Thomas Kaltenbrunner - Contact Improvisation

8/19/2019 Thomas Kaltenbrunner - Contact Improvisation

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For Keriac.

With heartfelt thanks for her inspiration and challenge.


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Thomas Ka l tenbrunner

C O N T A C T I M P R O V I S A T I O NMoving - Dancing - Interact ion

With an Introduction to New Dance

Meyer & Meyer Sport


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O rig in a l ti tle :

Contact Improvisat ion - Be we gen , tanzen und s ich bege gn en

-Aachen: Meyer ft Meyer, 1998

Tra ns lated by Nick Procyk

Br it i sh L ibrary Cata loguing in Pub l icat io n Data

A cata logue for th is book is av ai la b le f rom th e Br i t ish L ibrary

Ka l te n b r u n n e r , Th o ma s

Contact improvisat ion : moving - dancing - interact ion

- Oxford: Meyer und Meyer, (UK) Ltd., 2nd edition 2004

ISBN 1-84126-138-6

Al l r ights reserved, especial ly the r ight to copy and distr ibute, including the translat ion r ights.

No par t of th is work may be reprod uce d - inc lud ing by photocopy, microf i lm or any othe r me ans -

processed, s tored e lec t ron ica l ly , cop ied or d is t r ibuted in any form w hats oev er w i thout the wr i t ter

perm iss ion of the publ isher .

1998 by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.

2nd edi t ion 2004

Aach en, Ade la ide , Auc k land, Budapest , Graz, Joha nne sbu rg,

Miam i, Ol te n (CH), Oxfo rd, Sing ap ore , Toron to

Member of the Wor ld

Spor ts Pub l ishers ' Assoc iat ion

www.w-s -p -a .o rg

Printed an d boun d by Finidr - s. r. o., Cesky Tesin

ISBN 1-84126-138-6E-Mail : ve r lag@m-m -spor t s .corn

www.m-m-spor ts .com


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C O N T E N T S

I THEORY

A WHAT IS CONTAC T IMPROVISATION? 9

1 H is tor ica l Background 13

1.1 "Ausdruckstanz" and Modern Da nce 13

1.2 Post -m ode rn Dance 14

1.2.1 Merce Cunn ingham : the Body as Physical Rea l i ty 14

1.2.2 Ann a Halpr in: Improv isat ion and Phys ica l Thea tre 15

1.2.3 Exper imen ta l Dance -Theatre: Judson Church 18

1.3 New Dan ce 18

2 The Deve lopme nt of Contac t Improv isat ion 21

2.1 Steve Paxton 212.2 The Expansion of the "Contact Community" 25

2.3 Dev elopm ent, Tren ds, Open Quest ions 26

2.4 Inf luences 28

2.4.1 Aik ido and Zen-Bu ddh ism 28

2.4.2 Acrob at ics ana Danc e as Ar t -Spor t 29

2.4.3 Rela xed Tens ion through Releas e 30

2.4.4 Body-Mind-Centering (BMC) 31

2.5 Co ntac t Improvisat ion: Embod iment of Cul tural Va lues

33

B CO NT AC T IMPROVISATION STRUCTURES 39

1 Improv isat ion - The Dynamic of the Pro v is io na l 39

1.1 Dan cing Due ts 42

1.2 Contact and Con tact Points 43

1.3 Giving and Ta king of W eigh t 44

1.4 Mo vem ent Flow 45

C T HE BASICS OF MOVEMENT 46

1 The Phys ica l Body in Space and T ime: Weight , Grav i ty and Mom entum 46

1.1 Bio-mechanical Fundamenta l 46

1.1.1 W ha t i s W eigh t? 46

1.1.2 Centre of Gra vity 47

1.2 Using Gra vi ty to Move 49

1.3 Bio-m ech anics of Li f ting, Jum ping and Spiral l ing 50

2 The Biological Body. Flexible, Lively and Intelligent 55

2.1 The Intel l ige nt Body 55

2.2 Mo vem ent Possibi l it ies in Space and l ime 56

3 The Mindfu l Bod y: Sel f -aware ness, Touch and Com mu nicat ion 58

3.1 Se i f aw are ne ss Is Body-awareness 58

3.2 Touch 59

3.3 Tru st 59

3.4 Sensu al ty and Sexu al i ty 61

3.5 Com mu nicat ion . . 62


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II PRACTICE

A LEARNIN G CONT ACT IMPROVISATION: INQUISITIVENESS AND SELF-DISCO VERY 65

1 Contact and Improvis ation: Sensitivity and Aw are ne ss Skil ls, Perceptu al States

and Physical Skil ls : 651.1 Sensi tiv ity & Aw are ne ss Ski l ls 65

1.1.1 Body Surface s and Sens itising the Skin 66

1.1.2 Men tal and Physical Rela xat ion 66

1.2 Perceptu al States 67

1.2.1 Mind fulness and Periph eral Aw are ne ss 68

1.3 Physical Skil ls 71

2 W arm ing up 72

2.1 Wa rming up Ideas 72

2.1.1 General Warm ing up 72

2.1.2 Specif ic W arm ing up 80

3 Phys ical and Emotional Safety 864 Guidelin es - How Can I enjoy Contact Impro visatio n? Exercises and Metho ds 87

B EXERCISES AN D METHODS 89

1 Contact 89

1.1 Conta ct: Mental Aw aren ess States for Solo Dan ce 89

1.1.1 Re laxing 89

1.1.2 Aw are ne ss of Surfaces of the Body 90

1.1.3 Stren gthen ing the Emo tional Sense 91

1.1.4 To Be both Activ e an d Passive 93

1.1.5 Risk Taking 941.2 Conta ct: Aw are ne ss States in Duets 95

1.2.1 Al lo wi ng Encounters 95

1.2.2 Having Goa ls and Letting them Go 97

1.2.3 Leading and Following 98

1.2.4 The Value of Dis orien tation 99

1.3 Phys ical Sk ills for Solo Da nce 100

1.3.1 Sen sing you r ow n Mass 100

1.3.2 Mo ving you r Mass 103

1.3.3 Ro llin g 105

1.3.4 Sp ira llin g 110

1.3.5 Fa ll ing and Mov ing off-cen tre 111

1.3.6 Ju m pin g 113

2 Contact: Duet Skil ls 116

2.1 Ma inta ining a Point of Con tact with a Partner 116

2.2 Giving of Weight 118

2.2.1 Tou ch Me ans : Give a l i ttle We ight 119

2.2.2 Finding your Physical Limits 120

2.2.3 Giving your wh ole W eigh t 121

2.2.4 "Clamp ing" and Carrying 122

2.2.5 Climb ing 123

2.3 Support. Ta king Weight 124

2.3.1 Posting 125

2.3.2 Slou gh ing 131

2.3.3 Bod y-Surfing 132


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2.3.4 Ro l l ing wi th a Partner 133

2.4 Ba lance and Cou nterba lan ce 134

2.4.1 Ba lan ce 135

2.4.2 Co unte rbala nce : W eight Fa l ls in or out 135

2.5 Upside do w n: wh ere Is up? 1362.6 Leaping and Catch ing 141

2.6.1 Leaps onto the Bac k 142

2.6.2 Forw ard Leaps 143

2.6.3 Sho ulde r Leaps 146

2.7 Lift 147

2.8 Flying - Da ncin g in the Air 150

3 Improvisation 153

3.1 Improvisation - Awareness and Skills 153

3.1 Spa ce 153

3.1.2 Time an d Dyn am ics 156

3.1.3 Mov em ent Sou rces 157

3.2 Orga n isa t iona l Forms o f Impro visa t ion 165

3.2.1 Jam s 165

3.2.2 Rou nd Rob in ........................................ 165

C TEACHIN G CONTACT IMPROVISATION 167

1 What Am I Teaching? 167

2 How do I Structure my Classes 170

3 Three di f ferent Class Structures 171

4 Staging and Performance 175

D AREAS OF APPLICATION FOR CONTACT IMPROVISATION 176

1 Contact Improvisation with the Disabled 176

1.1 Bod y Ima ge 177

1.2 Postural Al ignm ent 178

1.3 Ba lan ce 178

1.4 Con trol of Energy: Ten sion and Relax at ion 178

1.5 Org an isa t ion in T ime and Spac e 179

1.6 Se l f- im ag e 179

1.7 Moving with a Partner 1802 Dance therapy: The Contact Duet as a Reflection of Human Relationships

and Communication 181

3 Contact Improvisation in Dance Education: Keriacs "Dancing together" 184

4 Creat ive Process and Medi tat ion - Two Stream s (by Bar bara Di l ley) 187

4.1 Tea che rs 188

4.2 The Na rope Inst i tute 189

4.3 Dh arm a Art 190

4.4 Te ach ing Com posi t ion 193

4.5 Three As pec ts 194

APPENDIX 196

Bibl iography 196

Adresses 197

Quotes 198


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Acknowledgements

First of all, many thanks to Nick Procyk for his translation. This book came about after

my two-year full time training with Keria c - it wa s a gre at t ime; with teac hers such as

Scott W ells and Ba rbara Dilley and in num erab le Jam s. It reflects my ow n experience ofContact Improvisation a nd my own d evelopm ent as well.

I wil l say a few words about myself to give you the background to the book. I

studied Psychology and "Naturhei lkunde" in Germany and have worked for many

years leading sem inars in d i fferent aspects of Bodywo rk, comm unicat ions t ra in ing

and have been teaching Contact since 1995. I have published a couple of books

arising from my work.

