Susan Coates playing with momentum, plus giving and receiving weight in Contact Improvisation

Delicate-Wash-Spin-Cycle: Fundamentals of Contact Improvisation

Date: Saturday, November 6th, 2010 3-6pm
Location: Packing House Center for the Arts, 835 E. 50th Avenue, Denver
Cost: $35
Registration: Contact Susan Coates at susan@livinglaundry.org to hold your spot. Checks payable to Living Laundry and mail to 3349 Elizabeth St., Denver, CO, 80205 postmarked no later than October 28th. See www.livinglaundry.org for more information about this workshop and other Living Laundry offerings.

Description
In this workshop we will explore the fundamentals of Contact Improvisation–from surrender to the point of contact, falling and rising spirals, and momentum to effortless partner lifts and ensemble movement. We will also introduce a feedback model to help you get what you want from your dances. You are invited to bring your humanity and your humor to this form! Great for non-dancers and performers wanting to expand their movement toolkit. All experience levels welcome. Kneepads provided.

“Contact Improvisation is a dance form, originated by American choreographer Steve Paxton in 1972, based on the communication between two or more moving bodies that are in physical contact and their combined relationship to the physical laws that govern their motion—gravity, momentum, inertia.

The body, in order to open to these sensations, must learn to release excess muscular tension and abandon a certain quality of willfulness to experience the natural flow of movement. Practice includes rolling, falling, being upside down, following a physical point of contact, supporting and giving weight to a partner.

Contact improvisations are spontaneous physical dialogues that range from stillness to highly energetic exchanges. Alertness is developed in order to work in an energetic state of physical disorientation, trusting in one’s basic survival instincts. It is a free play with balance, self-correcting the wrong moves and reinforcing the right ones, bringing forth a physical/emotional truth about a shared moment of movement that leaves the participants informed, centered, and enlivened.”

From Caught Falling: The Confluence of Contact Improvisation, Nancy Stark Smith, and other Moving Ideas, by Nancy Stark Smith and David Koteen, available through Contact Editions.

Contact improvisation dance returns to Colorado’s Regional Burning Man event Apogaea June 2010 with Contact Improvisation Camp!

Would you like to an arts festival in the mountain wilderness of Colorado where you can dance like you mean it, listen to and play live music, participate in creating community in a sustainable setting, engage in a gift economy, relax in nature, act outside the box, or go just plain crazy in fits of self-expression? Apogaea, Colorado’s regional burn with 10 years in existence, is happening again this year the weekend of June 10, and we’d love to see you there!

A group of us are organizing a Contact Improvisation Camp again this year, and we’ll have contact improvisation workshops/laboratories, jams, and performance with an opportunity for community circles, all on a billboard vinyl cushioned floor in the mountains of Colorado. Events include Creating Community through Contact Improvisation (discussion & lab), Massage & Contact Improv (workshop), Mentor/Mentee How-To (workshop), Contact Improvisation Flash Mob, and contact improvisation jams with live acoustic music. A camp community kitchen will also be available (but bring your own food, water, and propane)! Children, elders, newcomers, and different abilities welcome. Kneepads available.

Go to www.apogaea.com for information about Apogaea, see Apogaea’s event page on Facebook, or for more information about Contact Improvisation Camp at Apogaea contact Susan Coates at 303-455-0852 or email livinglaundry@gmail.com.

Apogaea is a collaborative outdoor arts and music festival held in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Here you will find an experiential forum where our ever-expanding community practices freedom of expression in an environment of participation, sharing, and creativity.  Located at Happy Ass Ranch in Lake George, Colorado, June 10–13.

Contact Improvisation Dance is a movement form that originated in the 60′s–70′s when individuals doing performance art and modern dancers decided to try to see what would happen when two bodies collide through space. Beginning as a purely physical experiment, contact improvisation dance quickly became known as a microcosm of human/relationships to self, other, and the environment. When you trust, a beautiful dance can happen. When you fear, you might fall or lose the connection. Unlike many dance forms, contact improv dance needs community to thrive. It is highly participatory, whether you want to have a slow, massaging dance, a fast, acrobatic dance, or participate as a witness. Contact improv dance is known as a unique movement form because it changes lives—literally moves what we might think is our DNA or inherent, to an unknown and exciting space that can nourish needs and realize boundaries.

SPRING IS HERE IN DENVER!  April 10th hails the next Denver Contact Improvisation Jam! We’re very excited to bring Joe Stoller to Denver for this occasion, a jam that will fertilize your heart and bloom your feet!  ~Love, Susan

UPDATE

I’m exited to be facilitating the group this month. We’ll be using awareness to play with rolling, sliding, and stepping as different ways to dynamically relate our surfaces with the floor and with other peoples’ surfaces. We’ll also be drawing on the breath to get things flowing, facilitate ease and generate integrated power. I look forward to seeing you there….

—Joe Stoller

Focus: We’ll introduce an arc of focus for each jam and thread this focus through a facilitated warm-up and then open score/dancing, followed by an informal closing harvest/check-in at the end. You are encouraged to participate in this focus, but it is always optional. Joe Stoller will lead this month’s focused theme, yet to be determined. See Joe’s bio below to get acquainted with his work and his approach. He is truly a renaissance man in the Contact Improvisation and healing arts worlds!

