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. Dancers can come just for the class, £6, or stay for the jam, £9. You can also 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
Dancing Bones
A CI class with Jamus Wood
I love the focused jam space, a place where our dance has purpose and interest. In this class I draw inspiration from our skeleton to make internal connection to bring clarity and direction to our dance. This class will be a investigation into movement pathways that our bones facilitate. Then from there into space and how our body meets another and the space around them.
I am interested in how we can create frames for our dance that take us out of our habitual dancing and create space for the fresh insight to arise. How can what I am interested in support the group field of the class space.
So in this class we will follow the Underscore practice flow of arriving, solo exploration, shorter dances and then into longer engagements. All interspersed with exercises and different dancing foci.
There will be something for everyone in this class.
Jamus
My interest is in the dance, particularly in the art of dance improvisation. I love to know how the body is put together so experiential anatomy can often play a part in my teaching. I have been dancing and exploring dance improvisation for more than 20 years. I started from a very limited place so I know what is possible if we give ourselves space and time to nurture both our body and and our dance. When we actually listen to what is inside we find a movement towards growth and wholeness that leads us quite simply into the dance.
I love my life and make my living through teaching dance improvisation and giving body work sessions in Somatic Thai Massage. So my work is about helping people create more possibility and friendliness in there bodies.
I am 48 years old and share my life and my work with my partner Lee. We often teach our CI and Embodied Presence work together. I am currently sight impaired and have been for much of my life so this plays a significant role in the way my life and work have unfolded. So I have found my way into being a part of Touchdown Dance there are 5 of us some sighted some less so who practice contact improvisation as our basic movement language together.
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.
- Live musicians will improvise with the dancing at many of the jams.
- For more information, please email info@contactdance.co.uk or contact the individual teachers.
