Contactimprov_SFBA's topics - tribe.net

Capital Inauguration Jam

CeruleanShine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:05:21 GMT

Capital Inauguration Jam
Washington, DC

Here is one more reason to stay in D.C. for the US Presidential Inauguration! Announcing the Capital Inauguration Jam on Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 19, 2009. We are hosting a day of classes and jams in our nation's capital, the day before we swear in our new president. Come celebrate Bush's last day in office with a day of dancing!

What: Capital Inauguration Jam
When: January 19, 2009 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Where: Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
7117 Maple Avenue
Takoma Park, Maryland 20912

Cost: $45 early registration, $55 after January 10, 2009 if there is still room.

Schedule:
10:00 AM – Morning Class with Jeff Bliss
1:00-2:30 PM – Lunch/Break
2:30 PM – Afternoon Class with Brando & Spirit Joseph
5:30 PM – Closing Circle

*Both classes will lead into a jam.

To register: go to http://inaugurationjam.groupus.net/events.php?action=register&event_id=23.

You can pay by paypal or by check to Ilana Silverstein.

If you will be in town early, you are invited to:

* The Thursday Night Jam, 8:00-10:00 pm
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
7117 Maple Avenue
Takoma Park, Maryland 20912
$5

* The Sunday Jam, 2:00-5:00pm
St. James Church in Capital Hill
222 8th St. NE, Washington, DC 20002
$5

Info about both weekly jams can be found http://dccontactimprov.net

Spontaneous or planned out Jams and/or Performances on the Mall and elsewhere
organized by TBD.

Housing: If you are traveling from out of town and need housing, the DC jammers can host you. Email me at Ilana.Silverstein@gmail.com with the dates and number of people.

Please forward this email to anyone else who may be interested!

Register now!

Hope to see you there,
javascript:document.postTopicForm.submit()
Ilana & DC-CI

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Camp CONTACT at Burning Man!

CeruleanShine — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:16:23 GMT

Registration for Camp CONTACT at Burning Man 2008 is now open!

Contact Camp has been a fixture on the playa for the past three years, and we're bringing it back in style for 2008. We've got some new infrastructure, a distributed leadership team, and a new on-line registration system. We plan to better coordinate work party participation and work shift participation prior to the event so that we're not spending valuable time on the playa figuring it all out.

Camp CONTACT will host 80-100 Contact Improvisators for the ten days spanning Saturday, August 23rd to Monday, Sept 1st. We'll start off by building a kitchen, a common area and the dance spaces. We'll also have shade structures to keep your tent cool, with the possibility of other amenities. We come to the playa to offer the gift of Contact Improvisation. Mornings, we'll be able to jam in Burning Man's Center Camp; afternoons, we can teach or take beginners and advanced classes. Each evening we will share in community meals and then glow in all that Black Rock City has to offer at night, including some of our own jams.

If you're into Contact, and up for the adventure of a lifetime, check us out! If you've camped with us before, we welcome you back.

More details, commitment requirements, and on-line registration are available on our website at http://campcontact.org/burningcontact

Questions? Email me at burningcontact@gmail.com

Yours in Contact,

--Darrell

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harbin jam 2008?

victor — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:15:52 GMT

hi folks;
wondering about the harbin jam this year
usually the memorial day weekend
wanting to plan ahead
any news?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

SF Bay Area Jam update ... 4 contact jams per week plus Dance Jam

karlfrost — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:07:14 GMT

Hi all... just went to the Fairfax jam last night (Monday ) and felt like letting folks know about it... really a happening jam! There were about 28 people who came last night making it the second biggest jam in the bay area behind the SF Tuesday night jam at Counterpulse.

The Fairfax jam is 8p-10p every Monday at Marin Ayurveda (85 Bolinas Rd in Fairfax). There is a warm up class 7p-8p which is usually taught by Rana Stewart, although I'll usually teach there when I'm in town. The vibe is really friendly and inviting and at the same time very focussed. It's a small space, but if it gets too crowded, they open up the yoga studio next door, so it works out well. There is ambient music at the jam. It ends at 10p on the nose, so best to get there early.

