NEW YEAR’S INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL — ICELAND
Contact Improvisation • Contemporary Dance • Research • Sharing • Nature
Samskara Retreat Centre, Laugarás, Iceland
December 27, 2026 – January 1, 2027
Approximately 1h20 from Reykjavík
Come and welcome the New Year through movement, dance, connection and creative exploration, surrounded by the extraordinary landscapes of Iceland.
For several days, we will gather at Samskara Retreat Centre to practice, research and share through Contact Improvisation and Contemporary Dance. The festival combines daily intensives, classes, improvisation, Contact Improvisation jams, live music, conversations and moments of celebration.
But the festival is not only about what happens inside the studio.
We will be immersed in the Icelandic winter — surrounded by darkness, cold, geothermal warmth, water, vast landscapes and volcanic history. The environment becomes part of the experience: another source of inspiration for movement, creativity, presence and connection.
AN OPEN QUESTION
How does a place affect our dance?
What happens to our movement when we encounter cold, darkness, warmth, wind, water, vast spaces or the silence of the landscape?
What does it mean to be affected by a place?
Rather than looking for answers, we will allow these questions to enter our practice through movement, improvisation, conversation and direct experience.
From environment to movement.
THE PROGRAMME
The festival offers a spacious rhythm combining:
• Daily Contact Improvisation & Contemporary Dance intensives
• Movement research and laboratories
• Contact Improvisation jams
• Live music
• Improvisation and performative practices
• Conversations and sharing
• Shared vegetarian meals
• Nature and free time
• Hot pot and geothermal experiences
• New Year celebration
There will be time for concentrated practice, but also time to rest, explore, integrate and simply experience Iceland.
TEACHERS & TEAM
Maya Schwartz — Contemporary Dance • Contact Improvisation • Improvisation
Maya will lead a 12-hour long dance intensive, exploring Contact Improvisation, solo contemporary dance, floorwork, performative practice, composition, responsiveness and collective research.
Pep Nebot — Contact Improvisation
Pep will teach Losing Control, exploring falling, weight sharing, momentum, physical listening, trust, conscious risk and the relationship between surrender and awareness.
Kirill Berezovski — Contemporary Dance • Urban Movement • Floorwork • Improvisation
Kirill will teach Molecular Flow, working with flow, shifting movement qualities, floorwork, musicality, space, dynamics and inner and outer awareness.
Marcela Rozanska — Co-organizer & Facilitator
Pola — Vegetarian Cook
Live musicians will be announced soon.
SAMSKARA — THE PLACE
Samskara is situated in Laugarás, an area shaped by geothermal activity. The festival's main practice space is a beautiful old greenhouse, surrounded by Icelandic landscape.
The centre offers cosy communal spaces for eating, resting and sharing, as well as a hot pot. Nearby, warm geothermal spots in the river may offer the possibility of bathing outdoors in the Icelandic landscape, depending on conditions.
The place is not simply the setting for the festival.
The place is part of the festival.
We want to experience Iceland through the body: to feel the temperature, listen to the wind, notice the changing light, experience the contrast between cold air and geothermal warmth, and see how the environment might influence our movement and attention.
And perhaps, on a clear winter night, we may be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights.
FOOD
Throughout the festival, Pola will prepare delicious and nourishing vegetarian meals. Meals are an important part of the experience — time to replenish, slow down, talk, laugh and connect.
ENTER THE NEW YEAR THROUGH MOVEMENT
There is something particularly meaningful about beginning a new year through the body.
Not with resolutions, but with presence, curiosity and connection.
Come dance with us.
Come explore.
Come share.
Come connect.
Come welcome the New Year in movement.
OPTIONAL REYKJAVÍK EXTENSION
For those who want to continue the journey a little longer, we may extend our time together in Reykjavík after the official festival.
An informal, self-organised continuation with jams, shared spaces, cooking, exploring the city and more time together. The details will be decided collectively during the festival.
PRICES
Full Festival — Early Bird until November 15: €760 / 105,000 ISK
Regular Price: €880 / 120,000 ISK
Day Pass — food included, no accommodation: €220 / 30,000 ISK
The full festival price includes shared accommodation, lunches and dinners, basic breakfast supplies, use of the common and dance spaces, all workshops and jams, and access to the hot pot.
A €200 deposit is required to reserve your place.
INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
Pep Nebot
WhatsApp: +34 685 166 358
info@emotionbodies.com
Marcela Rozanska
+354 666 6815
marcelarozanska@gmail.com
REGISTRATION:
https://www.emotionbodies.com/.../88-new-year-dance...
Learning • Research • Sharing • Connecting
We invite you to join us for several days dedicated to dance, research, learning, sharing and celebration — in an extraordinary landscape, with warm water, winter skies, good food and a community of people interested in moving and discovering together.
NEW YEAR’S INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL — ICELAND
December 27, 2026 – January 1, 2027
E Motion Bodies is a series of events about movement education, artistic research and gathering, organized in cooperation with instructors and dancers.