WELCOME TO
COLOGNE
17-21 May 2023
BE PART OF THE "EXPANSION"
We are sold out.
Concept
Offerings
Team
Venue
T&P Global
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EXPANSION
Inspired by the beauty, connection and playfulness from our first small Touch&Play Gathering near Cologne last spring, we now are daring to EXPAND!
Closing your eyes and connecting to the somatic realm within your body you may find yourself vast and infinite. It’s a place mystics have been seeking and describing for millenia. During our gathering we invite you to connect deeply to that Self and from there when you are ready expand to relate to the Other(s), the Collective, Nature and Spirit.
The consciousness of an individual is often considered the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the surface of the ocean, its main content hidden from easy observation. We believe that in connecting to others in a safer and empowering container, we get to open our eyes wider and experience more of our inner abundance, our hidden shadows and our most feared glorious greatness.
Expanding ourselves, expanding our awareness to what might yet be unconscious helps us to understand and heal ourselves and evolve more responsibility. It moves us towards compassion and celebration of the diverse community around us.
During this journey you’ll at times feel part of the collective, of a movement of holistic integration and vividness. There will also be moments where you might find yourself closed off and with a sense of separation. Taking a lone walk in nature might then connect you again to the spirit of the trees, breathe in the lush green and stand in awe at the sun rays beaming soft golden light into the dark woods…
Life is made of dualities. The everlasting pulse of the universe, inhalation and exhalation, hot and cold, light and dark, shy and daring, clumsy and elegant, fear and joy, support and challenge, contraction and expansion.
Let us together embrace them all and Play!
OFFERINGS
During five days we’ll be offering the space to dance, discover and connect within the framework of the Touch&Play culture.
After starting together in a daily morning ritual, there will be a variety of facilitated intensive workshops and single classes around (the edges of) Contact Improvisation, Movement & Dance, Consent & Communication, Self-Exploration, Sensuality & Sexuality, BDSM, Nature & Wilderness, Community and Spirituality.
We’ll make sure there are also some free slots to breathe, integrate, connect further or to, perhaps, offer something you’re excited about to the community. We also keep a certain flexibility in the schedule to create space for needs that arise through our group process.
BE PART OF THE "EXPANSION"
We are sold out.
VENUE & PRACTICALITIES
The gathering will take place in the “Auszeit Eifel” retreat centre in Gemünd (70 km south-west of Cologne), close to the Dutch and Belgium borders. The house sits on a hill overlooking the beautiful Eifel Nature Reserve with its more than 110 km² of forests and fields.
Our home
COMMUN SPACES
The venue is equipped with big community spaces and functional common areas for various themes which will be enchanted with extra sparkle and glow by our lovely build and decoration faeries and a generous, private outdoor area for sunbathing, bonfires, etc.
ACCOMODATIONS
The accommodation consists mainly of spacious dormitory rooms (8-10 beds) with big windows and nice views. We have a limited number of shared rooms containing 4 bunk beds. There are also three luxury holiday apartments with ensuite bathrooms and kitchenettes as a more private option for couples, trios or small groups. Participants can also camp or sleep in their campervan.
GETTING THERE
Haus Auszeit, Eifel, 53937
The location is an hour drive from Cologne and we highly encourage ridesharing or using the train and bus to arrive as the parking space is limited.
We’ll be offering a rideshare board in advance to the festival for quests and offers.
Directions
The closest train stations are “Kall” and “Heimbach”. If in demand we’ll try to organize a low cost shuttle from there to the venue on the day of arrival and closure. However you can also take a bus from there to “Schleiden Dürener Str” and take a 7 min walk to the venue.
The closest airports is “Cologne/Bonn”, for overseas travel also “Frankfurt” might be a good option as it has good train connections to Cologne.
Nourishing Meals
We are bringing in our own chefs who will be preparing three fresh organic vegan/vegetarian meals per day for us. We also offer a little midnight snack for the night owls and those with an appetite after our evening offerings.
More info
CONTACT
contact@cologne.touchandplay.org.
GUIDELINES
WHAT TO BRING
Personal items to enjoy and be comfi: Sunny days, cold nights. insect repellent, toiletry bag, rain gear, dance clothes, dress-up costumes, cash, earplugs, towel, slipper or comfi shoes, water bottle, journal an pencil, contact cards, headlamp, a book, toys, etc.
ARRIVING & DEPARTURES
Arriving & Registrations: 15:00 – 17th of May
Departure: 13:00 – 21st of May
Times for teachers and collaborators
Work exchange participants will need to arrive by 13:00.
Soothe and Care team members will need to arrive by 15:00
Teacher arrival: 16th of May
PRICING
To reserve your ticket you will make the downpayment for your accommodation and food, which is non-refundable. The additional price for the participation in the gathering will be paid in cash upon arrival. For the event we offer a sliding scale from 300 – 550 Euros.
We are also offering a limited number of Work-Exchange and scholarship tickets.
More info on the registration page.
ABOUT TOUCH&PLAY GLOBAL
In 2010, the founder of the Touch&Play Project, Daniel Hayes, organized the first Touch&Play festival in Berlin, Germany. It aimed to explore the ‘Chemistry in Contact’ and to create a safe and inspiring space to invite our emotions, sexualities, body politics and power dynamics into the dances.Since then Touch&Play has evolved to a worlwide movement of exploring “The Relational Body“.
Touch&Play is an international movement – a sexy, adventurous, embodied and deeply heart-centered family – that has found its way to Cologne.
T&P holds spaces open to dancers and players of all genders, abilities, ages, origins and sexualities. Many of the Touch&Play teachers who’ve helped shape this body of work over the years will return to co-create a container that feels both comfortable and challenging and where we can connect through a shared classical CI vocabulary, deep consent work and through the learning of new norms and forms that can enrich our dances, our relationships and our lives.
The main contents are:
- CI, Somatics & Dance
- Nature, Conscious Sexuality & Spirituality
- Boundaries, Consent & Power
- Tribe, Inclusivity & Sustainable Living
“Leave your relationships more beautiful than you found them.”
Daniel Hayes
BE PART OF THE "EXPANSION"
SOLD OUT