For info sake, there are also the following jams
Tuesdays 8p-11p at Counterpulse in SF (Mission and 9th) class with changing instructors 6p-8p. This is still the biggest jam. nice floor, although they could use better lighting.
Saturdays 3:30p-5:30p at 8th Street Studio in Berkeley (8th & Dwight) (sometimes a class beforehand). This is the longest running jam, but is a bit quieter in terms of numbers than it once was... I think there were about 15 people there this last Saturday, which seemed typical.
Sundays 1:30-4p at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory (Mission and 11th). newer jam that I haven't been to yet, so I can't say anything about it, except that i have the sense that it's smallish, which makes sense as it is just starting out

Of course, the other really big place to go do contact is Friday night Dance Jam, which I think something like 150 to 200 or so people go to every Friday in Berkeley. two rooms of dj'd barefoot dancing. probably a good 30 or so people there at least dabbling in contact over the course of the evening. very fun space! 8th & Dwight in Berkeley 8:30p - 1a

regards
Karl

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The Poetics of Human Contact, Feb 16-18, Berkeley, CA

karlfrost — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:56:54 GMT

I'm teaching a 3-day contact workshop Feb 16-18 in Berkeley

The Poetics of Human Contact

emphasizing art-making and the felt experience of contact

for folks who have already had an intro to Contact

bodyresearch.org/calendar.htm

regards
karl

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Feb 1-3 Contact Improvisation Fundamentals Workshop, Chico, CA

karlfrost — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:55:15 GMT

I'm teaching a workshop on Contact Fundamentals in Chico, CA

Feb 1-3, Friday night and Saturday/Sunday day

If traveling from out of town, there is couch space at Sarah's

www.bodyresearch.org/calendar.htm

regards
karl

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santa cruz jam update

glenn — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:32:04 GMT

the santa cruz jam is going strong, with 15-25 regular attendees. tuesday nights, 7:30-9:30 at the 418 project, 418 Front St, downtown across from the metro bus depot. live music every 1st and 3rd tuesday - we've had some great music/movement nights. come join the fun. info - glenn 831-454-6342

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Winter Solstice All- night Improv Jam

karlfrost — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:03:02 GMT

sundown to sunrise continuous participation in improvisation.

in Grass Valley, CA

dance,music, theater, spoken word, spontaneous ritual, and, of course, contact improvisation

at St Joe's

goto http://www.bodyresearch.org/grassvalleysolstice.html for info

regards
Karl

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work exchange at moving on center

Jen — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:29:40 GMT

hi all, the moving on center in oakland is looking for 2 new work exchangers! 5-10 hrs per week starting in january, lasting til june. depending on your office experience there is one position at an exchange rate of $15/hr and one at $20/hr. check out the website at www.movingoncenter.org, or better yet email at info@movingoncenter.org to find out more on their classes and exchanging.

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Poll Results for the New Year's Day Jam @ CounterPULSE

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:38:56 GMT

- YES, I am definitely, for sure, going to be there., 5 votes, 25.00%
- MAYBE, although I can't commit for sure., 11 votes, 55.00%
- NO, I absolutely will be doing something else then., 4 votes, 20.00%

of the 549 people on the SFBACI Yahoo! group, only 20 of us voted. That is about a 3.6% rate of participation.

Why is the rate so low? Pretty sad, don't ya think?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Jams

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:12:42 GMT

to donate or not to donate...that is the question.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 2 replies

November 23-25, 5th annual Thanksgiving weekend CI Intensive

karlfrost — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:24:42 GMT

November 23-25 -- 5th annual Thanksgiving weekend Contact Improvisation Intensive

in Berkeley, California

I'll be teaching 6 hours per day , Friday/Saturday/Sunday

-- technical skills and release technique to expand the dynamic range of contact explorations
-- subtle investigations of functional physical awareness and presence
-- the investigation of physics and body-use as a window into investigation of self in relation to other.
-- opening up details and paths of curiosity in the dance

This annual workshop is a place where Karl likes to share some of the work he has harvested over the last year's research and to introduce some new ideas he is exploring ... a place to share in the explorations of the Body Research laboratory.

mind work , body work, physics, pleasure, and a fair bit of sweat!

This is an open level workshop for those who want to share a focussed environment of exploration.