When: Saturday April 10th, 2010; 4–6pm  (2nd Saturday of each month)

Where: Packing House Center for the Arts, 835 E. 50th Ave., Denver, CO 80216

Contributions: $5–10

Experience: Previous contact improvisation experience helpful, but not required (see Susan for class schedule in Denver/Boulder).

For more information contact Taj Moore: taj (at) livinglaundry dot org; or 303-999-7070.

Joe Stoller discovered contact improvisation (CI) in 1998, dancing extensively with members of Touch Monkey in Portland.  Passionate about sharing what he has learned and delving into new explorations, he began teaching contact improvisation and facilitating labs the following year. In 2003 he won a Watson Fellowship, to research, perform and teach CI full time in 13 countries around the world. He has continued his work in the USA and France, where he worked with Chorescense to establish a contact improvisation dance community in Grenoble. His dancing and teaching blends with his work as a massage therapist, and extensive practice of qigong and somatic education. He believes that contact improvisation offers a profound context for somatic inquiry, nourishment, and sharing authenticity.

Living Laundry brings you contact improvisation jams every month on the 2nd Saturday.

Spring into SPRING in Denver for the next Denver Contact Improvisation Dance Jam! We’re very excited to bring Victor Warring to Denver for this occasion, a jam that will prepare you to bud and blossom in your dance!  ~Love, Susan

Focus: We’ll introduce an arc of focus for each jam and thread this focus through a facilitated warm-up and then open score/dancing, followed by an informal closing harvest/check-in at the end. You are encouraged to participate in this focus, but it is always optional. Victor Warring will lead this month’s jam with the focused theme of Deep Listening in the Dance. Victor says, “At its root, Improvisation is about listening—listening to your impulse, listening to your partner’s impulses—simultaneously creating the dance through the exquisite sensing of yourself and your partner in concert. We shall listen intently to ourselves and others, continually adding new information and new impulses and new responses into the dance.”

Music: There will be music!

When: Saturday March 13th, 2010; 4–6pm  (2nd Saturday of each month)

Where: Packing House Center for the Arts, 835 E. 50th Ave., Denver, CO 80216

Contributions: $5–10

Experience: Previous contact improvisation experience helpful, but not required (see Susan for class schedule in Denver/Boulder).

For more information contact Susan Coates at livinglaundry (at) gmail dot com or at 303-455-0852.

Victor Warring is a contact improvisation dancer in the Boulder–Denver area. He brings to his dance practice a background and love for somatic psychology, theatre/movement improvisation, performance, anthropology and a fascination for the human primate animal.

Living Laundry brings you contact improvisation dance jams every month on the 2nd Saturday.

Join us in Denver for the next Denver Contact Improvisation Dance Jam! We’re very excited to bring Alicia Grayson to Denver for this occasion, a jam not to be missed! ~Love, Susan

Focus: We’ll introduce an arc of focus for each jam and thread this focus through a facilitated warm-up and then open score/dancing. (You are encouraged to participate in this focus, but it is always optional.) Alicia Grayson will lead this month’s jam, and the focused theme will be moving from the core. Alicia states, “A clear connection to our own core helps us stay better connected to ourselves and helps create a clearer connection with our partners.” We’ll also have a very informal and brief closing harvest/check-in at the end.

Music: There will be music!

When: Saturday February 13th, 2010; 4–6pm (2nd Saturday of each month)

Where: A Living Arts Centre
(NOTE: this is a location change this month!)
2231 South Platte River Drive, Denver, CO 80223-4017, near Evans/Broadway intersection (map)

Contributions: $5–10

Experience: Previous contact improvisation dance experience helpful, but not required (see Susan for class schedule in Denver/Boulder) .

Registration: Contact Susan Coates to reserve your spot at livinglaundry (at) gmail .com or 303-455-0852.

Alicia Grayson has been passionately involved with dancing, teaching and performing contact improvisation dance for the past 22 years. She lives in Boulder where she is a member of Tumblebones Contact Improvisation Collective, and where she teaches weekly classes in contact improvisation dance as well as yoga and pilates. She has taught contact improvisation dance as an adjunct faculty at George Washington University, University of Denver, Naropa University, and Shenandoah University; and has taught and performed in numerous international dance festivals in Europe and in the U.S. She has participated in numerous international contact improvisation teachers conferences and was one of the primary organizers for CI36, the largest international conference on contact improvisation dance, held in 2008.

Alicia has studied and collaborated with many people who have been very influential in the development of contact improvisation dance, including Nancy Stark Smith, Nita Little, Martin Keogh, Ray Chung, Andrew Harwood, Kirstie Simson, Chris Aiken and others. She continues to delight in exploring and discovering new depths to the form and is particularly interested in the intersection of physics and expression.

The 2010 first annual Strawberry Contact Jam near Strawberry Hot Springs in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was a hit! Stay tuned to our website for more information about the 2011 Strawberry Contact Jam.