My motivat ion to take on this present book came mainly from three different

sources: f irst ly i t gave me an opportunity to reflect on my own posit ive experience

within this dance form; secondly, a chance to introduce it to a wider audience and

thirdly to strengthen the contact community.

This book arises out of my personal experience:

• Ma terial, wh ich I have collecte d from many different source s, is simp ly ha nd ed

on. A special thanks here to Keriac !

• I have tr ied to present a broad overview of the w ide (often unstructu red) f ie ld

of Contact Improvisat ion. Each teacher inherits a certain range of "classic" or

"standard" material, (opinions about what this is differs of course!) and then

proceeds to develop their own personal style and interpretat ion of what C l is

about . This leads to great d i f ferences between te ach ers and tea chin g sty les.

• Ma king choices means sett ing l imits and each choice is a result of pers ona l

exper ience and judgement.

• Out of the vast range of exercises to be found in Contact work shops, I chose

those wh ich I f ind perso nally resonant and useful.

• I w ou ld l ike to em phasise that this sho uld not be seen as a book based aro un d

the individual styles of a few selected teachers. The detective work needed to

find out from which teacher each exercise originated is pract ically impossible.Many than ks to my "models" in the book: Thom as Brandle, Tanja Fb'lster, Jorg Hassmann

(... who is also on the front cover), Marg areth e Ho ppe an d And rea Kunz.

Many thanks as wel l to "Danceoholyx", the students of Ker iac 's 1994/95

program me , for a won derful t ime together, loving suppo rt and on the practical side,

for their notes made during the training.

Special thanks for Nancy Stark Smith for her truly generous support and to al l

the people who have made their photos ava i lab le.

Maybe my book wil l insp ire others to publish more Cl stuff!

Thomas Kal tenbru nne r, Kempten, May 2003


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A W HA T IS CONTACTIMPROVISATION?

Two young men in T-shirts and sweat pants, rol l and sl ide on the f loor, moving

close to each other, in constant bodi ly contact but without consciously looking in

each others eyes. Even though one is short and sl im and the other tal ler and more

heavi ly bui l t , they move together smoothly and evenly, balanced and f lowing,

sometimes slower then faster with an apparent effort less l ightness. They r ise from

the f loor, circl ing close to each other in a seemingly random way, one man's

shoulder gl ides down the other 's back, head touches head, hips lean against legs

and suddenly the big man is lying relaxed on the back of the other. His weight

seems l ight, the man support ing is relaxed an d stable. The man u nde rnea th m oves

sl ightly to one side, the other one sl ides slowly to the f loor and curls himself up.

The s l ighter of the two now fol lows and copies this movement and ends up s i t t ing

amiably on his partner's shoulder.


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They rol l over each other on the floor. Surprising each other with quick or slow

turns, twists and stops. Neither leads the dance. Then they are standing again, one

bends his knee s and jump s into the air, the other one reacts an d by h olding onto his

partner's hips, lifts him higher and places him onto his shoulder. Dangling there,head towards the ground, a lmost weight less, he now slowly twists and spi ra ls

down his partner's body onto the floor, moving, roll ing...

This or something simi lar is what Contact improvisation looks l ike. I t could be

two wom en, a wo ma n and a m an, a l l the possible var iat ions of age, size and w eight

( see Novack in "Sharing the dance"). At the heart of the dance is the interplay

betwee n gravity, impulse and dyn am ic. The dance is with one or more partners.

The basis is a constant bodi ly contact through a shared, ever-shift ing contact

point or surface with a partner. Movements arise from what has just occurred,wi thout previous agreement, but f rom an alert awareness of the moment. A

movement f low which is attentive, immediate and (sometimes) adventurous can

then emerge. Further chara cter ist ics of th is shared d anc e are:

• Movement develops from within: a part of our awareness is cont inual ly d i rected

inwards towards the body, perceiving the minute shi f ts of weight and react ing

accordingly. Simultaneously, and this has often to be learnt, the dancer is

mindful of the immediate envi ronment and is ceaselessly integrat ing new

perceptions and impulses into the dance.

• Going with the F low: the free and cont inual movement f low is bound together

with a constant al ternation between an active giving-of-weight and a passive

taking-of-weight. For instance the dancers can actively pul l , push, l i f t or simply

fol low the energy f low and momentum, let t ing each movement lead

un restricted ly into the next.

• Free Improvisation: there is no set choreo graphy. Duets, trios, solos or larg er

group sequences can arise. Elements such as spatial organisation, specific

chore ogra phic vocabu lary or gesture are seldom cons ciously used. Nevertheless,through the dynamic of change and the emergence of d ist inct moods and

qua l i t ies wi th in the improvisat ion, a c hore ogra phy of the mom ent surfaces.

• Natural movement: the danc ers do not d i f ferent iate betw een "everyday

movement" and "dance". They can also laugh, cough, scratch or watch each

other, depending on the si tuation.

• Proximity to the audience: the a udienc e norm al ly sits very close to the

performers and there is usu al ly no clear ly def ined boundary betw een the stage

and the spectators. Special l ight ing and decor are not used and the dancersnormally wear l ight comfortable clothing. This set-up is also to be found in

"Jams" (p.26).


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Contact improvisation is a creative process which occurs when two or more people

move in mutual support and p lay wi th the sh i f t ing co l lect ive equi l ibr ium. Contact

improvisat ion is in f luenced by Modern dance tech-n iques, acrobat ic components

etc. , but has i ts own character ist ic movement pr incip les ( see chapter - Contactimprov isa t ion s t ruc tu re ) . As we l l as address ing the re la t ionsh ip be tween the

skeleton, musculature and ref lexes, Contact improvisat ion a lso looks at the

interact ions wi th in the perceptual body, the body-mind organism. Through the

d i rec t exper ience and percep t ion o f dance , we can access new pa thways to our

se lves and our env i ronment . Th is is what cou ld be c a l led the con tem pla t ive aspect .

CONTACT to be connected to your self, others and most importantlythe space in -be tween!

IMPROVISATION - letting the movement which comes from the moment of

contact exist and permitt ing the adventure of "meeting in

movement".

A FEW DEFINITIONS:

"Just the pleasure of moving an d the pleasure of using your body is , I t h i nk , maybe

the main point . And the pleasure of dancing wi th somebody in an unplanned and

spontaneous way, where you're free to invent and they're free to invent and you're

neither one hampering the other - that 's a very pleasant social f o r m " .1

Steve Paxton

Two people move together , in contact , m aintaining a spontaneous physical dialogue

through the kinaesthet ic sensual s ignals of shared weight and common or

counterpoised momentum. The body, in order to open to the sensat ions of

mom entum, w eight, and balance, must learn to release excess mu scular tension and abandon a certain amount of wi l ful vol i t ion to the natural f low of movement at

hand. Skil ls such as roll ing, fall ing, and being upside down are explored, guiding

the body to an aw areness of i ts own na tural movem ent po ssibi l i t ies .

2

D anny L e p k o f f


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Contact improvisat ion i s an ac t iv i ty re lated to fami l iar duet forms such as the

em brace , w rest ling, m art ial arts , and the j i t te rb u g, encom passing the range of

movement f rom st i l lness to highly athle t ic . The ex igencies of the form dic tate a modeof movement which i s re laxed, constant ly aware and prepared, and on- f lowing. A s a

basic focus, the dancers rema in in ph ysical touch, m utual ly support ive and

innovat ive , medi tat ing upon the physical laws re lat ing to the ir masses: gravi ty ,

momentum, inert ia and f r ic t ion. They do not s t r ive to achieve resul t s , but rather, to

meet the constant ly changing physical real i ty wi th appropriate placement and

e n e r g y .3

Steve Paxton

Contact improvisat ion i s the beauty of natural movement combined wi th fu l l

communica t ion .4

Curt Siddal l

Contact improvisat ion i s the way in , an at tempt at a dance which abandons the

normal forms and borders of dancing. \ t i s a "game" be tween two or more people

using moving and being moved: ac t ive , react ive , experimental , rec iprocal , charged. . .Contact improvisat ion i s one of the physical languages to come out o f Post -Modern-

D ance . It is abo u t com m unic a ti on v ia d ir ec t or in d ir ec t p hysic a l co n ta ct th roug h a

continually shi f t ing point of bodily contact . Through this, an ef fort less f low of

movement i s created which leads to somet imes t ranqui l , somet imes animated

improvisat ion. The dance reminds you of brawl ing, wi ld dances, chi ldren play ing,

lov em ak ing an d of the gent ler disc ipl ines of Tai Chi or Aik ido.5

" D e r Z u r i c h e r O b e r l a n d e r " fr o m 1 1 .1 1 .1 9 8 2 a b o ut a c o n t a c t - w o r k s h o p .

"Every t ime someone asks me "What i s Contac t improv i sa t ion?" , my mind goes

blank , even though I have care ful ly read and studied many wri t ten de f ini t ions of C I,

t ry ing to prepare th is inev i table quest ion. I invariably end up demonstrat ing

p h y s i c a l l y .6

Keriac


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H I S T O R I C A L B A C K G R O U N D

The h is tory of twent ie th-century dance can be descr ibed as a perpetua l aesthet icrevolut ion against sty l ised, perfect ionist ic dance-technique and performance.

Contact improvisat ion has developed f rom the t radi t ions of modern and post-

modern dance into an autonomous form and is perhaps a new cry for f reedom for

the ident ity of dance.

