Sightless touch and touching witnessing: Interplays of Authentic Movement and Contact Improvisation

This article reflects on combinations of the somatic practices of Authentic Movement and Contact Improvisation in group facilitation and artistic development. It examines benefits of the two practices, individually, while also considering insights the author has gleaned, more specifically, as to the unique creative and therapeutic opportunities made available through different movement investigations of eyes-closed touch. Interwoven in the article are artist and facilitator reflections, student commentaries, and texts of somatic practitioners from both the United States and the United Kingdom.