Aalia Hashem
Nothing will bring them out like the people dancing.
About Aalia
Aalia Hashem (also known as Marriki) first encountered the dance form Contact Improvisation at Edam Dance Company in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada, training with Andrew Harwood, Anne Cooper, Olivia Shaffer, Martin Keough, Peter Bingham, and Helen Walkley. Discovering it's transformative effects on the body-mind within herself and others, she continued to pursue the practice in Asia studying with over 40 CI teachers including notable intensives with Kirstie Simson, Leilani Weis, Sasha Dodo & Dolores Dewhurst-Marks, Vega Lukkonnen, and Vangelis Legakis.
Influences and movement studies over the last 20 years include contemporary dance, fusion, hip hop, swing, qigong, yoga, and aikido. Aalia hosts the podcast Faces of CI, interviewing Contact facilitators about the practice as a mirror for life. During the pandemic, she created Contact Body, an online self-study course in Contact Improvisation, and Fortune Score - Contact Jam Oracle Deck. She now guides new Contact facilitators in developing their careers through Momentum Contact Facilitator Trainings.
Her curiosity and love of the dance stems from sharing Contact principles, delving into the socio-psychological aspects through reflective group conversation, and improvisational dance scores. When she is not dancing, she can be found meditating, exploring nature, reading or writing poetry, petting whichever friendly dogs cross her path, and befriending the unknown.
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Contact Teaching
Aalia has been sharing the practice of Contact Improvisation since 2019 in Bali, Thailand, and Canada, hosting jams, workshops, and retreats.
Momentum Contact Improvisation Workshop is her foundational course for beginners to contact as a formula for welcoming newcomers with dance technique, play, and mindfulness. Momentum has been shared more than 30 times in Bali since 2020, training hundreds of dancers in the contact community. As a two day workshop over 11 hours, we cover the primary pathways in Contact Improvisation for newcomers, including extras such as contemporary floorwork, Authentic Movement, Bodywork, Bartenieff Fundamentals.
Aalia organized and led Bali Eco Stay Jam Gathering in 2021 and Current Artist Retreat in 2023, Gravity - Intermediate Level Contact Workshop (x 3) and hosted focus and blindfold jams in the Bali Dance Community over the years.
Clients and teaching opportunities include Bali Dance Festival, Bali Bloom Festival, The NYX, Flow 60 Fitness Retreat, and Towards CI50 Conference, and teaching at Bali venues such as Soulshine, Samyama Mindfulness Center, La Tribu Movement, Parq Ubud, and Mansion Wellness Center.
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Momentum Gallery
Photos from Momentum Contact Workshops and Bali Dance Festival by @El.Whisper
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Momentum Reels
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Creative Director
Creative Director, Concept, Editor, Dancer, Choreography, Collaborations
Click the image to be taken to Youtube.
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Faces of CI Podcast
CONVERSATIONS IN CONTACT IMPROVISATION
CONVERSATIONS IN CONTACT IMPROVISATION
Aalia is the host of “Faces of CI” podcast. The project began in 2019, interviewing Contact facilitators in Canada and SE Asia about their explorations and insights on the practice we know and love. Guest Speakers include Kirstie Simson, Leilani Wies, Andrew Harwood, Peter Bingham, Anne Cooper, Olivia Shaffer, Yasukichi Suzuki, Nitipat Ong, Khuyen Bui, Bari Kim, Tu Le, Dolores Dewhurst-Marks, Geraldine Acevedo, Francisco Borges, Vega Lukkonnen, and many others.
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Educational Trainings
Momentum contact
facilitator trainings
Momentum contact
facilitator trainings
In our Facilitator Trainings we deep dive into all things Contact, including leadership and facilitation tools, Contact history education and our tried and true Momentum Workshop method for sharing the practice with new contact dancers. Three graduates have completed this training in 2024 and are teaching in China, USA, and Portugal. Level 1 is available online and in-person for Level 2 certification.
Contact Body
Contact Body
Based off of our in-person Momentum Contact Workshop, Contact Body launched as the online version in 2020 during the pandemic, and has sold to 100+ dancers, including those in lockdown countries, dance instructors and academics. In Contact Body, we explore the foundational practices relative to Contact, in Solo Body - Move What’s in You and Two Bodies - Contact Improvisation partnerwork.
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Contact
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Dance s(w)oon,
Aalia.
Copyright 2024 Momentum Contact / Faces of CI