Touch, Trust & Transformation: How Contact Improvisation Builds Emotional Awareness with Tom Goldhand
What happens when we stop talking and start listening with our bodies?
In this candid conversation, dancer and facilitator Tom Goldhand reveals how contact improvisation became a tool for emotional intelligence, embodied self-awareness, and relational trust. Starting dance at 25, Tom was drawn to the space between structure and spontaneity—where movement speaks louder than words.
We explore how touch and play open pathways to transformation, why creating safe spaces is vital for partner work, and how curiosity fuels the flow state in dance. This episode is essential listening for teachers, dancers, and anyone exploring contact improvisation as a somatic practice for self-development.
Episode Highlights
Tom’s late start in dance and his journey from beginner to facilitator
How touch unlocks emotional awareness and the challenges it brings
The balance between safety and bravery in contact improvisation
Curiosity and responsiveness as keys to flow and growth
Teaching consent and boundaries through movement, without words
Playfulness as a serious tool for emotional transformation
Holding space for emotional memory triggered by touch
The importance of community in your dance journey
The washing machine metaphor: surrendering to collective rhythm
Applying contact improvisation lessons beyond the dance floor
What You’ll Learn
✔️ How contact improvisation supports emotional healing and somatic awareness
✔️ Why non-verbal communication can reveal deeper truths than words
✔️ Strategies for creating emotionally safe and consent-aware movement spaces
✔️ Differentiating touch as a technique vs. relational inquiry
✔️ Cultivating bravery and presence over performance in dance
✔️ Teaching and learning through structured spontaneity and flow
✔️ Recognizing healthy, supportive dance communities for growth
✔️ Preparing facilitators to hold emotional content safely
✔️ Understanding how the body stores and releases emotional memory
✔️ Practical methods to teach consent, boundaries, and risk in partner dance
Links & Resources
🌐 Tom Goldhand – Official Website
📘 Facebook: Tom Goldhand
🎙️ More Episodes at Movement Is My Constant
📲 Follow the Podcast on Instagram @movementismyconstant
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