Announcing a 9-week Tuesday class series with Susan Coates, January 19–March 26, 2010 …

Pre-Soak-Wring-Dry:  Transform Through Contact Improvisation
We make connections in the body and with others within the parameters of our personal and societal boundaries—cultural norms, personal space and comfort, and everyday movements create our “pathways of possibility” in the body and with one’s social and physical environment. In this class series we will playfully push these boundaries to their limits while deepening further into the mechanics of Contact Improvisation, focusing on moving from the spiral, efficiently organizing the body, and creating awareness into how to become aware, receptive, responsive, and clear in the dance. Informal improvisational performance scores included.

Where: Packing House Center for the Arts — 835 E 50th Ave, Denver, Colorado (map)

When: Tuesdays 7:30–9 pm (9-week series): January 19, 26; February 2, 9, 16, and 23; March 2, 9, 16 (2010)

Registration: Contact Susan Coates to reserve your spot at livinglaundry (at) gmail .com or 303-455-0852.

Cost: $135 if postmarked by early-bird deadline 12/31; $144 after 12/31. Mail checks payable to Susan Coates at 3349 Elizabeth St., Denver, CO 80205.

Pre-requisites: Previous CI fundamentals experience preferred (Beginner classes and private sessions available. Contact Susan for details.)

Susan Coates has been teaching and performing contemporary dance and dance theater for over 10 years … more about Susan Coates »

Each month we’ll introduce an arc of focus for each jam and thread this focus through a facilitated warm-up and then open score/dancing. This focus is totally optional (choose it or choose your own!). We’ll also have a very informal and brief closing harvest/check-in at the end. There will be music.

When: Second Saturday of each month

Where: Packing House Center for the Arts — 835 E 50th Ave, Denver, Colorado (map)

Registration: Contact Susan Coates to reserve your spot at livinglaundry (at) gmail .com or 303-455-0852.

Cost: $7–10 (depending on your abundance)

Pre-requisites: Previous CI experience helpful, but not required. (Beginner classes and private sessions available. Check the class schedule here, or contact Susan Coates for details.)

Susan Coates has been teaching and performing contemporary dance and dance theater for over 10 years … more about Susan Coates »

Announcing a weekend workshop with Brandon Gonzalez & Susan Coates, January 16–17, 2010…

Weaving the Dance: Contact Improvisation from the Personal to the Ensemble
Our perception of dance is threaded together from many sources including our emotional states, the stories we create, our physical condition, our motivations, and our physical environment. In this workshop we explore the impact of these sources on our own state of being and the group dynamic.
We’ll build from the foundations of Contact Improvisation with body mechanics that coordinate with the physics of gravity and the geometry of bones, the reading of subtle changes in weight and support, micro/macro spirals as a way of creating continuity and flow, and access pathways into the “third mind” where we find a sense of empathy, ease and effortlessness in the dance.

Where: A Living Arts Centre, 2231 South Platte River Drive, Denver, Colorado 80223 (map)

When: January 16–17: Sat. 1:30–5:45 pm;  Sun. 10 am–3:30 pm (with breaks)

Registration: Contact Susan Coates to reserve your spot at livinglaundry (at) gmail .com or 303-455-0852.

Cost: $96 postmarked by December 31st, $114 after 12/31, $130 at the door. Mail checks payable to Susan Coates at 3349 Elizabeth Street, Denver, CO 80205.

Pre-requisites: Although we will be working with some fundamental mechanics, this is an intermediate level workshop, and therefore some CI experience is preferred. If you need a starter lesson, please contact Susan Coates for class options and one-on-one lessons.

Brandon Gonzalez is an influential teacher and interdisciplinary artist who has explored the overlap of embodied movement, performance, and visual art. Coming from a background in art, yoga, wrestling, and gymnastics, CI’s non-competitive athletic qualities were a perfect fit. He currently co-teaches CI at Texas State University, organizes/teaches CI workshops and founded DanceLab, an ongoing series of embodied movement events in Austin, Texas.

Susan Coates has been teaching and performing contemporary dance and dance theater for over 10 years, working full-time as a performing and teaching company member of Speaking of Dance from 1999–2004. In 2002, she co-founded Dirty Laundry Dance Company, performing original dance theater in the Denver area. In 2006, she co-founded Ecstatic Cling, a Boulder-based contemporary dance/contact improvisation ensemble that engaged in guerrilla performances in the Boulder/Denver area until 2008. In 2007, she founded Living Laundry , a creative and innovative practice that transforms individuals, organizations, and communities through living arts. Susan also founded and leads Contact Improvisation labs, jams, workshops, and classes in the Boulder/Denver area.

Announcing focused contact improvisation jams in Denver … the second Saturday of each month!

We’ll introduce an arc of focus for each jam and thread this focus through a facilitated warm-up and then open score/dancing. This focus is totally optional (choose it, chose your own!). We’ll also have a very informal and brief closing harvest/check-in at the end. There will be music.

Some CI experience is helpful but not required; if you would like to take a class in contact improvisation dance, click here to check the schedule for  CI classes in Denver with Susan Coates.

When: Second Saturday of each month

Where: Packing House Center for the Arts — 835 E 50th Ave, Denver, Colorado (map)

Cost: $4–7