This writing introduces early reflections on a site dance micro project ‘A ‘Holding Space’ conducted from June to Sept 2021 in West Sussex, UK. The work was performed by dancers Natasha Margerison and Kate Welch, choreographed by Vicky Hunter and filmed and edited by Jack Leslie.

During lockdown the lack of touching and holding our loved ones was expressed as a significant loss by many. As we emerged from lockdown in the summer of 2021, individuals, friends, and families were able to touch and hug each other. However, this also required a process of adjustment to the ‘new normal’ in which proximity and touch with those outside support bubbles and family groups needed to be navigated and managed. Alongside this phenomenon, during lockdown a significant number of people discovered renewed pleasure and comfort through engagement with nature spaces and woodland sites. This practice-based research project asked:

• How might dance in outdoor nature spaces play a role in facilitating this transition and open conversations regarding touch proximity and holding / supporting one another as we navigate the new landscape together?
• How do we re-negotiate contact with fellow beings (both human and nonhuman) and respect boundaries?
• How might woodlands, trees and forests offer a holding space where we relearn how to be together- where other moving, breathing bodies are no longer fearful and to be avoided?
• How might these encounters in nature spaces encourage us to get out into the world whilst moving closer to one another and move us through a transitional space of healing as we co-create a new normal?