1.1 "Ausdruckstanz" and Modern Dance

"The form, in which modem dance expresses i t se l f , i s not haphazard, i s not an unique

creation of s o m e b o d y 's nor dev ised for any part icular purpose but h as grown out o f the

t imes we l ive in." 7

M ary W ig m a n n

Around the turn of the century, European dancers turned away f rom

the overemphasised technical perfect ion with in c lassical bal let . They looked for

opportuni t ies to uni te spir i tual expression together with natural movement I t was

about the communicat ion of ideas and emot ions and the pre-eminence of the

individual within society. Closely t ied to the term "Ausdruckstanz" are Rudolf von

Laban (1879-1958) and Mary Wigmann (1886-1973). Ref lected in Ausdruckstanz

were an em anc ipa ted bodi ly aw aren ess and a cha nge d ind iv idual approach towa rds

personal and ar t is t ic f reedom. Free improvisat ion was discovered as a tool for

choreography. The dance came f rom the body and not f rom the mind. Movements

should be in tune with the g iven anatomy.

Modern dance had prob lems to f ind recogni t ion in Germany. Th is was due on

one hand to the dominance of c lass ica l ba l le t , and on the other to h indrance

f rom the Nat ional Soc ia l is ts and the outbreak of war . But th is turn ing away

from the "aristocratic" ba l le t wa s more or less co nstan t in the USA. Isadora

Duncan ( 1878 -1927) approached such sub jec t s as t he in f l uence o f cap i ta l i sm

on the worke rs and used ne i t he r e labora te cos tume nor s tage scenery . W i th

regard to the dance technique of th is per iod, emphas is was put onto the so lar

p lexus, wh ich was used as a p lace f rom which the movement impulses arose.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) , in f luenced by the ideas of Sigmund Freud and C.G.

Jung concen t ra ted more on psycho log ica l aspec ts , s to r ies o r d ream-symbo ls .

Her dances deal t not wi th outs ide rea l i t ies but inner processes. She showed the


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myth ica l and symbol ic s ide o f humani ty . Her dances st ressed the pe lv is as the

cent re wh ich was, dur ing th is per iod , revo lu t ionary and provocat ive .

D i f f e rences be tween modern dance and con tac t improv i sa t i on a re c lea r l y

seen when cons ide r i ng "falling" and the con sequ ent cont ras t in ae sthe t icstandards: ba l le t and modern dance work wi th geometr ic cent res; a lmost

everyth ing is based around the balanced torso and not "of f centre" . Contact

improv isa t ion works wi th the cent re o f grav i ty , the awareness o f ones own

we igh t , ques t ion ing how we can use th is cor pore a l mass to move in space.

This a lso includes of course, be ing above, be low or next to the centre and

cont inue moving. In contact improv isa t ion we are invar iab ly fa l l i ng , wh ich

provokes fear , and there fore must know how to approach the f loor , how to fa l l

w i thou t hur t ing ourse lves.

Because of th is r isk of in jury there are a lot of exercises based around "of f

cent re" movement . Ba l le t i s most ly about moving f rom the cent re , whereas

modern dance concentrates more on the diagonals in the body, which leads to a

more dynamic dance form (see Pract ice sect ion) . L imon techn ique focuses more

on fa l l ing and recovery, fa l l i ng towards the f loor and us ing momentum to come

upr i gh t aga in . Graham techn ique uses con t rac t i on and re lease , towards the

cent re and ou t aga in .

1.2 Post-modern Dance

Three exa mp les wi l l be used to look at post-mod ern dan ce :

Merce Cunningham, Anna Halprin and Judson Church Dance Theatre.

1.2.1 Merce Cunning ham : the Body as Physical Rea l ity

"... I don't ever want a dancer to start thinking that a movement means something.

That was what I really didn't like about working with Martha Graham - the idea that

was always b e i n g given to you that a specific movement meant something s p e c i f i c . " 8

Merce Cunningham

Merce Cunningham ( *1919) , regarded as the most ou ts tand ing rev i ta l i ser o f

mod ern dance, b ega n in the fi ft i es to f ree the danc e f rom the oss i f ied aesth e t ics

of Graham and Co. Movement shou ld not mean anyth ing anymore , ra ther be

what i t is - pure movement, noth ing more and noth ing less.


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In h is abst ract choreographies, he e l iminated a l l associa t ions to the outs ide

world, symbol ic and mater ia l . There were no stor ies or def in i te ideas to be

expressed. Cunningham d id not want to create a tmosphere, character , emot ion

or i l lusion. The dancers were not as individuals on stage; they did not presentthemselves, they on ly presented movements.

"Chance" replaced "Reason". Cunningham used the laws of chance: for instance, a

sequence of movement would be spl i t up into short parts and by throwing a dice, a

new sequence created. Or the dancers wo uld be show n a few m oveme nts and then

given five minutes to connect them up randomly. Through these processes, the

aud ience w as not "al lowe d" to develop any associat ions or d iscover meaning.

Somet imes Cunningham is included as one of the later representatives of Modern

Dance. His technique reminds one of "modern", but his phi losophy is more post-

modern, therefore his inclusion in post-modern dance. Natural ly, music,

archi tecture and the visual arts a l l showed these post-modern concerns in an

abun dance ways.

1.2.2 Anna Halprin: Improvisation and Physical Theatre"I imagine a future where many of us wi l l cal l ourselves dancers and col laborate to

make an art which concerns itself with primary areas of l i fe . . . for me, peace is a

communal work process, a collect ive vision. The dance i tsel f tries to exempli fy a few of

these methods in a truly grounded and practical way so that the people can say: yes,

there are prospects of survival ." 9

Anna Halprin

Along with Cunningham, Anna Halprin (*1920) produced a powerful impetus for

post-modern dance. In the fi ft ies, she was working within the tradit ions of modern

dance but later radical ly broke away and jo ined the provocat ive avant-garde

revolving around Grotowski and the Living Theatre. She bec am e interested in

improvisation as a movement source and made i t into a dist inct and independent

art form. The creative, non-judgemental process was the focus.

Her aims in this body and movement work is to understand the nature of danceand to develop a natural , "authent ic" dancer. She descr ibes dance as " the art of

br inging the emot ional force in movement to expression" and speaks about a


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Life-Art-Process. Art gives impetus to dai ly l i fe and dai ly l i fe gives impetus to

ar t . Halpr in developed the "Movement Ri tual " , a f lowing movement sequence in

w h i c h the na tura l deve lopmenta l s tages f rom lying till s tand ing and mov ing a re

ref lected.

Figure 1:

(Designer Charlene

Koonce; with kind

permission of Anna Halprin)

Alongside of the personal, creative process, the private self , is the group process.

Halp rin's work created the RSVP mo del, a set of gu ide l ine s towa rds the cre ative

process, which can be very helpful in making solo or group pieces. This model

divides the creative process into four steps:


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THE FOUR STEPS

•Resources: co l lec t and def ine the subject ma t ter , m ot iva t ion and

a ims to be worked w i th . Iden t i f y my sources . What

mate r ia l i s the re?

•Score: design a basic plan. A gra phic al representation of the process

which leads f inal ly to the performance. What is my plan?

• Valueaction: a word combined from "evaluation" and "action", which

describes the active evaluation, analysis and decisions made

over the course of the work process. What conclusions are to

be drawn from my plan?

• Performance: the realisa tion an d result of the ideas.

Halpr in goes further than me re ly a recogn i t ion and se nsing of the em ot ion a l

content but expects an act ive par t ic ipat ion. To act upon exper ience, creat ing adance which has an intent ion, a theme. Her aim is not therapeutic but to

deepen the exper ience of l i fe and to form i t ar t ist ical ly. She founded the

Tampala Institute and summar ises her work as an a r t i s t i c con t r ibu t ion towards

wor ld peace . Through dance r i tua ls (e.g. Circle the Earth), i n wh ich severa l

hundred people can take par t , she demonstra tes the possib i l i t ies o f breaking

through deeply ingra ined not ions, the negat ive myths of conf l ic t and war and

the i l lusion of isolat ion.

A lo t o f these ideas found the i r way in to contact improvisat ion through

s tuden ts o f Anna Halprin, in par t icu lar her concept o f per forming. The

per fo rm anc e o ften fo l l ow s a "score", wh ich a l low s spo n tan eou s dec is ion

mak ing and change w i th in the ac tua l pe r fo rmance .

Un l i ke a choreography, wh ich i s p roduc t -based , a score focuses on the

process. The in tent ion of a score, to be open (open score) , def ines i ts qua l i ty .

The avow ed a im o f these per fo rm ance s i s a t rue encoun te r be twee n per fo rmer

and aud ience . Ha lp r in observed how ever - inc reas ing d is tance f rom t rad i t i ona ldance- thea t re a l te red the ro le o f ac to r and spec ta to r . The reac t ion to an

au then t i c p resen ta t ion o f rea l l i f e s i tua t ions re leases the aud ience f rom the

passive role of observer into an active participant of the event.


