About
Restorative Contact begins with the understanding that touch is an important part of human development and wellbeing. Touch can be as simple as a hand on the shoulder or as abstract as a foot to a knee. Many of us have been wired to associate touch with sexuality, romance, violence or awkward physical greetings. Restorative Contact disentangles that pattern of thinking, returning our awareness to the physical principles of touch: shape, weight, duration, texture and the way that all of these elements can affect our physical and emotional state over time.
Restorative Contact is a sequence of passive contact poses designed to regenerate, replenish and reset the body and mind. In class we will work in pairs, guided through a primarily floor-based choreography of touch and weight-sharing, using various surfaces of the body. While the structure is set, participants are invited to adjust the positions whenever needed for greatest comfort and ease. We work slowly and mindfully with care and respect for our body as well as our partner's. Through the practice participants will tune their ability to listen through the skin and let go of unwanted tension, emerging with a deep sense of peace and calm.
Deep relaxation has been shown to help with anxiety, insomnia, digestion, fertility and high blood pressure. The effects of touch are far-reaching, including emotional, physical, and cognitive wellbeing and improvement. Studies indicate that touch boosts dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, the hormones associated with making people feel good, and lowers cortisol levels which are associated with stress. For more research on the benefits of touch, mindful movement, slowing down, yoga and dance please visit the resources page.
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"Mindful touch and movement grounds people and allows them to discover tensions that they may have held for so long that they are no longer even aware of them." - The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
Gabrielle Revlock, MFA
Gabrielle Revlock is the creator of Restorative Contact. She developed this form by synthesizing key elements of various somatic techniques including Contact Improvisation, Restorative Yoga, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Tai Chi, Klein Technique, Yin Yoga, Authentic Movement, and Deep Listening over her 20+ years as a professional dancer, choreographer, certified yoga teacher and movement educator. Her research on the therapeutic applications of touch is published in the book, Resistance and Support: Contact Improvisation @ 50 edited by Ann Cooper Albright.
To learn more about Gabrielle's choreographic projects visit