contact improvisation

Contact Improvisation

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Here you’ll find the fullest information about dancing contact improvisation, its history, rules, exercises, and many others.

What is contact improvisation?

Contact Improvisation (CI) – is an improvised dance form that is based on real-time communication and a point of physical contact between two people or more. Dancers improvise in physical contact using elements of dance, acrobatic and martial arts.

It’s better to see once than try to understand through the words:

So the two main elements of CI are:

  • physical contact (can come in the form of leaning, pushing, falling, lifting, etc.);
  • improvisation (evolving of the dancing is unexpected and surprising, the dancers can’t prepare for it and the next step demands the full dancers’ attention).

CI can be used just as searching for material to choreographies but it is also a kind of social dance form.

Contact Improvisation Dancing
Image by Michael on Pixabay

History

To understand the whole idea of CI, let’s take a closer look at the history of its origin and development.

CI is quite a young direction in the art of free dance. 1972 was the year Steve Paxton founded contact improvisation. In January of this year, together with several male students at the University of Oberlin, he presented a 20-minute, first in the history of CI, dance performance “Magnesium”. The performance consisted of unexpected things: participants constantly collided, threw each other, jumped, rolled on the floor, and on each other.

A few months later, Paxton assembled a laboratory of 15 people. They researched the movement and found ways to interact with partners. Initially, they studied how the body works, how gravity works, the physical capabilities of a person, how the human body reacts to living situations (falls, collisions, danger, etc.). Paxton’s first works in contact were different from the further development of CI: movements were faster and more unexpected.

Over time, the feeling and the flow of movement became longer. It was more time to feel what was happening.

At the beginning of the CI movement, performance participants almost never used music. The point was to listen to “music” that comes from within you.

They took away everything we think is a dance, and the dance stayed. What does it consist of? It turned out that there are a lot of things in it: the physics of the human body, its interaction with the laws of physics – earthly attraction, acceleration, centrifugal force… There is also the anatomy of movement and what is born in people when they meet. A huge space for research was found.

Then they started experimenting: what happens if you don’t make the body dance, but see what it can do on its own? And they discovered that there is a dance that it always performs, and they called it the “small dance”. When a person is standing, as it seems to him, motionless, millions of small reflex inclusions work in the muscles, which we have almost no control. The body is constantly balancing relative to the state of equilibrium so as not to fall. The body is dancing!

Then they began to investigate what happens to a person during a fall, landing, jump, how to make support without making too much effort, and so on.

As a result of the research, the group presented a new performance, which Paxton called “Contact Improvisation”. The dancers performed at John Weber Gallery in Manhattan, during the broadcast of the film by George Manupelli, Dr. Chicago.

After presenting this work, the band members began touring in the states and Europe and practicing CI with new members, spreading and popularizing this movement. Among Paxton’s supporters were quite famous dancers at that time: Kurt Siddal, Nancy Stark Smith, Nita Little, Karen Rudler, and others.

However, Paxton didn’t standardize and formalize this form of dance in any way. Leaving the CI system open, Paxton allowed the CI to evolve and the participants to bring something of their own into the improvising dance.

Today, contact improvisation is danced in the form of a performance or in the form of “jams”, where people can both participate in the dance and act as spectators, and change roles at any time.

Features, rules, forms

Despite all its freedom from rules and requirements, contact improvisation still has some specific features and several techniques. But these techniques do not limit you, but rather provide a basis for interaction between partners.

We can say that CI is a dialog, the dialog between two people, sometimes even strange. And it begins from listening to each other without having asked to add anything to it, without thinking, planning, or navigating. There is a flow of information between them.

It includes physical information like a weight but also sensory information like fear and excitement.

Physical information

Contact improvisation is opened for a physical exploration that consists of weight sharing, losing and regaining balance, playing with momentum, and other surprises. Through touching and searching for common trajectories, contact improvisation explores concepts such as support, giving and receiving, following and resisting, balance, taking responsibility, and finding a solution

Adults can learn contact improvisation from children. They can move without mental restrictions:

Among the CI techniques, it is worth noting work with bodyweight (transferring the weight of your body to another person and taking the weight of the other person on yourself):

  • rolling on the floor (rolling on the floor and on each other’s body);
  • low table (when one of the dancers stand on his fourth and another dancer rolls on this “table” as he does it on the floor);
  • hight table (it’s the same low table but the first dancer stands on his legs and tilts his body forward);
  • side lift (the partners are on each other’s sides, one of them holds a hand on the other’s lower back and lifts it with the strength of the supporting leg, raising the other leg like a pendulum; the other partner tries to transfer his weight smoothly).