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1.2.3 Experimental Dance-Theatre: Judson Church

"I t inc luded pa in ters , mus ic ians , poet s , whole thea ter companies , ind iv idual dancers ,

dance comp anies . .. there was in ]udson i tself definitely a scene in form and co nte nt." 1 0

Steve Paxton

The beg inn ing of post -modern dance is o f ten l inked to the founding in New York

of the dance co l lec t ive Judson Dance Theatre (1960 - 1964), which looked for

ways to redef ine dance. The dancers inc luded Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown,

Yvonne Rainer, Judith Dunn, Lucinda Childs and Deborah Hay. In contrast to

Cunningham, they re jec ted s t ruc ture and in par t ic u la r , dan ce techn ique. They

went one s tep fur ther , je t t isoned the t rad i t iona l language of dance and used

everyday, "pedest r ian" movements such as s i t t ing , l y ing , ro l l ing , fa l l ing .

Movements , wh ich d id not requ i re a t ra ined dancer , wh ich everybody cou ld do

and per form. They a lso exper imented wi th sur rea l ideas, d isgu ised themselves in

s t range costumes or per formed naked. Scope was g iven for co l laborat ion

be tween dancers and mus ic ians , ac to rs and a r t i s t s and anybody who wanted

cou ld present the i r work .

The pos t -modern approach was no t on l y t o be seen in dance .

There were s im i l a r deve lopments w i t h in o the r a r t f o rms : M in ima l Mus ic ,Ac t ion Pa in t ing , M in ima l A r t , Absurd Thea t re and pos t -modern a rch i t ec tu re .

1.3 New Dance

" M y reverence for improvi sa t ional dance com es f rom those sacred mo m ents in w hich I

have f e lt forces deep w i th in m y bo dy and psyche r i se up together as par tners. There i s

a feel ing o f humil i ty and truth, and i t is obviou s what is to be done." 11

Keriac

The aesthet ic revolut ion taking place in dance was a l i t t le late in f inding its way

into Europe; i t is normal ly ident if ied under the term "New Dance". The phrase "New

Dance" f i rs t appeared in England in the ear ly sevent ies when a group of

exper imenta l dancers f rom X6 in London pub l ished a magaz ine ca l led "New Dance

Magazine".

New Dance is a broad term, used mainly in Europe and less in the USA,encompass ing many d i f fe rent approaches. I t is seen as a fur ther deve lopment

lea ding to a fus ion of var ious dance techn ique wi th impro v isat ion - but leav in g

plenty of scope for o ther e lements : dance- theat re , bodywork such as A lexander


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Techn ique, Fe ldenkra is , Re lease and fu r ther techn iques invo lv ing "Body-

Awareness-Work" . In post -modern dance the p ieces were of ten wi thout a

specif ic "content" , mainly abstract but New Dance permits the use of personal

mater ia l , br inging back the connect ion wi th the real wor ld. For a New Danceworkshop the dancer Lilo Stahl wrote: "New Dance technique is based around

the interplay between tension and release in the body and focuses on f inding

the minimal energy needs in movement . The technique is or iented around a

minimal phys ical t ra in ing and through internal bodywork, promotes awareness /

recogni t ion of movement sources and assoc iat ions. The connect ion wi th the

fun da me nta l techn ique s o f the danc e come through ind iv idua l exper im enta t ion

with specif ic movement impulses.. . the Technique is used as support to extend

the indiv idual movement vocabulary and to break through ent renchedmovement pat terns."

IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF NEW DANCE ARE:

• Each individual is unique in their movement potential

• Sources for movement are to be found within the body.

• Aw ar en es s is directed inside the body and looks for the m inima l energypathwa ys for movem ent

• Fol low spontaneous movement impulses and overcome indiv idual movement

clich.

• Improvisation me an s: the discove ry and creative use of perso nal m ovement

mater ia l .

• Improvisat ion is a dist inct and inde pend ent form for performan ce and can

create affil iation to other art forms.

• Dance expresses a n holist ic view of the person, shaped through individu alexper ience.

• New D ance cho reogra phs the ordinary.

Dance has been, so to speak, democrat ised: danc ing has r id i tse l f of

the ar is tocrat ic at t i tude (profess ional vs . amateur) and f rom ext reme phys ical

de ma nd s. Dan ce is ju dg ed not by i ts tec hn ical per fec t ion but by i ts abi l i ty to

communica te , the tang ib le bond between per fo rmer and aud ience.

Seemingly rather vague, the term New Dance achieves a c learer def in i t ion

through the personal subjec t mat ter of the dancers , workshop leaders and


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choreograph ers . Though a few have dec la re d thems e lves to be "New Dancers", it

tu rns out a f ter a c loser examinat ion of the i r work that they are rea l ly post-

modern or exper imenta l dancers. S imi lar ly , people teach ing New Dance as i f i t

were bal let, g ives the students a total ly d i f ferent p icture of sel f , wi th farreach ing consequences towards an assessment o f New Dance and con tac t

improvisat ion: why do a lot of people bel ieve that in order to dance wel l they

f i rs t have to become bet ter? Why do many teachers fa i l to communicate the

va lue of gen uine and s incere se l f -expres s ion?

Creat ive se l f -express ion through dance should not be a ter r i to ry so le ly and

defensive ly occupied by profes s iona l da nc ers ; everyone is a dan ce r ! The p leasu re

to be found in dancing and a pr ide in one's own movement should be the solecr i ter ia - and not physica l ach ievement and technica l per fect ion.

In i ts connection with (dai ly) l i fe dance reveals i ts real vital i ty as an art form - as

Danny Lepkoff know s from own expe r ience : "/ remember feeling literally

transported to another world when dancing, a world in which I was able to become a

stronger self than I lived with day to day ... the realm of contact improvisation I

realised was not "dance" but living, the forces at play between two people dancing

are those forces which exist day to day,... I was left with the ever present challenge

to realise my strong self in day to day living as well as the responsibility of achieving

a healthy and true communion with those people I meet day to day. " 12

New Dance, looked at broadly, is a fur ther deve lo pm ent and synthe sis o f va r iou s

dance techniques wi th improvisat ion, bodywork, and movement forms. Contact

improvisat ion is a d is t inct and separate par t o f th is cu l tura l abundance,

absorb ing ideas and impulses and producing new ones. There are in terest ing

transfers between contact improvisat ion and ba l le t for instance.


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T H E D E V E L O P M E N T O F C O N T A C TI M P R O V I S A T I O N

2.1 Steve Paxton

"Contract ive energy or tensions overpower the sensing of subt le movement , and so

g r a v i t y i s m a s k e d . " 1 3

Steve Paxton

The person regarded as the founder and in i t ia tor o f contact improvisat ion isSteve Paxton. He began his dance training at Connecticut College in 1958 when

he was 19. The teachers a t that t ime inc luded Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Doris

H um ph re y and Merce Cunningham.

Whe n da nc ing fo r Cun n ingh am , Pax ton becam e cr it i ca l o f the h ie ra rch ica l

soc ia l s t ructu res wi th in the compan y. The d ic ta torsh ips and star systems were in

stark contrast to the ideas of Isadora Duncan and Laban, who se w ork had

promised f reedom and ega l i ta r ian ism. Ano ther c r i t i c i sm was the tendency

towards vacu i ty wi th in the h igh technica l per fect ion, which le f t aud ienceswatching such dance performances wi th the feel ing that their own movement

was not wor th exp lor ing.

Paxton began to make h is own p ieces dur ing the t ime wi th Cunningham. He

in t roduced "norm a l " movem ent such as w a lk ing into h is cho reog raph ie s , wh ich

was the beginning of his interest in nondance movement. It opened up for him a

whole new area of exp lorat ion, enr ich ing and expanding the dance vocabulary.

He saw walk ing as a "sympathet ic l ink" between per formers and spectators; i t i ssom ethin g that both h ave exp er ienc ed. I t lef t spa ce for the da nc er 's ow n

par t icu lar qua l i t ies and enabled a deve lopment o f ind iv idua l s ty le . Moreover ,

w alk ing can not be judge d to be good or bad.

Paxton was a lso par t ic ipat ing in the composi t ion c lasses g iven by Robert Ellis

Dunn in Cunninghams studio. Yvonne Rainer, another of the participants

in i t iated the "Continuous Project Altered Daily", a p iece which inc luded

rehearsa l as par t o f the per formance. Specia l regard was g iven to the

spontaneous unforeseen events and the i r consequences. Out o f th is "Continuous

Project" came the free improvisa t ion group G rand Union, wh ich ex is ted betwe en

1970 and 1976. Belonging to this group were, among others: Yvonne Rainer,


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Steve Paxton, David Gordon, Trisha Brown, Barbara Dilley, Douglas Dunn and

Nancy Greene. Th is dance co l lec t ive ext r icated i t se l f f rom normal s t ruc tures and

focussed on improvisat ion in groups, duets or as a solo form. These open-ended

improv isa t ions cou ld sw i t ch f rom dramat ic , su r rea l s i t ua t ions t h rough

movement games to in t imate conversat ions.

Dur ing a Grand Union res idency at Ober l in Col lege, Oh io in 1972, Paxton

made "Magnes ium" , a p iece in which e leven men threw themselves and each

oth er into the air, col l id ed , cau gh t and fel l onto the f loor. They tr ied not to wo rk

with any " learned" dance vocabu lary but s imply f rom re f lexes.

I f the body is in a r isk s i tuat ion, ref lexe s are act ivated , m inimis in g the da ng er

of in jury and enab l ing a safe escape. The danc ing las ted about ten minutes wi th

a few minutes of standing st i l l at the end.

