Contact Improvisation (1995 archive)

This is the home page from 1995, retained here for historic interest only

What is Contact Improvisation?

I've never seen a definition of Contact that I really liked. For some people, it's a (new) folk dance. For others, it's a process for finding new choreographic ideas. Some people perform it, others do it as a practise or discipline. Some people look at it and see gymnastics, or wrestling, or swing dance. What are the "mere facts" about it? It's usually done as a duet (but sometimes solo or in larger groups), it's usually in silence; and it's improvised. Dancers are as likely to be on the floor as standing, and sometimes they're flying on someone else's shoulders. (I really should get some photographs.)

The single best place to find out more, short of just doing it, is in the pages of Contact Quarterly, a magazine that covers contact and the extended family of new dance.

What's this page for?

My intention is to use it as a referral service for jams, workshops, classes and events. I don't see a need for an online magazine or journal for Contact, since we're already well served by the Quarterly. On the other hand I'd like to have a couple of photographs, and maybe even a video clip. In a couple of years, when there's more bandwidth available on the net, we can try setting up live connections between jams.

Table of Contents

Contact Jams
Berkeley, CA. Every Saturday 3:30-6:00.
8th Street Studio, near Dwight.
Cleveland, OH. Every other Sunday morning from 11am to 1pm. Info: Larry Muha at 216-229-8156
Case Western Reserve University, Mather Dance Center (behind The Church of the Covenant) address: 11201 Bellflower Rd Cleveland, OH 44106
Ithaca, NY. Sunday afternoons. Tom Rockwell at 607-273-8650
Rochester, NY. Valerie Talbot 716-473-7796

Workshops and Events

(in chronological order)
June 16 1995 - July 1 1995, Northampton, MA, USA: A Cappella Motion
Faculty: Alito Alessi, Simone Forti, KJ Holmes, Danny Lepkoff, Karen Nelson, Susan Schell, Nancy Stark Smith, David Zambrano. Write to Nancy Raines, 94 Pratt Corner Road, Shutesbury MA 01072. Call (between 8am and 8pm EST) 413-259-1054
July 30th - Aug 6, 1995, Mount Madonna Retreat Center (near Santa Cruz), CA: Outfall
a residential workshop with a disciplined focus on study of Contact Improvisation and related arts. Faculty: Tony Kramer, Lisa Schmidt, Nina Martin, Carol Swann, Paul Langland, Jess Curtis, and Suzannah Zucker. Mail to Brion Oliver, 41 Sutter St. Suite 1219, SF CA 94104, 415-861-3862 Email: ysidro@sirius.com

Places
Moving on Center (Berkeley, CA, USA)
School for participatory arts and research in contact improvistion, Body-Mind Centering(tm), voice, Laban/Bartenieff, Alexander technique, etc. Offering courses, workshops, and certification programs.
1609 Virginia Street
Berkeley CA 94703
415-267-4823
Earthdance (Plainfield, MA, USA)
Offers weekend workshops and jams. Recent instructors include: Andrew Harwood, Andy Gaines, Bill McCully, KJ Holmes, Susan Schell, Ruth Zaporah.
Earthdance
252 Prospect St
Plainfield, MA 01070
413-634-5678

People

This list is exceedingly short. A full list appears in each issue of CQ, but I did not copy it because it seems to me that when people send in their names to CQ, they are not necessarily agreeing to put their names up on the Internet. I've sent a letter to CQ asking people to tell me what they think. In the meantime, if you want to be listed, send email to me. This listing for now is alphabetic by last name. If it gets bigger I'll use something else, or add a search facility.

Contact Quarterly

Contact Quarterly is a biannual journal of contemporary dance and improvisation. Each issue includes a contact newsletter covering recent events and a list of people who can refer you to classes, jams, and workshops in your area. CQ are publishes a number of excellent books about new dance and related movement, bodywork and so on; they also have a video for sale.

Subscriptions to CQ are $US 14 per year for individuals in the USA and Canada. Single issues are $7. Send orders to Contact Quarterly, PO Box 603, Northampton MA 01061.

See Also

This page maintained by Jim Davis, davis@dri.cornell.edu.

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