Be the Change: Improvising Towards Justice
Facilitated By: Taina Lyons and Moti Zemelman
Sept. 26-28, 2025
This is a space to practice liberation not just as an idea, but as a felt experience—starting in the body, moving through community, and rippling outward into change.
In a world that often asks us to harden, hurry, and conform, how do we stay soft, present, and powerful? We invite you into a moving sanctuary—an embodied space where we root into our inner wisdom, awaken resilience, and explore how transformation begins from within.
Guided by the principle of innervism—Elizabeth Lesser’s term for a soul-centered activism that starts with inner awareness and emotional honesty—we will turn toward our own bodies, stories, and truths. From this grounded place, we’ll explore how to move with each other and toward justice through practices like:
- Contact improvisation and authentic movement
- Movement in nature
- Partner and group explorations that center consent, care, and curiosity
- Restorative practices to resource our hearts and nervous systems
- Visioning exercises to imagine and embody the future we’re seeding
Bring your questions, your grief, your joy, and your longing for a more just world.
This space welcomes seasoned movers and folks who are new to improvisation, as well as people of all bodies and identities.
Sample Schedule:
Arrivals on Day 1 between 2-4pm, followed by orientation + tour, dinner at 7pm
Departures on final day between 3-4pm after lunch clean
Daily
DIY Breakfast
Morning session 9-11.45pm Lunch prep 11.45 – 1pm
Lunch 1-2pm
Lunch clean 2-3pm
Afternoon session 3-5.45pm
Dinner prep 5.45 – 7pm
Dinner 7-8pm
Dinner clean 8-9pm
Night session 9-10pm (optional)
Who is this Retreat for?
This retreat is for folks who would like to incorporate somatic practices into their activism, and who would like to connect with others in transforming the harmful impact of systems of oppression on the body, heart and community. We will be moving in contact with each other, in solo movement, and outside. We will do verbal relational practices and simple ritual. We welcome people of all abilities and identities.
“I was very fortunate to host a season-long contact improv class for older dancers taught by Taina. The class loved learning, dancing and exploring with Taina. Attunement to subtle sensations and movement in both the inner and outer planes is a special gift of Taina’s, and that was abundantly in evidence with this group of older dancers, some of whom had concerns or fears about the capacities of their body. Taina created a safe and welcoming container that allowed each dancer to find their own ways in, honoring and celebrating whatever each came with. Invariably, each person left a new and different — a juicier and more alive — person than the one who’d arrived in the studio. I can’t recommend Taina enthusiastically enough!”
– SB (Massachusetts, USA)
“Moti’s intensive was hands down the best contact dance intensive I have ever taken. Moti was able to create a space where community could flourish and where we were able to explore ourselves at so many levels. Contact dance was the vehicle through which we delved deeper into ourselves and what it means to be in community with each other. I cannot recommend his teaching enough.”
– RM (Toronto, Canada)
“This Retreat was an absolute highlight in my over 30 years on again off again CI dance life. Moti is a sensei, a true master teacher, who has fed my love for CI on a very deep level and has brought out new curiosities and inner explorations into my being a CI practitioner, who wants to see this form spread to the edges of the earth.”
– CH, (USA/Germany)
“I love Taina’s approach to Contact Improv. Her classes explore CI not only as a dance of connecting bodies, but as an inquiry into being human. As such, our contact has context as we dive into connection with ourselves and with other dancers. Movement and self-discovery go hand in hand. Taina holds space that feels safe and open, playful and meaningful, while offering skills that build our inner and outer movement vocabulary for both the dance floor and for life.”
– RF (Rhode Island, USA)
“Moti’s classes were always engaging and challenging without pushing me to wear out my aging body! Thanks for attuned pacing that seemed to work well for the younger bodies as well.”
– BD (MA, USA)
About the Facilitators
Moti Zemelman
www.consentientbeings.com
www.contactimprov.com
Taina Lyons
Taina is a holistic mental health counselor, somatic ritualist, dance teacher, mother, and educator. In her private practice, Emerge Holistic Therapy, she works with individuals and couples seeking support for emotional and relational challenges.
For over 15 years, Taina had been facilitating groups, including spaces for grief support, nature connection, ancestral repair, rites of passage, and consent. Her work with groups and individuals is informed by Ancestral Lineage Healing, Circling, Internal Family Systems Therapy, Contact Improvisation, Animist Ritual, and Buddhist meditation practices. Taina’s capacity for intuitive guidance supports her students’ unique growth, healing, and clarity of self. She centers gentle, deep inquiries into purpose, truth, and connection.
Taina incorporates traditional knowledge and practices from her ancestral lineages originating in Finland, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, and the Balkans, as well as teachings that have been gifted from lineages other than her own.
Taina has a private practice, Emerge Holistic Therapy, seeing clients in Southern VT and online. She created a board game, “Spiralaika,” for teens and adults who work with teens, which guides players through a themed sharing and activity circle. She and her partner Moti co-founded a consulting business, Consentient Beings, and provide trainings in consent, communication and embodiment.
www.emergeholistictherapy.com
www.spiralaika.com
www.consentientbeings.com
Retreat Location
WildHeart is located on 46+ beautiful acres in the Hudson Valley. Retreatants will have the option to stay in a single room, double room, dorm, or camping in either our main retreat center or in private two-bedroom cabins. All options have access to shared kitchens and bathrooms. Daily events will take place in the studio, shared common spaces, and outdoors. Retreatants are welcome to enjoy the lawns, walk in the forest, and swim and boat in the lake during their stay! More info about directions and transportation options HERE.
A note on food
We pour a lot of love into every aspect of our food system, and pride ourselves on being able to accommodate a wide range of dietary needs. We serve meat and dairy daily, and always have vegan and gluten-free options available. If you send us your dietary preferences in advance, we will do our best to make sure there is good food for you at each meal! All living accommodations have access to a full kitchen (separate from the main/commercial kitchen). We will provide breakfast groceries for you to prepare and eat on your own. Lunches and dinners are communal shared meals with participants helping 1 hour per day either with meal prep or clean. Drinks include: coffee and tea, dairy and non-dairy milk, lemon and lime juice for water, red and white wine.
Registration
By offering a variety of housing options, and two free BIPOC spots, we hope to make this retreat financially accessible to all! Beyond that, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need financial assistance to attend: contact@wildheartcenter.art
These prices are all inclusive! You receive all retreat content and facilitation, housing, food and drinks, and access to the land, lake, and studio spaces.
$550 Single-occupancy (private room in a shared house)
$465 Double-occupancy bedroom (per person)
$430 Dorm (for a bed in our spacious 5 person dorm)
$390 Camping (bring your own tent and equipment)
$350 Commuter (meals included)
$290 Commuter (without meals)
$0 BIPOC Spots (2)
$995 Support Price (for those who can pay extra to help us build the dream!)
Early Bird Price- $50 discount before July 26
Refund policy
In advance of 2 weeks – full refund (less processing fee)
Within 2 weeks – no refund
(This policy stands even in case of sickness so we encourage participants to plan accordingly)
Covid policy
To protect the group, please don’t come if you have any symptoms of illness or had contact in the last 3 days with anyone who has COVID
BIPOC spots
We are offering 2 free spots for BIPOC folx. Please fill in the registration form and select the option from the pricing tier drop down. Please email contact@wildheartcenter.art in case you have any questions.