Encouraged by t h is exper ience , Paxton gath ere d a grou p of abou t 15 good

"ath letes" to fur ther explore the po tent ia l and pr inc ip les of com m un icat io n f i rs t

discerned in "Magnesium". Th is g roup worke d on wh at they ca l l e d " con tac t

improv isat ion" . The raw mater ia ls were the phys ica l forces of g rav i ty ,

momentum, t he fo rce p roduced wh en hur l ing someone a roun d an d the

consequences of a l l these ac t ions.


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The results were shown for the f i rst t ime in June 1972 at the John Weber Gallery

in New York. Part ic ipants included: Tim But ler, Laura Chapman, Barbara Di l ley,

Lloyd, Leon Felder, Mary Fulkerson, Tom Hast, Danny Lepkoff, Nita Lit t le, Alice

Lusterman, Steve Paxton, Mark Peterson, Curt Siddall, Emily Siege, Nancy StarkSmith, Nancy Topf, David Woodberry. Paxton wrote about this per iod: "When, in

1972, a group of dancers began work on Contact Improvisat ion, i t was a study

of the way comm un icat io n w as possible throu gh touch.. . the mo veme nt which

resulted from contact improvis ing - a non-rat ional ised, intui t ive movement

leading to unforeseen phras ing, pos i t ions and gambi ts . Bas ic movement upon

int imate communicat ion was appeal l ing to me, after years of technical modern

training.

There was a lot of hard work within this wel l -disc ipl ined group. In the

beg inn ing Paxton curbed the soc ia l com mu nicat ion forms such as ta lk ing or

laughter; this dance broke the cul tural taboo of touch and he wanted to avoid

the c ircum vent ion o f the physical s i tuat io n throug h talk ing and laug hter. Social

behaviour is of ten employed as a dist ract ion from the real feel ings of fear,

arousal or indignance. For Paxton i t was about explor ing phys ical phenomena;

giv ing themselves permission to go into areas which invoked things of a social

nature but without being obl iged to deal with them on a social level .


25/202

He also wa nted to avoid the part ic ipants losing themselve s in psyc holog ical dram as

or sexual fantasies. The interest lay exclusively in the physical dialogue defined by

the following questions:

• W hat occurs during physical contact and giving of w eigh t?

• W hat happens when we jump upon, lift a nd carry each other ?

• How do I give weight to the floor?

• How can I uti l ise gravitational forces in movement?

Paxton invi ted to this ini t ial gathering a diverse group of people to work together,br inging di f ferent areas of experience such as gymnast ics, re lease, sports, dance

etc. to act as movement sources. Whatever ski l ls the part icipants had were put to

use, i l lustrat ing the non-hierarchical methods of accepting the potential and

abi l i t ies of each individual. This is perhaps why contact improvisation is not cal led

"Steve Paxton Tec hnique"!

Paxton wa s cur ious to see what kind of dan ce d eve lops from such a non-

hierarchical st ructure and consciously looked for something di f ferent from that

based upon the t radi t ional choreo graph er-da ncer re lat ionship.

Further influences came from the martial arts, in particular Aikido, Yoga and Tai Chi

and thei r re levance wi th in th is newly created form were acknowledged. After one

week of practice/rehearsal in New York loft, the ini t ial group performed contact

Improvisation for 5 hours a day for a week at the John Weber Gallery. These were

the fi rst performances cal led "Contact Improvisation". Many hours of this practice

and performance were videotaped, later made into a documentary video, "Chute".

From this event came certain rules of practice to be investigated in the subsequent

work.

Nancy Stark Smith relates the following to many of the performances in early

years: "What happened, I think, was the sensations were transmitted to the

audience. They would come out of the performances flushed and sweating, alm ost,

and thrilled as if they had been doing it themselves ... To tell you the truth, I don't

think there was one performance we did that wasn't very enthusiastically received.

It was like we had offered something to people as a way of looking at the movement

and a way of experiencing movement that was very new and healthy, very vital and

life-supporting." 15


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2.2 The Expansion of the "Contact Community"

The next year, 1973, saw a part of this group, (Little, Smith, Siddall, Radler, Paxton)

go to Cali fornia and perform Contact Improvisation on a tour they named: You

Come We'll Show You What We Do". The performance f ramework was very informal ;

spe ctato rs sat on ch airs and o n the f loor on the edge of the perform anc e space,

no special l ighting or costumes. At the same time, the first classes in this new form

began. In summer, Paxton travel led with a few "contacters" to Europe and the f irst

performance took place at Att ico Galero in Rome.

In 1975 a new group formed, ReUnion (N. Little, C. Siddall, N. Stark Smith, S.

Paxton) which was the f irst pure contact improvisation company. Other groups

formed and a contact-communi ty developed.

Nancy Stark Smith and Contact Quarterly

Nancy Stark Smi th was a sophomore at Oberlin College ma jor ing in wr i t ing and

danc ing , when Steve Paxton cam e wi th the Gran d Union for thei r Jan ua ry 1972

Residency. Or iginal ly t rained as an athlete and gymnast, she began to dance and

w a s c h o r e o g r a p h a t Oberlin w i th the Oberlin Modern Dance Company, in

c lass ica l modern and post -modern s ty les , work ing wi th var ious choreo-graphers

including Twyla Tharp and Brenda Way.


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Dance in America in the ear ly 1970's of fered a new opportuni ty to integrate her

love of the athlet ic ism of sports w i th her interest in the arts. Dur ing the Grand

Union's 19 72 residency,

Nancy s tud ied and per formed in the work o f the compa ny members. She wa s

impressed and great ly moved by Steve 's men's per formance, Magnesium, and

af terwards ment ioned to h im that i f he ever worked l ike that wi th women she 'd

love to know about i t. A few months later he cal led, invit ing her to NYC

for the rehearsa ls and f i rs t per formance of contact improvisat ion.

She cont inued to t rave l and work c lose ly wi th Steve and others throughout the

1970's and into the 80's, performing, teaching and developing the work.

In 1975, ReUnion b r ie f ly con side red t ra de m ark ing the nam e of Contact

Improvisat ion and author is ing teachers, as they had heard of people picking up

the work (beginn ing to do Contact) f rom seeing per formances and get t ing

ser iously in jured by pract is ing i t wi thout the proper tra in ing. Prel iminary papers

were drawn up but never s igned, as they decided instead to s tar t a Newsle t ter

to encourage communicat ion wi th in the work, inv i t ing people in to the d ia logue

rather than pushing them out . Th is newsle t ter cont inued to deve lop in to what is

now a biannual magazine, Contact Quarter ly - a vehicle for moving ideas, (seeappendix for address) edited by Nancy Stark Smith and Lisa Nelson. It contains

not on ly ar t ic les about contact improvisat ion but o ther themes and top ics

re la t ing to post-post-modern or New Dance.

Other impor tant e lements wi th in the contact communi ty for keeping

up- to-date are the nat iona l newsle t ters (see appendix for addresses)

and the regular ho ld ing of Jams (open Contact sess ions wi tho ut supe rv is ion)

such as the Breitenbush, Harbin-Hot-Springs or in Europe the Black-Forest-Jam.Also imp or tant are the ann ua l Contact Tea cher 's Confere nces and fest iva ls such

as the W est-Co ast-Co ntact-Fe st iva l in San Francisco.

2.3 Developments, Trends, Open Questions

Contact improvisat ion di f fers f rom al l other dance forms: or ig inal ly i t was not

taught as a technique. I t was seen as an invest igat ion, an adventure. This issome th ing imm ense ly va lu ab le and sho u ld not be a l lo we d to d isappear , though

unfortunately, th is is exact ly what seems to be happening in Europe at the

moment .


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There are, of course, as in every "cul ture", many offshoots and t rends within the

contact communi ty , w i th new developments cont inual ly emerging. Areas being

addressed nowadays inc lude sexua l i t y , emot ion and therapeut ic aspec ts o f

contac t improv isa t ion . Danny Lepkoff wa s a l read y ra is ing these issues in

Contact Quarter ly in 1988 with an art ic le ent i t led "Quest ions not to ask": 16

IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF NEW DANCE ARE:

Wh y is the ae r i a l lift a s ignature o f an a ccompl ished contac t dance r?

Why are complete beginners so beaut i ful to watch, and experiencedContact Improvisers often so bor ing?

Wh y is there a hiera rchy of Contact ski lls?

Why were many of my advanced Contact students unconsciously resistant

to learn ing?

Why can someone become advanced in a form based on communicat ion?

Why do I expe ct to get "dan ced on" at Contact jam s?

Why are Contact-based performances so devoid of v is ion and sel f-

e x a m i n a t i o n ?Why does the al lure of gymnast ic ski l ls overshadow the explorat ion of

making contact?

Why do exper ienced Contact dancers get f rus t rated wi th be ginners?

Why does a form rooted in the senses give rise to a generic look, when l i fe

i tsel f is so va r ie d?

Why did I overhear an audience member say dur ing a C.I . performance,

"How can ad ul ts do a l l of that and not see m to feel anyth ing?"

Meanwhi le - Contact Improv isat ion celebrated i ts 30 year anniversary in 2002 -

this dance form has found i ts way into many di f ferent areas of l i fe: schools,

fur ther educat ion, spor t , profess ional dance companies, theat re, dance- therapy

(see chapter D, p. 176 - Areas of appl icat ion). But contact improvisat ion is not

l imited to specif ic f ields, i t is also proving at t ract ive to people s imply interested

in movement, people who look for (and f ind) fun and exuberance in dance.

