The future is behind us – Contact Improvisation workshops with Paweł Kubiak

In the culture we live in, the future lies ahead of us, and the past lies behind us. We move forward, looking toward what is known and visible. In some cultures, however, the opposite is true: the future lies behind us—because we have never seen it.

This workshop is an invitation to explore backspace in this context. We will explore walking backward as a movement toward the future: into the unknown, invisible, yet palpable. We will approach the space behind us not as a lack of control, but as a field of trust, encounter, and potential.

Through contact improvisation practices, simple movement structures, and improvisation in duets and groups, we will:

explore the relationship with what we cannot see but can feel,

expand perception beyond sight—toward touch, hearing, kinesthesia, and intuition,

experience being guided by relationship, weight, and gravity,

explore how dance changes when we allow ourselves to withdraw our attention and give the initiative to what comes “from behind.”

We will approach backspace as a relational space – a place where the future can encounter us before we understand it. We will be interested in dance as a practice of trust: in the partner, in the group, and in the process.

The workshop is an invitation to enter the unknown with curiosity and softness, to see not only with our eyes but also with our whole bodies. We will not seek forms or answers, but remain in mindful dialogue with what is happening.

The workshop is open to anyone who wants to explore the described qualities with curiosity and openness – regardless of previous experience.

When: February 28-March 1, 2026

Schedule:

Saturday:

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM workshops
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM break for lunch and rest
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM workshops
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM jam

Sunday:

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM workshops
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM break for lunch and rest
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM workshops
jam (Panta Rei)

Where:

KONTAKT: Space of Movement, Dance, and Music, Szpitalna street 40, Krakow, 1 floor

Price:
Sliding scale: PLN 350-450
Choose an amount appropriate to your current financial situation.
Higher amounts support those who can pay less.

Registration and inquiries:
pawelpiotrkubiak@gmail.com

Number of participants: Maximum 16

Leader:
Paweł Kubiak is fascinated by discovery through dance and sharing dance with others. During his pedagogical studies, he explored creating supportive learning environments while working at a forest kindergarten. During this time, he led regular Contact Improvisation classes and created spaces for jams and workshops.

For the past four years, he has traveled throughout Europe and Asia, pursuing curiosity, dance, and sharing workshops as a way to deepen his own explorations and rediscover the familiar. He is a certified teacher of movement work in the Ilan Lev Method and is in the constant process of deepening his practice, drawing inspiration from the Feldenkrais Method.

For him, improvisation is a source of joy and a life practice—a space to explore values ​​that support co-creation and togetherness, rooted in presence, mindfulness, and mutual support. She joyfully discovers connections through movement and the process of exploration, allowing the future to emerge through the joy of shared discovery.

Photo captured by @nayeli_moave