For more information on this workshop including intentions, hours, fees, and early registration discounts, goto
www.bodyresearch.org/workshops/thanksgiving.html

For more information on Body Research, visit
www. BODYRESEARCH.org

For calendar of other upcoming Body Research events, including workshops in Hawaii, California, and Argentina, Dancing Wilderness Project, and longer intensives, write to info@bodyresearch.org or goto
www.bodyresearch.org/calendar.htm

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New San Francisco Jam on Sundays!!!

julianna — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 03:16:25 GMT

Sunday Contact Jam
at 1519 Mission St. near 11th
class is from noon to 1:30-$10
jam is from 1:30 to 4pm-$5
class & jam $12

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

anyone interested in a trip from ca to the montreal jam in november?

Jen — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:43:54 GMT

i've been thinking about planning this trip to go to the jam in montreal. its the weekend of november 17th and there is a workshop with nancy stark smith. i myself am located in oakland, and i'm not sure if i want to fly or drive or what, but i think it could also be more fun to go with a couple contacters and go together and meet the scene in montreal. are you interested? willing to just take off for a week or two in the middle of november? like random roadtrips with random road buddies? send me a message, and maybe we can organize something.
-jen

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burning man

espirito santo — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 18:08:12 GMT

contact dancer in need of ride to burning man, anyone going to burning man via s, fran or reno, ride needed on the 24 or 25 of aug.

thanks
espirito santo

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AXOLOTL and PROXIMITY ... two Karl Frost/BODY RESEARCH participatory performance events ... JULY 26 - AUG 12, SF and Santa Cruz

karlfrost — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:46:41 GMT

of interest for Contact Improvisors... these two shows offer fascinating alternative lenses on the exploration of touch and contact...
cheaper $12 tickets the first weekend, after $15 - $20 sliding scale.

----------------------------------------------------

BODY RESEARCH is performing two shows in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, July 26 - August 12

PROXIMITY and AXOLOTL

www.BODYRESEARCH.org/proxax

---------------------------------

AXOLOTL -- A participatory performance experience, psychological and kinesthetic: be blindfolded for 2 hours of exploration of self and other

July 26, August 9, 10 in San Francisco (8PM at Million Fishes, 23rd and Bryant)
July 28, August 2 in Santa Cruz (8PM at the Vet's Hall, 846 Front St)

"I left the theater shell-shocked.
It was easily the oddest, most surprising performance experience I've ever had. And, against all expectations, one of the most rewarding."
BRENDAN KILEY, The Stranger (Seattle 2005)

-----------------------------------------

PROXIMITY (premier) -- an exploration of social distance, connection, and disconnection. The audience wanders a convoluted space witnessing shifting relationships amongst an ensemble of performers. Watch safely from a distance or get a better look up close and risk getting involved.

July 27, August 5, 11, 12 -- San Francisco (8pm at 1800 Illinois St)
July 29, Aug 4 -- Santa Cruz (8pm at 418 Project, 418 Front St)

"... fascinating; awkward, tender, and violent movement combined with snippets of dialog and swiftly built-up characters and
relationships, creating social and sexual conflicts with an almost unnerving intimacy... utterly compelling. "
BRETT FETZER, The Stranger (Seattle April 2004){about research work for Proximity}

---------------------------------

Performers: Isabelle Fortier, Isabella Kirouac, Sasha Klapkin (Canada), Elska Zeidle (Germany), Natalie Heller (Cyprus), Maja Paalsson (Denmark), Munir Rashid, Cammie Kelly, Kevin Dockerty, Karl Frost, Collin Leach (US), and guests

shows $15-$30 sliding scale ... $12 for July 26-29
reservations recommended because of audience size limitations
e to info@bodyresearch.org or call (206) 790 1645 for reservations

www.BODYRESEARCH.org/proxax for info

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

contact in Davis/Sacramento?

Kathryn — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:15:57 GMT

Does anyone know of any contact improv classes or sessions in Davis or Sacramento? I'm languishing up here in Placerville...

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 2 replies

Thursday classes at Temescal continuing through May

karlfrost — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:45:14 GMT

Hi all

Elanne and I are continuing Contact classes over at Temescal through
May and then will be taking a break due to us both being off
travelling a lot for the summer.

