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Photo: Lim Paik Yin
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What is Contact Improvisation?
"If you could do
Aikido, surf, wrestle and
dance at
the same time, you would have an idea of what Contact Improvisation
feels like."
-
Ernie
Adams
CONTACT
IMPROVISATION is a partnering dance form born out of postmodern dance
in the US in the 1970s. There are no fixed “steps” to learn and it is
usually danced without music. The movements are based on the exchange
of weight between 2 (or more) partners through a shared
point-of-contact that occurs in 360 degree space. As such, there is no
one “leader” or “follower”. Dancing in the unknown can be full of
exhilarating surprises.
Today,
contact improvisation is danced by adults of all ages, shapes,
sizes, abilities, and from all walks of life. It is taught in actor
training programs and dance programs in colleges worldwide, and is
used as a choreographic tool or performed as it is. In a social
setting, known as "jams", it can be danced just for
fun or for fitness. It can be as gentle and relaxing, or as
high-risk and gravity-defying as the dancers want it to be.
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