Beginner friendly pre-jam warmup class 5-6:30pm followed by the jam 6:30-8:30pm. Doors will be closed for the duration of the class to keep the focus, so please arrive early to attend the class, you can arrive at any time for the jam. Class or jam – £6, both – £9, or book on MoveGB.
For more information feel free to contact the teacher/facilitator or info@contactdance.co.uk. We send out regular emails of class descriptions, to get these, please sign-up to our mailing list.
Class Description
In this class we will explore some of the fundamentals of contact improv with a slight twist and hopefully with a lot of fun. Suitable for beginners or those who already have experience in CI, we will start with settling into our bodies and the ground. We will then draw on Cyrus Khambatta’s ‘fitting’ work to find interesting interactions between bodies, a great foundation for easier lifts. We may also explore a bit of air time through through finding structures to balance and launch off from, all in playful safety.
Bio:
Elise Wach dances and teaches Contact Improvisation primarily because she enjoys it but also because she wants to share this valuable practice which can cultivate a wide array of life skills. Elise’s teaching draws on her ongoing practices of Feldenkrais, Qi Gong, Alexander Technique, somatic-based psychotherapy and downhill mountain biking. She has trained with Nita Little, Carolyn Stuart, Jacqueline McCormick, Heike Pourian, Matan Levkowich, Ulli Witteman, Caroline Waters, Charlie Morrissey, Sebastian Flegiel, Maga Radlowska and Manuela Blanchard. She particularly enjoys enabling beginners to safely expand their capacity for awareness, movement and play. She also enjoys exploring creative lifts and falls with more advanced dancers.
The Jam
A jam is an informal gathering of dancers. There is no teacher, but space and time to develop skills and confidence. You are free to dance, rest, or sit and watch, as you wish. The jam provides an opportunity to explore and integrate techniques you have learned, and to find your own routes into dancing.
At some jams a teacher will facilitate a score to follow such as a focused (silent) jam, the Underscore (developed by Nancy Stark-Smith), or a blindfold (or eyes-closed) jam, this will normally be advertised via our regular mailout – so sign-up if you want advance notice.