June 21, 2007

My First Contact Improvisation Class

As I wrote yesterday, I took my first Contact Improvisation class last night with Daniel Burkholder at Joy of Motion. It was fun and interesting and I'm going to continue to take Contact Improv classes.

Daniel started the class by having the 8 or 9 students lie on our backs. Then, at his prompt, we slowly moved from one position to the next of our choosing and held the position. As the exercise progressed, the transition period increased in duration and each position was only held for a fraction of a second. Then, we progressed from our fixed location to moving around the floor in any direction as we continued to make one shape after another.

What I liked about this exercise is that it's the first time in any dance class I've taken to have a chance to improvise and there's something to the relaxing nature of this warm-up exercise that made me very comfortable exploring any type of movement while not being self-conscious about it.

Next we worked with partners. In the first exercise, we had to maintain contact with some part of our bodies at all times. One person would move and the other person would stay stationary. Once the first person found a position of rest, the other person would then initiate a move. Part of this exercise is to experiment with the type of contact you have with your partner. I think I was trying to respond in a natural way to the pressure and movement of my partner but at the same time initiate movements that sometimes went against the grain of the current pressure against my body. It seems like part of the experience is to figure out a good balance between directing your partner and responding to movement while at the same time exploring new positions and movements for your body.

Then additional variables were added including both partners being able to initiate movement at any time and pausing at any point, as well as adding locomotion across the floor.

Event though this was my first class, I didn't spend that much time watching the other students. I pretty much focused on my own movements, tried to find different ways to move while in contact with another person, and responded to my partner. I think I should try to slow down next time and think more about movement at any given point instead of trying to rush things.

Next, we lined up on one side of the room, and Daniel demonstrated what I think he called contact bootcamp. The idea was for each one of us to move across the floor while imagining their there was a 2-foot high ceiling as we moved from one side of the room to the other - hopefully without simply rolling the entire time. Imagine soldiers crossing under barbed wire as machine-gun shots roar overhead. I found it challenging to come up with a lot of variations to propel myself across the floor.

The following two exercise were very similar. In the next one we moved across the floor at mid-height level. We were allowed to place our palms and feet on the level while our bodies went no higher than about waste level. And finally, we could navigate the room at a standing height. These exercise were then combined so that we would cross the floor in any combination of these three possibilities.

In the final portion of the class. The exercises that we did were combined into any combination of our choosing. So while working with a partner, we could place our weight against each other as we moved or paused. Or we could have no contact. In addition throughout these exercises, we could be at any of the three-horizontal levels from the floor exercise as we moved across the floor or stayed in a stationary position.

I found that the more variables that were added, the more awkward I felt. Since I'm very new at this, the exercises that involved just one or more possibilities made it easier for me to experiment in a more comfortable manner. But with lots of choices, it felt a little overwhelming.

I like the feel of contact improvisation. It's relaxing and engaging and it puts me in a different mindset than the jazz and modern classes that I've taken. I didn't have the same focus on trying to get my technique right or getting frustrated because I'm struggling with a routine - not that I mind these characteristics of these other dance classes. It's just different and fun. And I plan to continue with contact improv and to learn more.

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