So today we had our monthly Contact Improvisation jam at Mather Dance Center at CWRU, and Larry Muha & I were the only 2 to show up, which has pretty much been the status quo for awhile now.
Contact is a form that allows the dancer to truly be who/what/how s/he is and be it with others. We lay on the floor, breathe, allowing the weights of our bodies fall into gravity, releasing tension and tightness into the floor. And the floor at Mather Dance is one of the most receiving and beautiful floors in the universe to do that. So many dancing moments, hours, days, weeks, months and years of dancing have gone into the woodgrain that the floor itself is a magnificent partner.
We rolled on/in/with the floor, softening and yielding, then found a moment of connection-foot to foot. I noticed how connection changes everything.
We moved together for 30 or 40 minutes-in a timeless, body space communicating non-verbally about weight, and giving and taking, and compression, and counter-balance, and about who we are physically.
In Contact, your whole body is a dancing surface-not just your feet like in ballet, tap, Irish step, many other forms. It's more like Capoeria or break dancing in that any part of you may come into contact w/the floor, and in that you are hardly ever vertically oriented. Unlike Capoeria or breaking, any part of your body may also provide a surface or platform for your partner to pour his/her weight into.
We ended up in a heap together on the floor, breathing together until we decided to go get coffee.
i'm trying to attach a photo of us doing contact, but it says the path is invalid...maybe another day-i'll try to get some pics up soon.
peace,
Colleen
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Links:
[1] http://realneo.us/system/files/platform1+%282%29.jpg
[2] http://realneo.us/blog/susan-miller/ferocious-beauty-genome-in-green-chicago-museum
[3] http://realneo.us/content/dance-interest
[4] http://realneo.us/content/joe-goode-performance-group