Contact Improvisation Class, Jam and Tea

For those looking to expand their physical, creative and communicative expression through playful and meaningful dance improvisation. This will combine guided explorations and free movement improvisation.

Contact improvisation is a form of improvised dancing that has been developing internationally since 1972. It involves the exploration of one’s body in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, and movement awareness.

Contact Improvisation can enable us to play and explore, become more comfortable and even relish the surprises of what has been unknown to us. Sessions are not necessarily about aesthetic dance or choreography and no prior experience is necessary.

Here are some of the dimensions we will work with:

• Free play and exploration
• Creative expression and communication through movement and dance
• Embodied anatomy – expanding our range of movement expression and reducing the likelihood of injury
• Taught repertoire of practices – growing our improvisational palette
• Awareness of gravitational and equilibrium responses – building strong foundations of trust, safety and a capacity for more spontaneous responses to the world around us
• Awareness of physical contact – growing clarity of our embodied boundaries so we can develop healthy sensuality, making embodied and conscious choices in how we relate to others, consciously aligning with what we let in and how far we extend out

“Improvisation is acceptance, in a single breath, of both transience and eternity. We know what might happen in the next day or minute, but we cannot know what will happen. To the extent that we feel sure of what will happen, we lock in the future and insulate ourselves against those essential surprises. Surrender means cultivating a comfortable attitude toward not-knowing, being nurtured by the mystery of moments that are dependably surprising, ever fresh.” – Steven Nachmanovitch from ‘Free Play’