This is not an exhaustive list. There are so many kinds of communication between partners with the help of the body in CI.

Despite the fact that some performances resemble acrobatics, CI is fundamentally different from acrobatics. CI partners try to perform elements with the least effort, that is, with the application of minimal physical strength. The partners’ attention is focused on how to get into a “comfortable” position or use the impulse so as not to use muscles or use them with minimal force.

Sensual information

In CI we give and receive information at the same time. So partners always try to understand each other without any words. And it’s not only about physical contact, but it’s also about understanding the intent of any movement.

CI is about the moment, it is about what is happening and any thoughts. Plans and other stuff may cause dancers to lose this contact and maybe to miss out on an opportunity to ride on the right way. And on the other hand, the intent will help these people to stay together.

An important part of improvisation is to allow what is happening now to happen. This means not thinking about what will happen in a few seconds, but being right in the moment.

Despite the fact that Paxton and his followers initially studied motion physics, later some of them began to talk about the inseparability of body and mind. This gave rise to the study of physical action as an analog of communication between people in real life. For example, the ability to give one’s weight or support another corresponds to the ability to trust others and support others in the daily routine of communication. This space provides connecting with other people in a way that isn’t possible anywhere else.

Rules of CI space

Safety is the most important principle in the framework of CI because, without a sense of security (both physical and mental), no other principle in this direction will work.

In light of the above, CI is a place without judgment. It means doing something mutual without competition, without a fight, without thinking about who is the winner and who is not.

  • You don’t need shoes.
  • You don’t need to follow so strict rules.
  • Use the whole body.

One of the basic rules that participants in CI groups must follow in order to avoid injuries during work is to do the warming up the body and stretching at the beginning of each lesson. And you should avoid rolling over and give weight to your partner’s knees, ankles, and head.

Benefit of CI

CI has a positive effect on the human body, develops and heals it, gives it flexibility, plasticity, strengthens and stretches muscles, fills the body with lightness and vitality. Participants acquire the ability to listen, hear, and understand their own body, which allows them to open up more and act naturally, using movements more effective and less energy-consuming.

In psychological terms, regular attendance at CI classes allows a person, firstly, to learn to trust other people to a greater extent, secondly, to learn to take responsibility for another person, thirdly, to learn how to work, act in pairs, and, in fourth, to unleash your own creativity.

Conclusions

CI is a spontaneous dance form that involves two bodies in motion and is built around a point of contact with a partner. Each such contact and performance is something unique, something that is born here and now. It’s the magic of CI and its uniqueness. In search of choreographic material, you can find yourself, contact with the outside world, support, or the ability to “speak” by your body.

So if you have the opportunity to try out the CI on yourself, feel free to try!

And then write in the comments how it is to you.?

For those who want to know more about CI:

  • Stephen Paxton’s video lecture from the conference at Culturgest, Lisbon 2019​:
  • link to the specialized magazine on improvisation and dance, which has been published since 1975:
    Contact Quarterly

 

Cover image by Michael Via Pixabay

William Forsythe: a Revolutionary Look at Classical Dance

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Improvisation and choreography are equal partners in a dance. Improvisation is the most important direction of choreographic thinking, it organizes the form of dance and the specificity of dance performance. One of those who made a serious contribution to the art of improvisation as a method of searching for choreographic vocabulary and a tool for developing creative thinking is William Forsythe.
William Forsythe on a stage, talking to dance students
Photo by Marlon Barrios Solano on Flikrr (edited to adjust sizing).

Researchers of modern dance rank Forsythe’s improvisation as postmodern improvisation, or the art of dance performance. Forsythe system has been shaped and honed for 15 years. And in 1994, it was designed in a specialized video manual “Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye”, which is still used for training new dancers of Forsythe’s troupe and is also a part of training professional dancers of modern dance in Europe and the USA.

About William Forsythe’s work and his influence on modern dance – read below.

Life and Career

William Forsythe is a ballet master, a specialist in the field
of modern dance, a researcher of the specifics of human body movement and improvisation. He was born in New York in 1949. He got his choreographic education in Florida. He got at the first dance class at the age of 17 with his roommate by accident, having absolutely no idea what the lesson will be.

