflect that this is an activity that involves a lot of movement and physical contact with others.
Pricing:
- Super early bird until 31 December £35
- Early bird until 31 January £49
- Standard price £59
- Supporter price £69
- (A small number of concession tickets available on request)
The facilitators:
Connections Coach, Cuddle Therapist, Workshop Facilitator
Treasure’s passion is connection: helping people relate better and lead richer lives. Their aim is to hold comfortable and empowering spaces for touch, movement and intimacy, with a decade of successful teaching, hosting and facilitating.
Treasure comes from a dance and embodiment background. They are a qualified Acroyoga instructor and Cuddle Therapist. They lead workshops in partner dance and partner acrobatics and draw influence from their experience in wheel of consent training, massage, play fighting, shibari, contact improv and various different dance styles. They have been hosting cuddle parties and intimacy jams in Bristol and at festivals since 2022.
Venue details
The exact address will be emailed to guests two days before the event.
Booking conditions
- Payment can be made by credit card, bank transfer, Google Pay or Apple Pay.
- Full payment is needed to secure a place.
- Refunds: available until 2 weeks before the event, less £10 administration and processing charge.
- Up to 1 week before the event, you can request to transfer your credit to a future event.
- No refund within 3 days prior to the event.
- No independent ticket resales. Tickets can only be resold to someone else on the pre-registration waitlist or within our whatsapp group, up to midnight on the day before the event.
- An email with venue details and other important information will be sent to you 1-2 days before the event.
- If you need to know the venue address sooner to arrange accommodation, please contact us.
Testimonials
). I loved the way you could engage with it from so many angles — authentic relating, comedy, catharsis, eroticism, gender politics, you name it. So much fun, and so freeing. I’m gutted I can’t come back sooner.“Play Fighting workshop was everything I had hoped for: well-organised, fun, energetic and intense. It was lovely to witness a variety of play fighting styles from competitive to sensual to almost erotic (had I stayed for the optional Temple, I’m sure eroticism would have been the main energy ingredient). I was pleased to see how quickly a bunch of standers are able to authentically connect with each other on a wide range of levels within the safety of the play space. Kudos to the organisers, for their excellent team work and professionalism. I can highly recommend to anyone to attend it.”
Kristina
“It was with great anticipation that I went to the Play fighting workshop and temple. I was not disappointed it provided a space for me to be physical, powerful and playful with others. Wrestling, pushing, grabbing, snarling, rolling around – I loved it. A place to let out my inner animal without inhibition. I came away more confident and grateful to experience this part of my erotic nature with others. I learned so much about myself thank you.”
Dee
“I was quite apprehensive before attending, but it couldn’t have been a nicer or more welcoming and inclusive experience, with great care taken of every participant and a carefully-structured build-up to the more intense stuff. We were regularly reminded of choice and consent (also safety), but not in a way that interfered with enjoyment. A lovely experience altogether.”
Matt
“Thank you for providing a safe and welcoming space to explore play fighting for the first time. I felt comfortable throughout to explore movement and touch in the warm up exercises and supported to try a play fight. the rules were easy to follow and everything felt intuitive. Such a warm and supportive group of people to share and try something new.”
EJ
“I felt the workshop was very well presented and it demonstrated how best we should both control our emotions and desires.”
