DA 318 - Contact Improvisation

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Contact Improvisation explores the interaction of two people moving responsively through a point or points of physical contact. This contact forms the nexus through which weight, force, support, information and communication flows. The dance progresses as contiguous points of touch form pathways of contact that freely travel anywhere on the body of the dancers. The movement of the path of contact is in response to the physics of the action and the interplay of the dancers with the dynamics present in their immediate conditions. Response to these dynamics is greatly influenced by the quality of the presence of the dancers, their attentional abilities and embodiment. The purpose of this course is to give initial training on the underlying physical principles of contact. Many of these principles will require students to develop an embodied understanding of somatic intelligence and felt physics. Other principles concern the dancers’ relationship to actions and interactions with one another and within the environment of the dance. These principles support the development of skill sets that teach recognition of each dancer’s physical/mental environmental impact as a changing landscape of presence with and upon one another. Contact Improvisation is a form based on ongoing physical inquiry. Learning to listen and act on multiple levels and through a variety of responsive modalities will be basic to our goals. Prerequisite(s): DA 220