In 1971 he joined the Joffrey Ballet (a company famous for the works of contemporary choreographers). It was there that Forsythe first saw Balanchine’s ballets on the stage of the New York City State Theater, which undoubtedly contributed to his development as a researcher of dance and choreography.

Since 1973 W. Forsythe has been working in Germany as a performer in the Stuttgart Ballet. Already in 1976, he was appointed ballet master of the company. For this company, he created his first neoclassical miniature – “Urlicht” – a duet to music by Gustav Mahler.

In 1984 William Forsythe became the head of the legendary Frankfurt Ballet and continued to be so until its closure in 2004. At Frankfurt Ballet, the choreographer worked on productions such as Artefact (1984), Steptext (1985), In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (1987, Paris Opera), Impressing the Czar (1988), Limb’s Theorem (1990), Loss of Small Detail (1991), ALIE/NA(C)TION (1992), Eidos:Telos (1995), Endless House (1999), KAMMER/KAMMER (2000), and Decreation (2003).

His productions are part of the repertoire of the world’s major theatres, including the New York City Ballet, London’s Royal Ballet, Paris Opera, National Ballet of Canada and the Netherlands Dance Theatre.

This period of the ballet master’s work is characterized by a special radicalism: he puts on performances that are completely different from classical ballet, transforms the aesthetics of classical dance, proclaims freedom in dance from any canons and narratives.

In 1994, the program “Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye” was developed and released.

After 20 years at the Frankfurt Ballet, William Forsythe founded his Forsythe Company troupe in 2004. In addition to appearances at the main venues in Dresden and Frankfurt, the artists were active on tour. Forsythe has staged such ballets for the new company:

  • Three Atmospheric Studies (2005);
  • You made me a monster (2005);
  • Human Writes (2005);
  • Heterotopia (2006);
  • The Defenders (2007);
  • Yes we can’t (2008/2010);
  • I don’t believe in outer space (2008);
  • The Returns (2009);
  • “Sider” (2011).

He worked as a director and ballet master until 2015 in the troupe. As the reason for Forsythe’s resignation, the need to reduce workloads due to health reasons was reported. However, Forsythe has remained a consultant for the company, a guest lecturer and teacher, one of the co-directors and teachers of the European Dance Students’ Network program. The directorship of the Forsythe Company was taken over by Jacopo Godani under a new name The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company”.

Forsythe produces and participates in the creation of a large number of architectural and performance installations. The installations have been exhibited at the Louvre, the Venice Biennale, and other important venues. His short film “Solo” was presented in 1997 at the Whitney Biennale.

The choreographer has also received special recognition in the field of fine arts, organizing amazing installations, whose viewers themselves become participants in the action.

Today Forsythe regularly holds lectures and seminars at various universities and creative organizations. He lives and works in Vermont.

Exhibitions

Special attention we should pay to Forsythe’s work in the fine arts. The project “Choreographic Objects” includes various installations, including interactive ones. Over the past few years, they have been shown in many museums.


Some of its current* interactive installations:

  • The Fact of Matter (Brisbane, Australia) – December 7., 2019 – April 26., 2020;
  • Acquisition/Körperschaft (Hasselt, Germany) – March 14. – May 10., 2020;
  • Aufand, Doing and Undergoing (Besançon, France) – until April 26, 2020;
  • City of Abstracts, Human Writes Drawings, Backwords (Essen, Germany).

* Expositions are temporarily closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“City of Abstracts” is scheduled to be shown in Essen at Art Basel on September 17-20, 2020.

Forsythe’s Technologies of improvisation

In 1994 the computer program “Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye” was presented. Until now, it is actively used in the process of training dancers of different levels. This work deserves detailed consideration because its importance for the dance world is immeasurably great.

Improvisation technologies basically use the geometrical approach, working with lines, arcs, corners which form a body of the dancer. It was important for Forsythe to use what his dancers already knew. Since they were graduates of ballet schools, they were used to working with lines in body and space. This approach allowed the dancers to forget “how to move” and focus on the inner part of the movement, to overcome “numbness” in improvisation.

The choreographer shows simple movements and techniques in the program. The main purpose of his training is to teach the mind of a dancer to analyze movement in geometrical categories, corresponding parts of his body in space.

It’s useful!

Check out the program, even not only for ballet dancers. You will definitely learn a lot about your body.

