WHAT IS CONTACT IMPROVISATION?
There is much to say, because the form is continually evolving. But in short, CI is a social movement practice involving the exploration and research of one’s body in relationship to the floor, space, and others through movement awareness, touch, and sharing weight. Techniques include rolling point of contact, sliding, giving and receiving weight with a shared center of gravity, following momentum, and listening with body and senses. The form welcomes people of all abilities, races, genders, and places of origin. This Twin Cities community jam is a place to practice contact improvisation within a culture of consent and mindfulness.
Who We Are
We are a diverse community of people. We are all ages, colors, abilities, and welcome all who are curious about the form of contact improvisation. We offer classes, warm-ups, jams (silent and music), the underscore practice, and workshops. CITC values respect, openness, creativity, and communication. We aim to practice an art form that invites physical rigor, human connection, quiet contemplation and curiosity. And yes, the unknown!
The Open Space (suite 207)
CITC VALUES AND GUIDELINES
Together, we are creating opportunities to: share, connect, dance, enjoy !
CITC values care for others - care defined as respect, empathy, and compassion. We encourage and challenge you to deeply listen to the dances and interactions you cultivate. We value your commitment to trying your best to attune to and respect others cues and desires. Remember, desires and states of being shift - it is normal to feel one way in a moment, and a different way in the next. We encourage and celebrate verbal communication with your partner at any time - before, during, or after a dance.
CITC values keen attention to self-care. We don’t want you to get physically injured. Warm up well, stay hydrated, listen to your body and be attentive to your physical limits. If you are tired or overwhelmed feel free to take the breaks you need. Avoid wearing hanging jewelry such as earrings or loose necklaces, bracelets, etc. that might get caught in hair or clothing.
There are many techniques in CI (contact improvisation) to communicate with or without words during a dance. For example, if you don't want to be lifted, try the “wet noodle” response - ground yourself into the floor and disengage the core connection with your partner. Some verbal cue examples are: “too much weight”, “knee”, or a simple “no”. Any reason to end a dance is a good reason.
CITC values being a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds and expressions. Regardless of gender, orientation, race, place of origin, abilities, or experience with CI, we strive to be welcoming and to treat everybody with dignity and respect. For this reason, each jam has an opening circle as a way for us to share our names, gender pronouns, and information you would like the whole group to be aware of, as well as a closing circle as a way to reflect, check in with how your jam went, and to make any announcements to the group.
The CITC jam is a place to practice and learn. Observing others dancing is integral to understanding the form. We encourage you to actively witness from the sides of the room at any time.
Many states can surface with dancing, including feelings of sexual arousal. We request that if sexual feelings arise during a dance, that you do not pursue them in the jam space. Additionally, do not assume that feelings you experience are the same as your dance partners.
Be mindful about grabbing and holding your partner, especially the hands and feet, which serve us as ”landing gear.” Avoid locking arms in precarious positions such as when balanced on someone’s back.
CITC values being a mindful space. Be aware of the others in the space. Whether you find yourself moving fast and big, or if you are slowly rolling on the floor, or anything else, remember that we are all sharing a space and that proximity and energy has impact.
CITC Monday night jams, as have CI jams in general, have historically been a quiet space, without overt theatrical expression or extraneous vocalizations. Please be mindful of this quieter approach. Regarding actual conversations, while we encourage conversation in relation to the dances, safety, and clear expression, we invite you to take conversational chatting into the hallway.’
Through iteration of these guidelines and ongoing nurturance, CITC strives to create a space where people discern and respect others’ boundaries and express their own boundaries. However, we understand that boundary crossings, as well as other behaviors that make people feel uncomfortable, still happen in the space.
If someone’s behavior in the space or someone’s not following the above guidelines makes you uncomfortable, we encourage you to speak up about it, so that the behavior and potential harm can be addressed. This situation may involve you directly or may be something that you witness indirectly. When possible, we encourage people to bring up behavior directly with the people involved. We understand that this may not be feasible or comfortable in many situations, so there are several go-to people present who you can talk to about the situation.
Go-to people identify themselves at the beginning of the jam and welcome you to approach them at any point during or after the jam (even while they are dancing!). Go-to people will follow up on the situation to address behaviors, iterate guidelines, and take further actions if necessary. Go-to people are also available to respond to any comments or questions about the space or guidelines.