© Sarah De Keukelaere
Contact improvisation: fundaments of true connection
Location
Danspunt
Dok Noord
Sint-Salvatorstraat 18 001A
9000 GENT
Language & teacher(s) English
Location
Danspunt
Dok Noord
Sint-Salvatorstraat 18 001A
9000 GENT
Language & teacher(s) English
What is it like to really share contact with someone else ? How can we feel their presence through touch and use it as a guidance to move together? How can we fully give ourselves to our dance and offer clarity with our body intentions so that a physical understanding can lead us? We will explore these ideas in 3 steps, one on each day.
Day 1: skin / soft touch. How to refine our ability to listen and to follow, really seeking a tuning in with our partners.
Day 2: core / center of gravity. How do we connect to our core ? We will experiment to feel this deep place of our inner body and learn how not to confuse it with heaviness but rather see it as the center of our intentions.
Day 3: weight / graduation. How to manage to get in and out of physical contact with fluidity? How to deal with bigger weight sharing and carrying with safety? We will navigate the so-called “volume button” and try to find nuances in giving, pushing, supporting and travelling in space.
About Contact Improvisation
Contact Improvisation (CI) has its roots in the early 1970s. It is a rich world, a playground, a laboratory, a poetic universe. The basic physical principle is to play from our instinct for movement, opening up our movement possibilities while sharing contact and weight with one or more partners.
No matter how small, subtle, gentle or acrobatic the movements may be, it is all about listening, being available and responding.
Unlike other partner dances, we do not remain vertical (i.e. directly opposite each other, as in 'classical' partner dance). We move together through different spatial levels and directions, away from the floor and towards the floor. Supporting and being supported, carrying and being carried. No fixed steps, but principles of movement and active listening, being present.
Before we know it, we inhabit our unique dance in that moment.
WISPER has several course locations at the DOK Noord site. The Danspunt studio's are one of them. Is it your first time here? Please come in time and make sure to read the information on www.wisper.be/doknoord first. Without these guidelines, it's easy to get lost here!