For example, here are a few techniques from Forsythe’s technology. In his video lessons, the choreographer shows how to work with lines. For example, you can create an imaginary line with body parts and “move” that line in space, or you can create the same line with one of your body parts. You can also create a line by “pulling” it out of a point, or you can stretch not just a point but an entire line and create an imaginary plane.

You can extend the line by unbending a joint, for example, an elbow. You can work in the parterre by building movements along imaginary lines on the floor. The technique of getting into the line is to find a way that you can “get” into the imaginary line by a part of your body.

William Forsythe’s New Ballets

After leaving Forsythe Company in 2015, the choreographer has staged several ballets:

  • «Blake Works 1» for the Paris Opera Ballet;
  • «Playlist [Track 1, 2]»;
  • «A Quiet Evening of Dance»;
  • «Playlist (EP)» – the work for Boston ballet company;
  • «Artifact Suite».

Influence on modern dance

With the death of George Balanchine, the era of great discoveries in ballet was coming to an end, and few people believed in the possibility of a new revolution in dance. Nevertheless, the postmodern era has made its mark and proclaimed in dance freedom from any canons.

The improvisation and value of the moment “here and now”, the study of the movement and limits of the human body, the importance of the process rather than the final product of art – all this became the basis of contemporary dance. It was William Forsythe who brought ballet into the realm of marginal art, making it speak about contemporary ballet.

The avant-garde Forsythe has pushed back the boundaries of what is generally accepted: while in classical dance the position of arms and legs is fixed, Forsythe gives freedom to both arms and legs, and head. This also applies to his methods of working with dancers.

Improvisation – the main method of working with dancers – requires not only freedom to own their own body in space, but also freedom of thought. In this case, the intellectuality can be called one of the most precise characteristics of the specificity of W. Forsythe’s works.

Opinion!

Forsythe is a new turn. It’s basically a classic, but as if turned from a different angle… It’s as if you look at it through some special optics – and you get Forsythe.

At the same time, despite this release of thought and body, William Forsythe’s approach to choreography is surprisingly algorithmic. Through systematic exploration of the boundaries of space and time, the potential of the body and the mechanics of movement, the choreographer has developed his own author’s method of dance geometry and thus gives rise to a characteristic Forsythe’s style of movement.

The imagery and abstractedness of Forsythe’s ballets deserve special attention. After all, not every spectator is ready for a Forsythe’s form of interpretation, hence the complexity of perception. We can state the mechanical or geometrical style of dance plastics, but certainly not the lack of content.

Forsythe is simply not interested in stories and characters that are important in classical ballet. What is more important in these works is the emotional dynamics of the performers, the way the change in body movement determines the changes in a person’s emotional state. An abstract stage reality is formed on stage, within which a multivariate narrative of philosophical content is performed.

Dance critic Roslin Sulkas highlights the following features in the work of William Forsythe:

  • the presence of so-called “flickering movement” (based on elusive points of presence), performed by dancers with classical training, that is professionally developed in the aspect of ballet plasticity;
  • the use of the principle of inclusiveness – the possibility of including elements of absolutely any kind in the dance, both on the technical and conceptual sides;
  • approach to the realization of a complete work on the basis of the concept of “one theatrical universe”, where each element is a significant part of the multidimensional structure of the dance;
  • the development of a plastic language based on personal ideas of movement, where each element is endowed with volume.

We can’t help but mention the improvisational inserts in Forsythe’s ballets. Certain parts of the composition are performed by dancers in accordance with the concept of dance at their own discretion based on their own vision. Thanks to this, each display of a dance piece becomes unique and each broadcast gives a new reading to the work.

By its nature, modern dance is “dance of the head”, i.e. choreography that stimulates thinking tone not only of the dancer but also of the viewer in the process of perception of dance. Such mutual work of the ballet master and the viewer gives the necessary body and emotional contact. Then the viewer leaves with a huge plume of emotions and thoughts after the performance.

William Forsythe does not like to repeat himself, he always speaks to the viewer through his work in different ways. And no one knows what this choreographer will present to the public next time…

Conclusions

Doesn’t matter whether we call Forsythe by The New Balanchine or The Classic of the Ballet Avant-Garde, many today consider him one of the most important choreographers working today. Having traversed in his life from a dictatorship of ballet to a free of contemporary, William Forsythe has struck the ballet world with radicalism and experimentation. He has transformed and continues to transform the aesthetics of classical dance, has led to a rethinking of the importance of dance improvisation and has made an invaluable contribution to the training of dancers around the world.

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