

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: RIGPA: Silent Contact Retreat (8-days)
- **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 07 Jul, 2026 at 03:00 pm – Tue, 14 Jul, 2026 at 03:00 pm (+01:00)
- **Event Description**: RIGPA: 8-Day Silent Contact Retreat
7–14 July 2026 · Sintra, Portugal
Hosted by ASSEMBLY at Quinta Ten Chi
https://www.assembly.contact/rigpa
_______________________________________________

RIGPA is a container designed to deepen our relationship with Life through Silence, Nature and Dance. 

There will be no teacher but there will be teaching. That is to say, there will be no traditional class/workshop formats. Instead we will all be students while Silence and the Dance will be teaching. 

Beyond non-talking, Silence is an act of generosity that we can give to ourselves and each other. Throughout the days, we are invited to a deeper quiet, an inner quiet, where-in the subtleties of the Body-Mind can be fully heard and the Dance can emerge from within and in-between.

RIGPA is a word borrowed from Tibetan language that literally means “knowing” or “awareness”. “Knowing” in this case is not an abstract, analytical nor conceptual experience but a direct, unmediated, clear knowing. Knowing of What?

In the Dzogchen tradition, it refers to “Primordial Awareness.” When That which is Aware knows Itself. In our case - as we are inspired by but not closed within any religious tradition - it also refers to directly inquiring and learning through becoming intimate with the immediacy of our own experience.

A clear daily schedule supports a sense of safety and collective rhythm. We propose three key practices that support the cultivation of “listening states” and facilitate access to embodied insight. These practices are:

Meditation - Cultivating calm abiding (Samatha) and clear-seeing (Vipassanā)
Authentic Movement - Rooted in Dance, Healing and Mysticism, A.M. invites awareness and revelation through movement while cultivating witnessing.
Contact Improvisation - Our relational, embodied laboratory of listening. CI is the ground of the retreat, opening a space where we can meet ourselves in physical relationship with others. 

Introduction and instructions to the practices will be given before we enter the non-verbal period. Participants will also receive a PDF before arrival offering a general overview of the practices.
_______________________________________________

DAILY SCHEDULE
(from 8-13th)

07:00–08:00 Meditation
08:00–09:00 Breakfast
10:00–13:00 CDP into CI Jam
13:30–14:30 Lunch
16:00–18:30 Authentic Movement
18:30–19:30 Dinner
20:30–22:00 Score Jam
_______________________________________________

WHO IS THIS FOR?

Previous experience in Contact Improvisation is required.

Basic understanding of meditation is recommended (not mandatory).

Partial participation is not possible. We’ll begin and end together.

Being in Silence and engaging in physical touch for 7 days can be intense, especially for people with unstable mental conditions.

Participants must complete a descriptive form and acknowledge their readiness to participate in this container.

Apply here:
https://www.assembly.contact/rigpa
_______________________________________________

INSPIRATION

The inspiration for RIGPA comes in part from the Silent Contact Retreat created by our dear friends Ann-Kristin Holton, Mario Blanco, and Alessandro Rivellino.

We have been touched by the simplicity and clarity of their structure — Morning Jam, Authentic Movement, and Evening Score — and by the depth of practice they hold. Their work has been a meaningful reference point for us.

This year they are hosting the 8th edition of the Silent Contact Retreat in Norway from August 16–22. If the Norway retreat is more accessible for you, we wholeheartedly recommend their work.​

You can learn more here:
https://silentcontactretreat.dance
_______________________________________________

💛 CONTRIBUTION

To keep this project accessible, we ask for a basic cost covering food and space rental.
This does not include payment for the organizers.

Basic Cost (food + space)
~ 230 € per week
(accommodation not included)

At the end of your participation, you will be invited to support the organizers with a donation.

Suggested donation: 100 – 1000 €

If finances are a challenge, please reach out directly. We will do our best to find supportive solutions.
_______________________________________________

📍 LOCATION

Quinta Ten Chi
Sintra, Portugal

A place dedicated to cultivating embodied wisdom and supporting humanity’s transformation toward harmony, cooperation, and peace.

More info: quintatenchi.org
_______________________________________________

🏡 ACCOMMODATION

Own tent / van: from 7 € per night

Shared dormitory: from 11 € per night (limited availability)

Nearby Airbnbs available for private rooms
_______________________________________________

🥗 FOOD

Three vegan / vegetarian meals per day included.
_______________________________________________

📩 QUESTIONS / INFO

Website:
https://www.assembly.contact/rigpa

Email:
assembly.ciresidency@gmail.com

WhatsApp / Telegram:
+351 927 789 929
+351 937 003 401

🌿 THE ORGANIZERS
Alexa Papa
Nikolai Denz
Reimar Wen Shen
Sandra Fleishman
Francisco Borges
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/sintra/rigpa-silent-contact-retreat-8-days/200029785566625
- **Event Categories**: meditation, workshops, health-wellness, nonprofit, contests
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 46

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: http://facebook.com/200029785566625?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=sintra-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Sintra
- **state**: LI
- **country**: Portugal
- **location**: Quinta Ten Chi
- **lat**: 38.82227
- **long**: -9.39435
- **full address**: Quinta Ten Chi, Rua Moinho Gato 1, 2710-661 Sintra, Portugal, Sintra

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Assembly - Making Space for Change (https://allevents.in/org/assembly-making-space-for-change/27229608)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events6/banners/2763d9989a158bc9740b14e27eb22bedc8f0ece28b1f7f33021744b3f59d764b-rimg-w1200-h900-dc352f29-gmir?v=1773660362
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events6/banners/d6dd5b0b3db69c2dcd10fa668dc79b5a6fc96d90c17926b49493e80881c02691-rimg-w300-h300-dc35302a-gmir?v=1773660363

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Tue, 07 Jul, 2026 at 03:00 pm (+01:00)
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** Quinta Ten Chi, Rua Moinho Gato 1, 2710-661 Sintra, Portugal, Sintra
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Assembly - Making Space for Change
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** meditation, workshops, health-wellness, nonprofit, contests
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about RIGPA: Silent Contact Retreat (8-days) ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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