Our Ethos & Where it All began.
Founded in Ubud, Bali in 2015 by Tara Li, Dissolve has grown from a single weekly dance into a thriving community welcoming 50 to 90 movers at our weekly gatherings.
Learn more about Dissolve Dance, our ethos and what makes us move and grow.
Dissolve is a relational movement space
A relational movement space is where the connection between people, and the field we create together, is the heart of the practice. The Dissolve field is music-led, softly guided, and nonchoreographed. You can dance with others using touch, without touch, or entirely solo within the field.
Many people arrive with a movement language of their own, and all of them are welcome here. We welcome Contact Improvisation as one movement language among many, but the practice is not defined by it and you will witness many different expressions in our spaces.
You don't need prior experience to join us. If you have done yoga, ecstatic dance, CI, meditation, or authentic relating before it can help, but none of it is required. Your life is your experience, and you already know how to play. Courage and curiosity are all you need to bring.
Founded by Tara Li
Tara Li founded Dissolve in 2015. She is a facilitator of intimacy-based social experiences that use human interaction, movement, and energetics for self-transformation and deeper connection. She works with the spontaneous energy of the group, always created in the present moment, to direct and shift the experience, making each one unique.
Trained in Contact Improv, ballet, jazz, tango, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, qigong, and tai chi, and with 20 years of experience supporting thousands of people to connect through the wisdom of the body, she leads people on a playful, spacious journey toward a deeper connection within.
What Dissolve stands for
Presence over technique
Deeper than a dance class
Dissolve has very little to do with technique. It has to do with capacity: the capacity to stay present, to feel, to connect, and to stay with what arises. Moves can add colour to the experience, but they are never the point. It's the moment that matters.
Dissolve is less a dance practice and more a relational movement journey where dance is one possible expression you could bring. Spirituality is another possible experience. Dissolve is a field that can become deeply spiritual for participants.
The relational field is key
The relational field between us is the heart of Dissolve. But relational movement doesn't always mean touch. Often the connection is energetic: a shared moment, a felt sense of being in the room together. Your dance can be in connection with one person, with a few, or with yourself in relationship with the whole field.
Solo is always welcome
You're invited to dance alone, as much as you like. There's no requirement to partner up or to be in physical contact. Solo improvisation is a practice in its own right and is encouraged. You can explore contact with the floor, the walls and in stillness with yourself.
A full-permission space
All of you is welcome here, including sensuality and sexuality, which many dance spaces leave out. Welcome does not mean expected. You are always the authority on your own yes and no, and exploring and honouring your boundaries is encouraged here. Guided exercises will be facilitated in support of what authentically feels good for you.
The body already knows
The ability to move and connect is innate. A puppy knows how to play. Somatics is less about learning something new than about remembering what your body already knows, and at Dissolve we gently guide you to reconnect with your instinct, the animal body, and all aspects of your expression including your voice. Sound and vocal expression are also encouraged.
The role of the facilitator
Dissolve facilitators don't perform or lead from the front. They amplify the field. Dancers connect to the field and move with it, and the facilitator's job is to hold it, shape it, and keep it safe enough for everyone to go deeper. A guided warm up is always included before we move into open jam space, and if you need support during the jam you can always reach out to the facilitator.
