What is contact improvisation?
Contact Improvisation is an evolving system of movement initiated in 1972 by American choreographer Steve Paxton. The improvised dance form is based on the communication between two moving bodies that are in physical contact and their combined relationship to the physical laws that govern their motion—gravity, momentum, inertia. The body, in order to open to these sensations, learns to release excess muscular tension and abandon a certain quality of willfulness to experience the natural flow of movement. Practice includes rolling, falling, being upside down, following a physical point of contact, supporting and giving weight to a partner. (from http://www.contactquarterly.com/cq/webtext/resource.html 01.12.2010)
On this photo: Maria Grudskaya and Otto Akkanen
“Contact improvisations are spontaneous physical dialogues that range from stillness to highly energetic exchanges. Alertness is developed in order to work in an energetic state of physical disorientation, trusting in one’s basic survival instincts. It is a free play with balance, self-correcting the wrong moves and reinforcing the right ones, bringing forth a physical/emotional truth about a shared moment of movement that leaves the participants informed, centered, and enlivened.” (early definition by Steve Paxton and others, 1970s, from CQ Vol. 5:1, Fall 1979)
“Contact improvisation is a duet movement form. Two people move together, in contact, maintaining a spontaneous physical dialogue through the kinesthetic signals of shared weight and a common or counterpoised momentum. The body, in order to open to the sensations of momentum, weight, and balance, must learn to release excess muscular tension and abandon a certain amount of willful volition to the natural flow of movement at hand. Skills such as rolling, falling, and being upside down are explored, guiding the body to an awareness of its own natural movement possibilities.” (Danny Lepkoff, Contact Quarterly, Vol. V #4)
“Contact Improvisation is a moving massage. It is a dance that fine tunes your senses and wakes up your ability to listen and respond to what is happening in the moment. If you could do Aikido, surf, wrestle and dance at the same time, you would have an idea of what Contact Improvisation feels like. What makes Contact different from other dance is that partners are often moving in and out of physical contact while rolling, spiraling, springing and falling. They find ways to “enjoy the ride” and improvise while mutually supporting and following each others movements. The dancing is unpredictable and inspired by the physical and energetic contact the partners share.” (by Ernie Adams, from http://www.contactimprov.com 01.12.2010)
There are many great resources online, where you can learn about contact. Contactimprov.com (created by Mark ‘Moti’ Zemmelman) is a wonderful website dedicated to CI, with video links, interviews, memeber directory and over 200 CI links. Contactimprov.net is another great resource with an archive and listings all over the world. Bodyresearch (created by Karl Frost) offers a great selection of in-depth articles from Karl Frost. For many years, a biannual magazine Contact Quarterly was the only available resourse about CI, and now it is represented on the web as well. You will find there great articles, CI map, book and video store, CI listings, and CI links. (founded by Lisa Nelson
Nancy Stark Smith)
Watch some videos on youtube to see how CI might look like. Here you can also find excerpts from the performances of our guest teachers.
There is also a wonderful book by Cynthia Novack, which you can order from Contact Editions. In the book section of Contact Editions you will find another great book: Contact Improvisation and Body-Mind Centering® A Manual for Teaching & Learning Movement
If you are intrigued, try it for yourself: choose an instructor, put on your sweatpants and kneepads and have fun. You can also come to the weekly classes taught by nono, or visit other CI venues in Bay Area listed here.