David has been practicing and teaching contact improvisation for over 19 years, having begun his journey in Sydney, Australia, with Alejandro Rolandi as his first teacher. Over the years, he has participated in numerous workshops and festivals in countries such as the U.S., the UK, and Germany, and his investigation into the form is primarily influenced by his studies with some of the most well-known first and second generation of contact improvisers, such as Nancy Stark Smith, Daniel Lepkoff, Scott Wells, and Ray Chung.

Apart from being the festival organizer for Contact Festival Kuala Lumpur since 2011, David has taught contact improvisation workshops in Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. He has also performed in or created dance works in over 30 locations spanning six countries.

David loves to discover the ease and efficiency in moving, and to chance upon the pleasures of not knowing.

Headshot by Anastasia Rytenkova and dance image by Raphael Olivier.

Maria Grudskaya has been dancing contact improvisation for more than 20 years and has been teaching it for 15 years in Russia, Europe, Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia. Based in Moscow, she is one of the city’s main teachers, supporting regular classes, jams, and other events.

Over the years, Maria has participated in performance projects involving contemporary dance, movement, and contact improvisation. She is inspired by the approach of poetic movement developed by Steve Batts and Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company (Northern Ireland). Her deep interest is in dancing with people of different ages and abilities, believing that dance is a natural skill and joy that all of us share.

Maria is a certified somatic movement educator, a teacher of Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy (IBMT Somatic Institute) and a co-organizer of IBMT events in Russia. She is also the co-founder of various contact improvisation festivals in Russia and Thailand.

Currently, she continues her development in the somatic field, exploring the mystery of body and mind, and the possibilities for movement and presence.

Maria enjoys the physicality of movement and the endless fun of acrobatics and contact technique.