Each retreat is held in a different venue as described on the specific event page.
We encourage participants to use public transportation to reach the event venue. Information on the best connections can be found on the local event website or the venue’s website.
However, we understand this may not always be possible. After registering or a few weeks before the event, you will receive a link to a ride-sharing spreadsheet to help coordinate carpooling with other participants.
This will depend on the season, the specific weather and the location of each event. Below you can find some recommendations.
This will depend on the specific venue the retreat is being held at. We often have various sleeping option available:
Some events also allow participants to sleep off site at a reduced rate
Each event creates its own menu according to location and season. We normally offer three meals a day and sometimes are offered a late night snack for dancers that are needing a bit of extra energy. Menus are mainly vegetarian and vegan and incorporate local and organic products as much as possible. Food is normally served buffet-style and individual dietary requirements are taken into account where possible through direct communication with the local organisers and chef.
The kitchen team will do their best to accommodate special dietary needs related to intolerances. However, we regret that we cannot cater to individual taste preferences. Additionally, we cannot guarantee an allergic diets allergy-free kitchen, as all food may be contaminated and contain traces of any of the ingredients used in the kitchen.
We ask participants to be aware of and limit their potential exposure to any (not just Covid) contagious illnesses. If you are feeling symptomatic in the days leading up to the event, please take a rapid Covid test and communicate with us. It is our collective duty and opportunity to try to keep eachother safe and healthy, knowing that germs inevitably spread when humans gather. Immune boosting supplements and plenty of rest prior to the event is recommended, to decrease the risk of falling sick. Vaccinations and masks will be optional during the event. Symptomatic participants might be asked to leave the venue at the organisers discretion.
This varies and can range from 15 to 150 participants depending on the nature of the event. Our smaller gatherings, like the discovery weekend, host less than 50 participants. At the larger gatherings, where multiple activities are offered simultaneously, numbers will range from around 50 to 150, depending on the venue.
Touch&Play is an international organisation and uses English as its main language.
At each local event the production team will decide whether the inclusion of additional local languages is necessary to support the integration of local communities and the improved rooting of the T&P culture in a local context. If you have questions about language support at an upcoming T&P event, please reach out to your local production team.
It is not necessary at all to know Contact Improv. And still, if you are curious we encourage any newcomers to CI to take classes and go to jams before the gathering to prepare yourself in understanding the essential physics and social dynamics of the form since Touch&Play has its roots in the form. At our events we also offer a limited number of basic and more advanced CI workshops to ensure its continuity as one of our core practices.
Expressions of sexuality, when consensual, are welcome as one of many authentic ways we have of connecting with ourselves, the other, the collective and nature. We like to refer to our spaces as ‘Post-Positive’ to highlight a shift toward integration of sexuality rather than the focus that is present in events that consider themselves ‘Sex-Positive’. Where during the event sexual explorations are welcome will depend on the venue and the gathering. At some gatherings this is limited to workshop spaces only and at others no specific limitations might exist. Above all we ask participants to be sensitive to how their acts, sexual or not, impact the space and those around them. We also encourage people to speak out when there is a situation that feels uncomfortable to them.
While diverse expressions are welcome, this is not an event centered on sex. This is not a swingers event and If what you’re looking for is sex with no strings attached this is likely not your place. Even more so, if you are a heterosexual man exclusively looking for contact with women or only engaging in exercises with women, this is not the place for you, and we will call it out immediately.
If you’re open to exploring intimacy with others in community and are open for this to include expressions of sexuality you’re likely to find a warm home with us.
T&P doesn’t create sex positive spaces. It creates authentic spaces where we are invited to presence and welcome what is alive inside of us be it sexual attraction, grief, playfulness or frustration… in serve of growing our connections to ourselves, others and nature.
Touch&Play retreats are well held and intimate containers that attempt to cultivate a culture of safety and care. Arriving late is not permitted as the beginning of each event is spent seeding the T&P Culture, forming the group and practising the T&P deCIDE consent model with all that are present.
Leaving early is discouraged and will not be reimbursed. If you do end up needing to leave early for some reason, we ask that you communicate this to the event organisers beforehand.
This is an intimate body-based event. It is suitable for those who have the ability to self regulate their emotions and are comfortable with and have some understanding of sexy environments. If you are dealing with significant levels of trauma (specifically sexual or relational) or PTSD this may not be the event for you. If you’re not feeling sure we encourage you to reach out to the local organisers through their website so that they might answer any questions you may have. You can also read out first timer guide here: https://touchandplay.org/introduction/
Welcome! Touch&Play gatherings offer a number of structured support systems, beyond our wider aim to build a culture of mutual care. These are:
Consent can be practised in different ways and different cultures approach the subject differently. Consent forms one of the core practices of Touch&Play that allows us to connect in intimate and experimental ways with others. Participants are invited to familiarise themselves with different consent frameworks (e.g. affirmative, exclusionary, enthusiastic, deCIDE) and experiment to see what model(s) work(s) best for them. At the beginning of our retreats we will usually spend the first one or two sessions speaking about and practising voicing and embodying our desires and our limits. These sessions are mandatory for all participants and help to build a feeling of shared responsibility and collective care. We encourage our team and the participants to support everyone’s journey. We also ask everyone to be responsible for their own well being and comfort. This, according to identity,. If you would like more clarity to be sure that you would feel safe with us please feel free to reach out!
