
Valérie choregrapher, teacher and somatic-arts therapist, Valerie Sabbah comes from a 20-year classical ballet background combined with a 16-year Contact Improvisation practice. She has studied with teachers such as KJ Holmes, Jen Polins, Kirstie Simson, Steve Paxton, Lisa Nelson, Nita Little, Andrew Harwood and Peter Bingham.
Image by Dimitri Katadotis
Based in Montreal, Valerie leads weekly CI labs for advanced practioners as well as a variety of CI classes for beginners, women and kids. As a somatic-arts therapist, Valerie offers one-on-one private sessions integrating CI, Body-Mind Centering, Cranio-Sacral Therapy and Art-Therapy practices, responding to and supporting teens and women facing self-development inquiries.
Her research draws specifically from FIGURE SPACE, a 3 year-training with Steve Paxton (Material for the Spine) and Lisa Nelson (The Tuning Score). This intensive training has inspired her to treat the moving body from a 360 degrees and spherical perspective as well as creating a fascination of the body’s natural reflexes and how the body will or will not respond in states of perceived urgency.
Her on-going CI research is focussed on the study of playful ways of moving into and from the floor with your partner and of developing a razor-sharp peripheral vision, both with the objective of perceiving falling and rising as the playground the contact improvisation duo.

For die hard Contact Improvisation lovers, Valerie Sabbah gave an interview with Radio-Canada on the show "Info-Réveil" with Julie Tremblay Tuesday January 4th at 7:50 am.