I'm sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, but contact improvisation is shortened into improv. Improve, although a forward moving term, is not the way to spell it.
For those of you that are doing the contact improv (no e) extra credit, you can post your responses to this entry. The jams have been great here at the UW. There is one more on March 17 during finals week, before they start up again next quarter. The jam last evening was great!
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I really enjoyed the Jam session. However, it also made me realize I have a lot more to work on with this form of dance. The people were amazing that came to the Jam and they were very nice to dance with me because I am such a beginner with this. Everyone was so nice and so comfortable with each other and their bodies, and I had a realization that this was the difference between dance in high school and dance at a college level. People are much better and are much more mature and comfortable with their bodies and working in such close proximity with other people’s bodies and not being afraid of any points of contact that might happen. I am really happy that I got to experience a jam session because it was a very unique experience. I really enjoyed watching at first because everyone that came was so experienced and focused on what they were doing. Even watching the dancers dance alone was very entertaining. Also, when they would dance together it was so fluid and almost looked choreographed at times. My favorite couple was you and the male dance major, I was memorized and you guys made each other looks so weightless. It was also helpful having done a little bit of work with contact improve in class before the jam because I felt like I knew more then the Dance 101 students. I feel like I still need to get more comfortable with improving especially going down to the floor because I am always apprehensive to do this because I feel like the weight distribution is hard and I don't want to squish my partner. One of the male partners I worked with put a lot of weight on me and it was kind of a lot on me so I want to work on ways I can handle this weight. I felt a little self-conscious while I was dancing with him because I felt like I was not as good at it and that I was holding him back or was a burden because I was so much less experienced then him. However, in the future when I go I will try to understand that they do enjoy to help beginners and help them get better.
ReplyDelete-Nicole
It doesn't matter how many times I go to jams, or how many people I've danced with or how "prepared" I try to be... I always get really nervous before a contact improv jam. I start to talk myself out of going every time, but I always just keep walking myself to the studio and then I dance. By the end of the jam I am inevitably glad I went.
ReplyDeleteThis quarter I went to many jams and had a lot of different insights. I realized that the more comfortable I am with not having to know what's going to happen next, as well as being okay with the fact that I may not be as experienced as the person I'm dancing with, the more I enjoy the dance. I also learned that if someone I am dancing with is not willing to do certain things, make contact in certain ways, or has restrictions, it puts more strain on the dance. The best dances are with people who don't care and are daring to just let it unfold. And dancing with people like that really allowed me to develop myself as that same kind of partner. I progressed to be much more open to whatever happens.
It's a very relaxing form in my opinion. It is very physical and requires listening closely to the person/people you are dancing with, but it's so rare that we listen in that way and get to move and have contact with another human being. I love the process of initiated contact with someone, finding how to listen to them, dancing with them, and letting the dance dance itself until it is complete. It is different with every partner and every partner teaches me something new.
I love contact improv :), and can't wait to come back from Italy and continue "jamming!"
-Kimberly
Before I attended the Jam I was very confused about what to expect. I understood improv and exploring movement without the limits of choreography and I had done some contact work in the past, but most of this experience stems out of choreography or structured improv with close friends who are also generally exploring ideas for choreography.
ReplyDeleteWhen I initially got to the jam I was highly intimidated and had no idea of what to do with myself. First I tried what one of the women at the jam suggested, rolling on the ground and getting used to how your weight pouring into the ground feels. Then I jammed for a little while with Jennifer which I feel was the best way to begin, with someone I knew and was slightly more comfortable with. After that I sat on the side for the next hour or so and watched. I could have sat there forever just observing how the dancers interacted. I have experienced criticism in the past for my critically logical approach to dance, but I'm very "left brained" in how I think through everything. Sometimes it makes getting out of my head even more difficult. Anyway, my point with this tangent was that I gained a lot from observing the dancing at the improv jam even if I didn't participate all that much. It gave me more confidence the next day in class having seem what potential there was for moving with another dancer and how the ability to know what sharing weight looks like without having to plan and think through every step along the way.
~Caitlin Bannan
So the contact improv jam was probably one of the most intimidating things I have done this quarter. I felt really out of place, and I did not feel like it was one of those things everyone can be good at. The first person I danced contact improv with was a man who obviously had a lot of experience. I was super nervous when he asked me, and I felt completely self-conscious. I was actually proud of myself that I danced with him. I closed my eyes in order to quit thinking about how any observers may be critiquing my movements. This helped me become more comfortable with dancing with a random stranger, and I began to enjoy the experience. I think that my partner’s experience at improv also helped me get into the moment more. After the man said, “thank you,” and he moved on to another partner, I felt a little sad and thought again that maybe I was not any good at this contact improv thing. I then just observed for a while until I built my confidence up enough to dance with Kimberly. I felt really comfortable with Kimberly, not because our movements felt like we were really connecting, but because I know her. I want to go to more of these contact jams. I find them very challenging in getting over my fears and inhibitions.
ReplyDeleteThe jam over all was a good time. I was very low on energy but forced myself to skip my hula class and come to the jam because I needed the extra credit, I’m glad I did. I think because I was so tired, when I first walked in the room and sat down to begin warming up, I did not like the energy of the space and wanted to leave. It felt as though there was an air of franticness and crazy unfocused energy. Then I noticed what I was looking at, what seemed like kids doing break dancing moves and jumping on each other. I then decided to move my place in the room so I would have a different view of the dancing that was happening and warm up without the craziness. It worked. Eventually I got to dance and it felt great! It had been a long time since I’d been to a jam. I think the last one was at Velocity and I only stayed for enough time to warm up and have one dance about 45 minutes. This jam I had a good experience because the person I danced with seemed to be on the same energy level as I was coming from a calm relaxed place. I’ve been to jams before where I have one really good dance then the next one the energy between me and the other person are conflicting. I’m really glad I went and the contact we did in class helped get me back into the right mindset for the jam.
ReplyDeletegoing to the jam gave me an ENTIRELY different perspective on contact improv. i'll admit, i spent more time watching than i did jamming but i definitely learned a LOT doing both. watching people before having the opportunity to dance with someone who knew what he was doing (thanks, Louis =]) gave me different options and showed me, without direct explanation, how to go about dancing WITH someone rather than dancing "while touching" someone. i watched Jamie and this other man who seemed like he knew what he was doing. it was amazing. just like the video with Jamie and Louis, it seemed like an actual choreographed dance that could be performed on stage. they seemed to know where the other person was going with the movement they were making and where the weight was and was going to be two seconds later. they were anticipating each others movements while still dancing in the moment, and i think that helped make it a DANCE rather than look like and exercise.
ReplyDeleteactually "jamming" was also a wonderful experience. it felt kinda rough on my part in the beginning, but dancing with someone who really knows how to place his own weight against what you're already giving helped smooth things out tremendously. i felt like i was actually dancing and having fun doing it rather than constantly thinking about what i needed to do next. that idea about "listening" to the point of contact really showed through while we were dancing. i could feel the connection the whole time even if there wasn't a physical "connection" during the whole dance.
every other tuesday. 630. Meany. it's the place to be =]