Touch&Play is not a therapeutic container and if you are carrying serious relational trauma we recommend you evaluate your participation at our events with a professional. If after such consultation you decide to join us you will learn about “safe words,” which provide an easy way to communicate if you are experiencing discomfort and if you want to slow down or stop. Safe words give us an opportunity to move at the pace of presence, or the speed of trust.
That's perfect. There is absolutely no pressure or expectation to be sexual at all. Actually there are lots of spaces where sexual energy is welcome but not sexual expressions. This festival is oriented around somatic practices and communication techniques that can enhance intimacy and at the core consent is always paramount. This means you have agency at all times and get to choose how you are sharing space and time with others. This may include sexuality but there are so many other ways to share ourselves and discover connections.
First, to reiterate, there is no need or expectation to be sexual at this festival. If you do choose to be sexual we advocate for clear honest communication about your sexual health. We do encourage participants to get tested before coming to the festival so that you have accurate information about your body if and when you choose to be sexually intimate. There are a few optional nude group activities such as “Liquid Love” which, if you do have an STD that could be easily spread through skin to skin contact, we advise keeping underpants, swimsuit or other layers on for the safety of the group.
During our lifetime we will hurt others and others will hurt us. Most of the time this happens by accident and without ill will. We use an respons-ability scale to support participants in gauging how to handle a situation. Our starting point is to invite individuals to speak out and embody their sovereignty in the moment discomfort is felt. We realize this will not always happen and depending on the severity and intentional/non-intentional nature of the incident responses higher or lower on this scale will be sought. We use a Peace & Safety Council for supporting such interpersonal conflicts if participants have exhausted their own resources to resolve or transform the situation. We also create a list of any health professionals that are present and ask them if they are open to volunteer their services in cases of emergencies. In rare extreme cases we would call upon outside help and/or ask anyone who compromises safety in an egregious way to leave the event.
There is normally a diversity of relationship styles and types represented at our retreats including monogamy. People come with or without their partners. Either way it’s important to have clear communication with any exclusive or primary partner and clear agreements (see below) about physical, emotional and sexual boundaries during the event (and always 🙂). At times participants in this situation have self organised a discussion group around this theme to find peers to connect and share experiences with.
Here’s a guide for Clarifying Agreements Before You Go Out To Play
We have had several participants and teachers who have neurological differences such as but not limited to autism, dyslexia, or ADHD. Given the level of non verbal communication in the contact improv community and intentional communication in the kink scene we have noticed that many people who are neuro-divergent gravitate to our festival. There is a lot of permission and respect for connecting outside the “norm.” The better you know what will support you and can specifically make requests, the more likely we will all have a successful experience together. Please email us if you have further questions or needs around this.
We would love to support you in being here and partnering with your body’s wisdom and limits. Please email to let us know what might make it possible for you to join us. We are happy to support you by looking at logistic possibilities. We can also support you in clarifying what you’d love others to know about your body and abilities.
There is no such thing as a fully safe space, and we do get to strive together to build safer spaces. Our event organising teams have delved into examining race in varying degrees and some groups and gatherings will focus on anti-racism or anti-oppression work more than others. Race is a lens that affects our decisions as we shape the structure, staffing, content, and facilitation styles at the event. We unfortunately can’t prevent micro-mishaps completely, and encourage folks to compassionately give feedback to one another if they experience or witness racial and other types of harmful impact. Depending on the gathering there will also be a BIPOC-only lunch or dinner discussion, as a supportive space to connect, check in, and process with one another. If this hasn’t been pre-scheduled participants are invited to self-organise this with support from the organisers. We read and consider the responses in the registration form carefully, around things that could make each registrant feel safer, more empowered, and engaged. Ideas may emerge based on those responses, to tend to a sense of safety for our BIPOC community members.
We love being a diverse group and welcome anyone over 18 years old (or the legal age in the country where the event takes place) to join us. The bulk of our participants are in their late twenties / early thirties to their fifties. We also have a smaller group of dedicated Touch&Players that are in their sixties and seventies and appreciate having elders as an integral part of our groups.
We strongly discourage people from taking mind and body altering substances during our retreats. Our gatherings are intense containers where the hormonal and other changes in our bodies are enough to explore without needing other substances to enhance that. We do not sell alcohol during our events. We also know that during a gathering there might be individuals who decide to ignore our recommendation and take drugs or have a drink. This often happens in a medicinal or spiritual context and we don’t judge others’ decisions around this choice. We however ask those individuals to not go around attempting to find partners in crime and above all we ask them to be transparent around any altered state the drug or alcohol use might induce. We hold the concept of informed consent highly and want people to be able to decide freely if they wish to interact with someone who has decided to alter their body and or mind through substances.
We aim to both keep our prices accessible, while holding financial sustainability.
Please help us meet this balance by paying, with intuition and integrity, the highest price point you are able to afford.
We offer supported tickets by previous application because there are participants that are contributing a bit extra with their economic contribution.
Consider paying more on the scale if you:
-own the home you live in
-have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money
-travel recreationally
-have access to family money and resources in times of need
-work part time by choice
-have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.) Even if you are not currently exercising your earning power, I ask you to recognize this as a choice.
Consider paying less on the scale if you:
-are supporting children or have other dependents
-have significant debt
-have medical expenses not covered by insurance
-receive public assistance
-have immigration-related expenses
-are an elder with limited financial support
-are an unpaid community organiser
-are a returning citizen who has been denied work due to incarceration history
This sliding scale description was written by Hadassah Damien, founder of Ride Free Fearless Money