Our bodies stand as witnessing sites of our life long compiled experiences, although everybody is a body, our bodily experiences differ due to gender, race, class, ability and sexual orientation. These intersectional aspects are stored in our flesh and bones, becoming the stories we tell about and present our bodies in the world. Oppressions experienced by Queer and Trans* bodies, specifically of color, shape who they are, and when body-centered practices and somatics sets the white, heterosexual, abled, male body as the standard to measure all “ other “ bodies, the embodiment experience(s) of marginalized communities are targets for being stereotyped, considered aggressive and always approached through a colonial lens. In this workshop we will process, using dance and movement interventions, how can we decolonize the “one” embodiment experience, bringing forward the stories our bodies hold within, and how we can embody the resilience we developed, through the layers of oppression; from micro aggressions to racism, from resistance to empowerment, so we can find our ways back to our body(s) through an intersectional approach to dance movement therapy.

The workshops will last one and a half hour including an opening circle, several interventions and a closure/reflection round ending the session. You don't need to have dance experience. These workshops are a priority for QTBIPOC individuals, and everybody else is welcome if they understand the space they are attending and their position in it.
Bring your body, and wear comfortable clothes.

One physical phenomenon that is always with us it the breath. Yet, hardly we commune with it. If we do connect then it is mostly to support, enhance or optimize something else - we hardly ever relate to it as something pleasurable in and of itself. This partnering workshop aims to give a glimpse into a vast and rich universe of experience that breath provides a door to.

This workshop offers a mindful exploration of arousal and erotic states within your body. Learning to navigate and make use of these states is the foundation of sexual health and well-being. We're going to practice response flexibility as well as staying present with arising sensations and emotions during your solo erotic practice. Microskills shared in this workshop will support you in increasing the awareness of erotic sensations throughout your body and support you in your erotic-self-regulation.

We will explore together each of the seven major chakras, their meaning, significance and impact in our queer lives. We will spend some time in mindfulness practice through guided meditation on each of the chakras. The workshop will involve sharing from the heart, from the wealth of our individual experiences, listen to and learn from each other's wisdom, on how we might achieve alignment and balance of these chakras.

We will be gently tuning into awareness of our body, senses, flow movement and aliveness through a somatic approach. With guided tasks and games we’ll explore the spontaneous dance emerging from physical contact and interaction with one another. We’ll gradually create an open space for improvised movement, touch, intimacy and expression. We’ll become artistic collaborators, researching with our body, communicating through the skin, giving and receiving weight and intentions, creating together.

BodyFlow is a full body massage created by Andy Saich, normally given and received unclothed and including genital touch. However, it is not an erotic massage as such. The emphasis is on acceptance, nurturing, appreciation and holding rather than on erotic arousal. This taster session will include an overview of the massage and its particular way of holding space and maintaining boundaries, after which we will learn and practice some of the floor based positions.

This workshop facilitates an exploration of ourselves and the way we function in our relationships using a model and theory put forward by Ann Ladd: Layers of Personality. We will take time through sharing and exercises to understand each of these layers and how they influence the way we relate with ourselves and others as queer men.

Drawing from the wealth of our personal experience, as well as from indigenous practices and from adrienne maree brown’s “Pleasure Activism”, let’s take a deep dive into the politics of gratitude and fulfillment. (How) could individual and collective practices of gratitude support our liberation? ... Are you satisfiable? Can you imagine being satisfied?

Looking back at 5 years Village.Berlin - the home of Stretch Festival, the member e.V., Authentic Eros, Instinct Art and Queer Matters e.V. - the pandemic has ushered us into an internal reinvention process. Find out where we are going and if there are aspects of our vision that inspire you to get involved no matter if you are in Berlin or elsewhere in the world.

Put your hand on your throat and say “Ahh”, can you feel your voice? Good! This is the starting point of this session that focuses on the voice. We will explore our vibrating bodies and how it translates into the communication of our emotions and desires. Let’s sing together with body and sensory expansions to elevate our interconnection and harmonize our beings in space together. The outcome of the workshop will be a fun queer healing choir.

This colloquium will explore how religious/spiritual beliefs and practices have historically influenced active engagement in love, intimacy, empathy and compassion for queer persons. It will examine influences on queer life and experiences as well as the positive and negative impacts of spiritual beliefs and practices on self-esteem and relationships in the past and today? How do we reconcile negative feelings that have prevented self-acceptance, authenticity, positivity and realizing greatest, power and possibilities as Queer persons?

Catwalking is a fun way to explore, express and expand ourselves using the body. We will make space to express whatever energy you desire; masculine, nonbinary, feminine, silly, sexy. This is a high energy movement practice to pumping music. Pound the runway in groups and be witnessed solo. Wearing heels is optional, bring your own or some shoes will be available to use. This is about queer power, community, expression and cultivating pure joy.

In most of our sexual activities, we increase excitement in a short time from zero to 100%. With this partner exercise using genital touch we examine what happens if we stay consciously in the range between 20 and 80% over a longer period of time. What happens in our body? Are there any wishes coming up? How can I influence my arousal by breathing?

A cuddle party is a great possibility to exchange nourishing and healing platonic touch. Many of us experienced touch deprivation during the pandemic in some way. Consensual platonic touch however is a basic human need and essential for our well being. Our aim is to co-create a container in which we can explore and play saf(er)ly and enjoy being together with a cuddly and non-sexual energy. This workshop embraces slowing down, softness, curiosity and learning.

With a playful, body-positive and curious approach we will use the body to get deeper into the process of creative writing. And we will use creative writing to explore our bodies.

Through a series of facilitated exercises we will connect embodiment (body sensations, emotions, muscles, blood flow, breath...) and creative writing (rhymes, words, phrases...). Explore passion, desire, any and all parts of your body. No experience needed in either writing or embodiment. All levels welcome.

For many queer people, coming out is a critical act of liberation and self-preservation as well as a model of truth-telling as an essential mechanism in creating the authentic life we want to live. Sometimes painful and fraught with contradictions, honesty, as a practice, can be difficult to achieve and demands, often, that we transcend internal and external constraints created by shame and fear. In this workshop we will explore telling our truths as a daily activity that facilitates our physical, mental and spiritual flourishing as individuals in our public and private lives.

Puddles the Pelican is a broken, scrappy, one-eyed bird, who lives on a cruise ship at the end of time. A survivor of the Deep Horizon Oil Spill, Puddles, squawks, moans, and tells stories of love and loss to keep the cruise ship passengers awake as they sail towards a howl – blind, eternal, and empty – on a sea that is no longer blue, but a rusted dark orange. Choking on bits of tar, flailing, all-fantastic Puddles quacks: “Once a glorious bird, now covered in oil. Which one of you bitches has a match?”