Join Moti Zemelman & Taina Lyons for the 12th Annual Contact Improv Retreat at the Goddess Garden in Cahuita,
Costa Rica, Feb 21-28!
Dancing Your Pleasure & Power:
Contact Improvisation in Costa Rica
In these times of uncertainty, Contact Improvisation has remained a grounding force for me—an anchor in motion. Having a regular practice rooted in connection, relaxation, and joy feels essential to living a healthy and meaningful life.
Lately, I’ve been inspired by the interplay between pleasure and willpower—two powerful resources that guide my movement both on and off the dance floor. Pleasure lives in the small details: the sensation of air on skin, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the laughter of a dance partner sliding down my torso to the ground. These moments remind me that joy is not frivolous—it’s medicine.
Willpower, too, is part of the dance. Contact Improv is a continuous exploration of consent: saying and hearing “yes” and “no,” both verbally and non-verbally. This act of honest communication, of respecting boundaries and honoring what arises, deepens trust and intimacy. It’s a moving meditation in empathy and presence.
Every year, I bring this exploration of pleasure and willpower to the beaches and jungles of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast for a week-long retreat at The Goddess Garden, where I’ve been teaching for over a decade. The retreat center is surrounded by lush rainforest filled with monkeys, sloths, toucans, and blue morpho butterflies. Our open-air studios allow the symphony of the jungle to weave into our dances—sometimes on the smooth wooden floor, other times at the roots of the legendary “Goddess Tree,” a majestic being so vast it takes twenty dancers holding hands to encircle it.
When I first began teaching Contact Improv in Costa Rica 14 years ago, there were no jams—no local community of practitioners. Today, thanks to the dedication of my students who took this work to heart, a thriving weekly jam and CI community now exists in Costa Rica.
Ten years ago, I also launched a scholarship fund to make this retreat more accessible to Costa Rican and Central American dancers who might not otherwise be able to attend. Each year, thanks to the generosity of our global dance community, we’re able to sponsor 3–5 local participants.
You can learn more or contribute here: 
Costa Rica Contact Improv Dance Scholarship 2026
Our next retreat takes place February 21–28, 2026, and it’s already filling with an amazing group of movers from around the world. We’ll spend the week exploring Contact Improvisation as a path of connection—with self, nature, spirit, and community.
Come discover the joy of movement, the power of listening, and the wisdom of the body.
