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Contact Improvisation

Since I know nothing at all, I shall simply do whatever occurs to me.
     -- C.G.Jung

Contact improvisation (CI) is a 32 year old art sport investigating the possibilities of bodies moving through contact. It centers around the study of the body's innate behavior in dealing with precarious situations and changing circumstance. The possibilities are infinite and the journey has been extremely rewarding so far.

I first encountered CI at Burning Man one colorful day. It was love at first sight.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to learn and explore with an array of prominent teachers in the field (Jesse Curtis, Keith Hennessey, Karl Frost, Kathleen Hermesdorf, and others in the Bay area) and to learn that CI extends beyond any definition I might give it.

Some of the issues I engage in through this form are:

  • awareness, internal and external
  • non-verbal communication
  • gravity
  • functional movement and alignment principles
  • relationship between will and surrender
  • relationship between giving and receiving
  • spectrum from the more kinesthetic to the more narrative/psychological
  • partnering skills
  • dancing from the emotional body
  • walking, lifting, crawling, falling
The states of being that arise from the the practice are the reward itself. The investigation opportunities are many, the generating of new vocabulary is empowering, and the release effect of learning to be in the flow is profound.

My growth in this form is marked by a growing acceptance of disorientation, by the expanding awareness of my body's ability to organize and take care of itself, and by an increase in trust and confidence in my ability to stay with the moment with my partner, and meet the needs of each changing moment. I also enjoy the improvisation aspect of the work, as I see improvisation as imagination spontaneously relating with form.

Contact improvisation is a very strong and powerful experience, especially for those that have not been exposed to any kind of partnering movement practice. It is for this reason, that I wish to teach contact. I want to pass onto others the simplicity and accessibility of this form.

I am currently collaborating on a series of workshops in Rome for the spring of 2005 and some workshops with Karl Frost in the spring/summer of 2005. We are also planning a run of the show Axolotl during this time.

Contact philosophy.

Please contact me for more information.