Contact improvisat ion, taken as a whole, is at the junct ion (or point of

contact) of sport , dance and therapy and therefore has the chance to spur on

each of these ar ea s wi th new energy.


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2.4 Influences

2.4.1 Aikido and Zen-B udd hism

"A free spirit is reflected in free movement. Aikido movements are very fluid. This is

because they are pr imar i ly c i rcu lar or sp i ra l l i c in na ture though there i s some l inear

m o vemen t i n vo lved . C i r cu la r mo vem en t i s n o t o n ly f l u id b u t h a s p o w er fu l en er g y . " 1 7

Leo n a rd P . C o h en

Since the 1960 's , eastern ph i losophy has been in f luenc ing the ar t is t ic not ion of

the body. Steve Paxton s t ud ied A ik ido and t rave l l ed to Japan . I t showed h im

ways of fa l l in g an d ro l l ing w i thou t in jury , wa ys of perce iv ing the en erg y- f low

be tween peop le and o f how two bod ies can approach each o the r w i t hou t

premedi ta t ion. A sens i t iv i t y towards the dual energ ies of two d is t inc t bodies can

lead to t he man i f es ta t ion o f a t h i rd energy emerg ing du r ing t he shared dance .

Aik ido permits the body to y ie ld to i ts protect ive inst incts, the innate responses

to the env i ronment . A determinat ion to ach ieve, to get resu l ts , accord ing to the

eastern v iew, ach ieve s noth ing but d ish arm ony wi th the l i fe -energ y source - K i

and h inders l ea rn ing . A ik ido a l so in t roduced ideas f rom Zen-Buddh ism in to

contact improv isat ion:


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• Situat ion and circumstance are accepted for what they are: nothing is to be

forced

• Mo vem ent is determ ined not by wil l but rathe r in ha rm ony with

forces which reach outside the body, such as gravity or centripetal force.

• The centre of the body is the belly: a person is "grounded" when they have a

stabil i ty with the ground / f loor. An acceptance of the force of gravity not a

struggle against i t , as the bal let ic manner of l ightness and levi tat ion.

• only through the unity of mind and body can a person, or in this case, adancer have a harmonious and inspirat ional d ialogue with their

sur round ings .

Apar t f rom A ik ido , p r inc ip les and e lements o f o ther fo rms added to

con tac t improv isa t ion ; Yoga, Ta i Ch i , the sou th Amer ican mar t ia l

a r t - Capoe i ra . Some con tac t dancers l ink con tac t improv isa t ion

di rect ly wi th the mart ia l ar ts , for instance Hillel Kraus in "Ma rt ia l Dance".

2.4.2 Acrobatics and Dance as Art-Sport

"The AMERICAN DANCE GUILD invites your participation in "DANCE

AS ART SPORT", a movement conference which will explore topics

and techniques in improvisation. ...Included will be dance forms and activities for

elementary and high school students, adult beginners, athletes & the disabled, as

well as a variety of material of interest to the trained dancer." 18

From Contact Quarterly, 1979

Simone Forti came up wi th the term "Art -Sport" a f ter see ing S teve Paxton and

Nancy Stark Smith danc ing Contac t toge ther . Paxton had, a long wi th o thers of

the first contacters, been trained in Gymnastics and acrobatics. The

physica l i ty to be see n so m et im es in contact impro visa t ion has i ts roots here.

In 1980, a conference was he ld under the t i t le "Improvisation: Dance as Art-

Sport". Or ig ina l ly p lanned pure ly as a con tac t improv isa t ion con fe rence , o ther

dance fo rms work ing wi th improv isa t ion were even tua l ly inc luded.


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This proximity to sport ing act iv i t ies

is perhaps the most important

doorway to the mainst ream and has

let contact improvisat ion f ind i ts

way into schools and univers i t ies,

pr isons and spor t -cent res.

2.4.3 Relaxe d Tension throu gh

Release

"Release work helped people feel their own weight ... sensing weight: the

weight of the arm, the weight of the

head, the pelvis ... it was wonderful

for dancing to return to a real

experience of weight and to the

f l o o r . " 1 9

Nancy T o p f

A method which started i ts development in the ear ly 1960's in the USA, later

became general ly known as "Release work" . The founders of th is approach

inc lude Joan Skinner, Marsha Paludan and Mary Fulkerson. Wha t evo lved wa s a

"k inaesthet ic t ra in ing form": the term "Release" comes f rom Graham's" cont rac t

- release"; i f we pul l our energy towards the centre and then let go, this impulse

can lead to movement through space. Fundamental ideas of Mabel Todd andLulu Sweigard were coupled wi th pr inc ip les of bodi ly a l ignment f rom the

A lexander Techn ique and combined w i th the use o f anatomica l images fo r

movement . Release Technique concerns i tse l f w i th the quest ion: how is the


32/202

thought " I want to stand" physical ly t ranslated into the act ion of standing?

Science has st i l l not come up wi th a solut ion to this quest ion of how this

p ic ture or image o f s tand ing is t ransfer red in to the body. What happens when

thoughts become ac t ion?

Release Techn ique works w i th in te rna l imagery and th rough a c rea t i ve p rocess

leads to a d i f ferent approach to th is inqui ry .

KEY AIMS OF RELEASE ARE:

1. m u l t i -d irec t iona l a l ignm ent o f the ske le ton .2. d i f ferent p lane s of balan ce

3. an auton om y of movem ent of the var ious body parts .

4. e f f ic ient mo vem ent w i th the m in im um of energy expe ndi ture .

"Proper" al ignment and balance is not seen as a inert state but a dynamicprocess o f ad justment and modi f ica t ion o f weight p lacement in space. The basic

idea is that posture should be effor t less. Good posture is a act ive rather than a

stat ic process, the body is not r ig id but relaxed, f lex ible, loose and is kept in

ba lance us ing the most ef f ic ien t energy pathways, in contrast to "s tomach in -

chest out".

Re lease was a l ready be ing s tud ied by many p rac t i t i oners o f con tac t

improv isa t ion and was in tegra ted as a co rporea l exper ience - an exper ienceexc lus ive to the phys ica l process, not to be reduced to i ts conceptua l proper t ies.

Re leas e show s i tse l f i n the so ft , f low ing a nd e cono mic a l movem ent of Con tac t .

2.4.4 Body-Mind Centering (BMC)

"The interplay between our subconscious and consciousness is a continual

exchange and always a two-way flow. Consciousness and the subconscious are acontinuum of a mind. They are each other's shadows or supports in their movement

a n d e x p r e s s i o n . " 2 0

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen


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Body-Mind Centering (BMC) is a com prehen s ive m oveme nt re -educ a t ion fo rm

deve loped th rough many years o f research by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. She

began to study the movement and learning processes of chi ldren and developed

her work us ing anatomica l , psycho log ica l , phys io log ica l and deve lopmenta lpr inc ip les. The in terdependence of these pr inc ip les together wi th the d i f ferent

o rga n ic systems in the body has a d i rec t in f luence on m ovem ent deve lopm ent .

BMC enables an inner awareness of movement and leads to a sens ib i l i t y o f how

the mind, through movement, communicates with the body.

THERE ARE TWO FUNDAMENTAL AREAS IN BMC:

1 . The study of movement development in infants

This process, which each and every one of us goes through, has

great s imi lar i t ies wi th evo lu t ion in the an imal k ingdom, f rom

the ear l ies t ve r tebra tes to the p r imates . Inher i ted re f lexes toge ther

wi th neuromuscu la r pa t te rns fo rm an ou t l ine fo r the deve lopment

o f our movement and s imu l taneous ly our menta l , emot iona l and c rea t ive

or ientat ion in the wor ld . Studying th is "developmenta l movement" is ae f fec t ive way o f unear th ing movement and behav ioura l p rob lems and

th rough spec i f ic exerc ises , a l lo w s read jus tment .

2. Intensive study of the different systems within the body.

Glands, organs, nerves, muscles, bones, f lu ids, sensory systems

etc are closely studied. The functioning principles of each system

and the re la t ionship to the other systems is found. The studygoes beyond a pure co l lect ion of anatomica l facts and f igures,

through speci f ic exerc ises d i rect physica l exper ience of each system

is a t ta ined. One of her s tudents wrote: " in each system, i ts associa ted

mental or mind aspect is to be found and c lear ly separated f rom the other

systems. In the organs for instance; depths of emot ion, our personal way of

processing ideas and concepts; our bones, support ive, angular , levers and

l ines a long which our thoughts can or ient themselves; the f lu id systems, the

mot ion betw een p osi t ions and rhythms of s t imu lat ion and t ran qui l l i ty ."2 1


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BMC, because of i ts emphasis of a hol ist ic study of the "body-mind-spir i t" and

the sensory exper ience of the sources of movement , was soon in tegrated in to

the work of contact improvisat ion pract i t ioners. The aspects o f deep physica l

se l f -awareness and understanding to be found wi th in BMC has had a s t ronginf luence on the development o f contact improvisat ion.

Other methods such as Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique or Authent ic

Movement support cer ta in aspects o f contact improvisat ion: d i rect ing

perception inwards to a kinaesthetic awareness, a smooth, efficient way of

moving, suppo rt ive of the an atom ica l systems.

2.5 Contact Improvisation: Embodiment of CulturalValues

Contact improvisat ion came out o f the exper imenta l a tmosphere

pervasive in the 60s and 70s. The young generat ion was search ing

for new ways of l i fe and po l i t ica l rect i tude. Flower-Power s t ressed c o m m u n i t y ,

equality and steered away from the norms of competit ion and subjugation.

From the beginning, contact improvisat ion was a col lect ive phenomenon.

Contact dancers l ived together and created a wide network of contacts and

mutual support . Contact improvisat ion can be seen as a physica l mani festa t ion

of the va lues and convic t ions of th is generat ion. I t cou ld a lso expla in the

fasc inat ion and euphor ia o f some of the f i rs t audiences, who were seeing a

pa lp ab le e mb od im ent o f som eth ing w h ich w as p resen t in the ir li ves .

Co-o pe ra t ion and com m un ica t ion ins tead o f compe t i ti on !

Through g iv ing-o f -we igh t and p lay ing wi th ba lance , the dancers a lways had to

f ind col lect ive solut ions and pathways. I f one dancer t r ied to impose thei r wi l l

onto the other, the dance soon became ted ious and eventua l ly came to a

standst i l l . A sensib i l i ty for the partner and communicat ion are natural ly

opposed to ego- t r ips .

Equal i ty and hierarchy!

Right from the start , Steve Paxton expected that the pract i t ioners of th is new

dance form exper imented wi th the ex is t ing e lements. They should f ree

themselves f rom any prev ious not ions and be responsib le for f ind ing the i r own

w ay through the process. The em anc ipat ion of the ind iv idual enabled creat ive

improvisat ion and movement d ivers i ty . The dominat ing ro le o f the Teacher was

to be replaced by mutual reciprocity "the Dance is the Teacher". This way of


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teaching was and st i l l is not usual wi th in the dance wor ld . I f you are

s imul taneously teacher and student , there can be no socia l d i f ferences or

hierarchy.

Teaching therefore meant not a presentat ion of technique to be copied but an

invitat ion to part icipate in an experiment. The main teaching method was "here

is the problem, let 's work on i t . I t is an experiment, we make jo int d iscoveries,

there are no r ights or wrongs and there are no u l t imate so lu t ions. Th is remains

ju s t as re le v a n t even w h e n one of th e da nc e rs has less expe r ience in con tac t

improvisat ion than the other!" From th is background, open improvisat ional

meetings took place: "jams".

After more than 25 years of development, there is natural ly a immense pool of

resources showing ways and solut ions wi th in contact improvisat ion which a

teac he r can pass on. Even so, or maybe p rec is e ly beca use of th is , anyo ne jo in ing

in contact improvisat ion sessions, can produce wonderfu l dancing. Nobody

would, as Keriac be l ieves , "correct them, perhaps, at mo st, say only: "if you do

this or that, you w on't injure yo u rs e lf .. ." 2 2

Self-possession and shared dependency!

Everyth ing in contact improvisat ion happens through request ing and expressing

intent: somebody gives their weight and the other is free to decide if or how

much to accept . There is no guara ntee that your in tent ions, your wishe s, wi l l be

fu l f i l led. Sel f -possession and deep awareness of "be ing" is deeply rooted in th is

dance form. Ker iac wr i tes: "contact improvisation is a model for social behaviour.

What is this social system? It really is a non-hierarchical notion, each person

is equal and each one has total responsibility for themselves and their behaviour. We try not to save or prevent the other from falling

or sliding but to offer surface area. You are aware and sensitive and present but

you do no t control what is happening. You give a freedom of choice for the simple

reason that the other is capable of doing things as well." 23

Contact improvisation is also a model for interdependence. It is not a one-sided

dependence but i t is not an completely autonomous relat ionship ei ther. I t is, as

Keriac cont inues:"the ideal love relationship, or work relationship. I want to be interdependent, apart from the Parent-Child relationship. The child has a right to

be dependent on its parents for a while, but even here the child has to be given more

and more independence as it grows old er." 24 To take responsibili ty for yourself, wh en

it com es down to it , can m ean a ca lcu late d reque st for help as w el l!


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The taboo o f t ouch i s dem o l i shed !

To touch, to come in to phys ica l con tac t w i th a s t ra ng er w as a revo lu t iona ry an d

per turb ing cha l lenge. Touch, in a soc ia l context had a lways had a par t i cu lar

meaning. There is a d i f fe rence whether we shake hands in greet ing or toucharms or shou lders. Contact improvisat ion a l lows touch, contact , fee l ings are

a l lowed to be fe l t and expressed in the dance. But whatever happens in the

dance is not carr ied over in to any socia l consequences: "After an exciting

dance", as Keriac points out , "you don't need to get married s tr a ig h ta w a y !" 2 5

Con tact improv isat ion is perhaps one of the few social s i tua t ions whe re, in an

atmosphere o f t rust , these socia l borders can be inqu is i t i ve ly approached and

newly def ined.

Figure 2:

Comic Sheep


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Gender ro les van ish .

Duets in contac t improv isa t ion a re not he te ros ex ua l ly bound , are

not in anyway an express ion o f romant ic love and do not imply

any spec i f ic content o r meaning. A shor t compar ison w i th ba l le t

po in ts up these d i f fe rences in gender ro les qu i te c lear ly . In both fo rms the

duet fo rm is o f cent ra l impor tance. In ba l le t , the duet is pr imar i ly

a "Pas de deux" : a man and a woman dance a representa t ion o f romant ic love.

The ro les are c lear ly d iv ided: the man is s t rong, s teadfas t and car r ies the

wo ma n. She g rac ious ly ba lance s on one leg and i s t r anspo r ted .

Th is convent ion is o f ten re f lec ted in the var ious so los : the man demons t ra tes

h is p rowess w i th enormous leaps and tu rns wh i le t he woman shows he r

f lex ib i l i t y , speed and v i r tuos i ty w i th her legs . The ba l le t duet normal ly takes

p lace s tage f ron t , d i rec ted towards the aud ience; i t emphas ises the bod i ly

ex t remi t ies (arms , legs , head) and ver t ica l , cont ro l led ba lance. The movement

mater ia l to be seen in contac t improv isa t ion emphas ises an inward focus ,

towards the cent re o f the body and an awareness o f the movement process

wi th in the duet . In and out o f ba lance and d isor ien ta t ion are the c reat ive

sources f o r t he movement impu lse . Teach ing exper ience showsthat the que st ion of bodi ly we igh t is mo re of a m en tal p roblem :

i f a woman for ins tance, " th inks" tha t she cannot suppor t so much weight and

then t r ies i t ou t , she is normal ly as tounded how l i t t le exer t ion is requ i red; o r

how a re la t i ve ly pow er fu l man i s am aze d how heavy a " li gh t " wo m an can

be (beca use he is us ing h is m usc les. . . ) .

The movement vocabu lary ; ro l l ing , jumping, l i f t ing , fa l l ing , is there

for both sexes. In a Contact duet , the man as wel l as the womanhas to be able to g ive and take weight , to suppor t , to car ry and to

y ie ld whenever the s i tua t ion ca l ls fo r i t . There is no compuls ion

to do any o f these th ings o f course and the re jec t ion o f somebody 's we ight

can be in teg ra ted in to the da nce as we l l ! Each an d every va r ia t ion o f the

mascu l ine and femin ine body can dance a contac t duet . D i f fe rences in s ize or

we ight normal ly p lay no ro le ; because the root o f s tab i l i t y l ies not in muscu lar

force but ra ther in an op t im al a l ig nm en t , a s l igh t w o m a n can ca r ry a

much s touter man.

As ment ioned prev ious ly , gender d i f fe rences p lay no ro le in contac t

improv isa t ion , i t p romotes a deve lopment o f a more comple te spec t rum of

qual i t ies. Men can learn to be gent le, sof t and acquiescent. They can learn a


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new way o f commun ica t ion wi th bo th sexes , one no t based on con f ron ta t ion ,

compet i t ion o r sexua l demands. Men and women can learn to deve lop

qual i t ies previously hidden away under fear and habits.

Act ive audience

Contact performances normal ly take p lace in s tud ios, ar t ga l ler ies or publ ic

p laces. The on lookers s i t c lose to the performers who t ry , ra ther than be

dazzlingly impressive, to get the spectators to become part in the event itself,

avo id ing the typ ica l producer/consumer re la t ionship. A typ ica l react ion af ter

contact improvisat ion performances was a spontaneous jo in ing in by the

aud ience . Seeming ly the body had been awakened, the k inaes the t ic sense

st imulated, expres sed through act iv i ty . Instead of lean in g b ack and e xpec t ing

someth ing to be done for them as when watch ing te lev is ion, the audience fee l

and perc e ive s th ing s happen ing in the i r ow n bodies.


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Informal i ty was one of the basic premises. The dancers fe l t that in order to make

a performance, no stage, no l ight ing, not even an audience was needed! I f a

person is dancing wi th an undiv ided at tent ion on the "now", the present

happe nings, they are, in a w ay, ind epen den t of the au dien ce. On the o ther hand,they can share th is event wi th those presen t and m ake i t in to a jo in t ex per ien ce .

This takes place under the motto," we are engaged in something, f ind ourselves

in a creat ive process. I f you want to come along and take part , great! I f not,

that 's f ine as wel l !"

Everyone is an art ist and dancer!

Western civ i l isat ion tends to couple art ist ic expression with accomplishment

and product iv i ty . Especia l ly wi th dance, the cr i ter ia for beauty and worth are

technical perfection and virtuosity. But in order for us to express ourselves we

don't need to be the "perfect" dancer, on the contrary - i t is about the joy of

danc ing.


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B CONTACT IMPRO VISATION

STRUCTURE

I M P R O V I S A T I O N -T H E D Y N A M IC O F T H EP R O V I S I O N A L

"Improvisation, in my way of handling, demands a constant connection with some thing - object, action and/ or mood in a

situation. ... One must take a chance on the fitness of one's own

instincts. . .In the improvisation, at the moment of moving into

an action; one must behave and feel as though no other choice

exists ..." 26

Yvonne Rainer

Improv isa t ion can be def ined as c rea t ing an even t w i thout p r io r ag ree me nt o r

planning. The material for this event is only l imited by its availabil i ty. As long

as something is being improv ised i t is inherent ly non-hierarchical , for t rue

improvisat ion the mind must remain open. We cannot act as i f we already

know the answers to the quest ions or the d i rec t ions in which the s i tuat ion

leads us. We need to t rus t that the moment , a movement , a d i rec t ion, an

impulse - w i l l lead to something new. Improv isat ion is a lso about le t t ing go -

i f a jump, a mo vem ent s e qu e nc e , an acrobat ic " t r ick" didn't work , s top t ry ing:

i t is s imply the wr on g mo me nt .

Discipl ine within contact improvisation is to be and remain in the

present wi th your par tner - NOW ! Improvisation is the art of the immediate.

Finely tuned to your present state, that of your partner, your environment, the

a t mo sphere , t he dy nam ic o f con t i nua l chan ge and aw are ne ss o f w ha t is ,

not what you th ink i t should be!

Through improvisat ion we can learn to t rust the process, learn to let go of

conce pts and to perceive the end less poss ib i l it ies av ai la ble in the mome nt .


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Trust is deference to what is happening. On the other hand, i f something is

inappropr ia te , use th is momentary impulse to change i t . The quest ions ar is ing

out of one person jumping, the other ro l l ing, are cons iderable - where can these

to act ions meet? How are decisions made? Who is leading? Why? How?

S uccess fu l imp r o v i sa t i o n p r o d uces un iq ue t r a n s i en t cho r eo g r a p h i es , a s P a u l i n e

de Groot explains: "Improvisation: the challenge to make decisions in the nick

of time, or to risk postponing decisions and spend time in an open moment, in

undecided time, to walk the unclaimed/uncultivated terrain between activities,

so that decision makes itself, is not wrought up but is guided by an alertness to

the forces and emotions at play at the moment - the intensity of light, sound

and movement, and their placement and displacement in space. In this play of forces, a state of mind, an atmosphere and temperature is generated between

performer and watcher. This can never be reclaimed - in any case, not with the

impact and sharpness of the

moment , the challenge is in

generating this fullness, not

in claiming its final form." 27


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CONTACT IMPROVISATION STRUCTURE

25 QUESTIONS ON IMPROVISATION

gath ere d f rom teach ers and s tudents dur ing the Summ er Dan ce Course "On

Improv isa t ion , " Jun e 1985 a t the Th eate rscho o l Modern D ance D epa r tme nt ,

Am sterdam, Nether lands.

1. Is im pro vis at io n one th ing or is i t many d i fferent th ing s?

2. Imag inat ion and structure, wh ere are we free?

3. How does imag ina t ion re la te to fo rm?

4 . Is improv isat ion in da nc e only the lack of set m ate r ia l?

5 . How can you use feedback (video, audio, discussion) in working with

improv isa t ion?

6. Is imp rov isa t ion a techn ique?

7. Do anim als improvise?

8. How do you dev e lo p sk i l l in impro v isa t ion?

9 . How does improv isa t ion app ly to phys ica l t ra in ing? To body work? to

techn ique?

10. How does the activity of research relate to the performance situation or

can we cont inue the sens ib i l it y o f rese arch in per fo rma nce ?

11. What does l imitat ion, structure and rule do to improvisat ion?

12. What do we want the aud ience to know abou t improv isa t ion?

13. How do you re la te to the au d ie nc e wh i le imp rov is ing ?

14. Creat ive process and improvisat ion. The same thing?

15. W hat a re the p erce ptua l sk i l l s o f improv isa t ion?

16. W ha t a re t he c r i t e r ia fo r eva lua t ing improv isa t ion?

17. Can the same standards be used to evaluate the success of an improvised

per fo rm ance as are used to eva lu a te a per fo rman ce o f se t mo vem en t?

18.Is improv isat ion a pol i t ica l ch oice ?

19.Are there specif ic skil ls, either physical or creative, that facil i tate the

learn ing o f imp rov isa t ion?

20 .Wha t do you do as a teac he r of improvisat ion, i f you r stude nts

understand the assignment in a way i t is not meant?

21. How can the re be such a d i f fe rence be tween the exper ience o f do ing an

improvisat ion and the see ing of an improvisat ion f rom the outs ide?

22. Is improv isa t ion ana rch ism ?

23. W hat is the re la t ion be twe en im prov is ing and l i fe?

24. Is a cathedral bui l t over a per iod of 200 years on improvisat ion?25. How do you know the ending of an improvisat ion?


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Improv isa t ion and h ie rarchy are as no ted above , connected themes.

A t radi t ion in contact improvisat ion is that the teacher does provide many

explanat ions. They of fer a prob lem and say," f ind a so lu t ion but I 'm not going to

show you mine!" i t is a gu idance to a par t icu lar area which can be explored. I f

su gg es t ions do ar ise , they sho uld be se en as a par t o f a vo ca bu lary not as par t o f

t he a l phabe t .

1.1 Dancing Duets

"A duet is composition for two voices, instruments, or bodies. It is a relationship in

which two people share. It is a partnership. ... One responds to the other, a

dialogue or conversation occurs in the interaction." TM

Adwoa Lemieux

Contact improv isa t ion is usua l l y done

with a par tner though wi th in f ree

improvisat ion and jams, t r ios and other

conste l la t ions can form. The duet-dan ce

has ru les d i f fe r ing f rom o ther dance

forms: the shared dance, the dialoguel ives in cont inua l g iv ing-o f -we igh t

through a mutual contact point . From

th is , someth ing un ique is c rea ted and

you of ten f ind yourse l f in a unexpected

posi t ion or emot ional state .


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1.2 Contact and Contact Points

"Two bodies move in permanent contact with each other... the movement is guided

by the ability of the dancers to keep this constant contact and to give each other

physic a l s u p p o r t . . . " 2 9

C y n t h i a J . N o v a c k

The human body a l l ows communica t ion and exchange th rough the var ious

external and internal sur faces (sk in, lungs, intest inal t ract for instance). The

cent ra l ro le wi th in contact improv isat ion is p layed by the coming together o f

two surfaces, the point of contact. Al l movement in the dance stems from this

point and leads to a spontaneous phys ica l d ia logue, prov ided that bothpart ic ipators stay open and recept ive for each other.

To come into contact wi th someone is the prerequis i te

for rece iv ing in format ion and communicat ion. In

contact improvisat ion i t is important to be

deeply aware of one 's own momentary s ta te

and to be centred before coming into

"contact " wi th someone e lse .

Photo 10


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1.3 Giving and Taking of Weight

"In Contact Imp rov isat ion, the functional use of touching predominates. The form

depends on communication between dancers through the sense of touch and

weight." 30

Cynthia J. Novack

The point of contact is mainta ined through a cont inual g iv ing of weight . The

roles of giver and taker are cont inual ly switching. When we give weight, we are

also, in some way, forced into surrender ing cont ro l , le t t ing go of the need to

hold on but wi thout col lapsing. An f requent ly used image for th is process is -

g iv ing weight is l ike pour ing f ine sand into a bucket .The taking of weight means most of al l , a sol id support for your partner but

wi thout overtaxing yoursel f . Try ing to take too much weight can be dangerous

and lead to injury. I t is about "along the easiest pathways available to the

mutual moving mass." 31

(Steve Paxton).

We can a lso ta lk about the

g iv ing and tak ing o f emot iona l

weight. Before we can give, wehave to sense a read iness, a

suppor t , bo th phys ica l and

emot iona l , f rom our par tner . In

contact improv isa t ion, th is

c rea t i on o f emot iona l and

physical t rust in our partner

often leads to si tuat ions and

pos i t ions which, hav ing been

prev ious l y unexp lo red , c rea te

anx ie ty and fear .


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1.4 M ovement Flow

"Birthing my baby boy was the essence of a contact dance. For me, the key to a

satisfying improvisational dance means abandoning my analytical mind and

embracing the center of my intuitive self. ... I danced my baby out into this world,

and he danced with me. Now, when we hold each other and move together through

our days and nights I feel the continuation of our original improv on the day he

was born" 32

Lisa Gottlieb-Clark

We have seen that the ac tua l process of com ing into conta ct needs an int im acy

and readiness to be open to a partner - just these f irst few steps can beex t remely in tens ive . A contac tdancer a t tunes themselves to the i r par tner ,

responds , an d rece ives cont in ua l phys ica l feedba ck f rom the mass , mo men tum

and touch of the partner - l i terally a sensit ive relationship!

With the a im of f inding the paths of least res is tance, the economy of the

moment, the dance produces a s teadi ly f lowing uni t . Many technical exerc ises

in contact improvisation lead to a deeper understanding of the basic pr inciple -

the energy pathway. This may sound rather in te l lec tual ly vague but as Cur t

S idda l l exp la ins : "is more clearly understo

Documents

Thomas Kaltenbrunner - Contact Improvisation