We will be alternating teaching the last 5 classes

Thursday nights, 6:30-8:30
at Temescal Arts Center (48th between Shattuck and Telegraph in Oakland)

www.bodyresearch.org/thursday.html for info on the classes

regards
karl

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

etiquette, personal space, and the Friday Dance Jam in Berkeley

karlfrost — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 17:55:10 GMT

Hi

I have no idea who all is going to be reading this, but i imagine that a fair number of contactors who go to Friday Dance Jam will read this and so maybe it will be a good space to share thoughts and address issues for Friday Dance Jam.

I am having a problem with Friday Dance Jam in that a lot of my friends don't like to go there becuase of intimacy issues... people getting in their space and not leaving them alone. Of course, things go in waves, and the current Berkeley Dance Jam is much better than it used to be 10 years ago at the SF Barefoot Boogies, but it is an issue.

I like to go because it is a space where the floor is clean, i feel free both physically and socially to roll around on the ground, given the 2 rooms to choose from I can usually find fair to good music to dance to, and there is a higher likelihood than most electronic music parties that i will find others with whom to do contact. I might find more consistently whati am looking for music-wise and space aesthetic-wise at all-night break-beat electronicmusic parties, but the floor and physical/social space conducive to contact are harder to find there.

The drag is the problematic approach to intimacy. This is an issue that has been going on for ages and lots of people know exactly what i am talking about and have talked about it. Usually the problem is men not giving women space, although gender reversal of the issue is clearly also there.

I have many friends that i like to go out dancing with that refuse to go to Dance Jam.

It is clearly much better than it use to be. I just don't go to Barefoot Boogie, but that's also a musical taste issue

Some women don't have an issue with it. Others have an issue with it but navigate through it because they want other freedoms that the space offers. Many just don't want to deal with it and refuse to go or have a shitty time if they do go.

I am curious about how it is easier for some women to just brush it off and get what they want out of the space and for others it takes a lot of energy to deal with. I think for some the subtle actions of pushing a man away just don't take much energy in that context, or perhaps they've already invested time in the space and men who go repeatedly understand proper distance with them. Or, maybe that is whatthey go for there, and they actually like it... Ithink there is a mix for different women.

I am sure that it is harder for some women when they first come to Dance Jam... a combination of taking up less space in an unfamiliar environment and some of the men particularly seeking after "new meat". I have had 3 women friends of mine in the last 2 months report not wanting to go back there again after checking it out once or twice.

I think that there are various cultural reasons why people (mainly men with women) act in a way that feels invasive.

A)practices like Biodanza and some facilitations of ecstatic dance that tell people to make eye contact with each letting people think that they have permission to push eye contact and interaction on others. (The common physical demonstration as i ask women about specific experiences is a copying of some man's stupid-looking googly eyed expression standing in front of them and not letting up on trying to make eye contact, when less than half a second of interaction would normally be easily read as "not right now thank you").

B) the presance of contact in the space letting them feel permission to make physical contact (not understanding subtle (or not-so-subtle) non-verbal converstaions that happen rapidly before contact is made.

C) The fact that some women like it gives some men the feeling that it is always OK.

I always found it uncomfortable at the Barefoot Boogies, what i would call an "assumption of universal intimacy" that went well beyond what I was interested in, and an assumption of consistent openness to interact.

I think there is also an issue that if someone does contact, there is the assumption that they are always open to or wanting that.

Any feedback or thoughts out there?

I am interested inproblem solving and so want to initiate some conversations to see what gets set in motion. Dance Jam is not exactly my world, but a world i travel through it often enough to want to put a bit of energy into it.

There is also a specific guy there who i have now had feedback about 3 times (usually a month or so after the fact). I plan on having a conversation with him. I thought about going up and interupting the interaction whenever i see him standing in front of a woman staring and smiling... change channels and go into a little conversation and remind him that there are many women who are not going to Dance Jam because of him and let the woman know that she doesn't have to assume that his behaviour is acceptable for the space ifshe isn't into it. I also know that a number of the women who refuse to go back were "polite" with him and offered smiles back as they tried to tune him out and get away, so smiling is not necessarilly a sign of a happy camper.

regards
karl

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 1 reply

New YouTube Contact Improv Videos Group

edwin — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:53:46 GMT

Greetings..

There's a variety of contact improv video clips on YouTube. I've created a YouTube group for Contact Improv and brought many of the videos together in once place. see
http://youtube.com/group/ContactImprov

You can upload your CI videos and add them to the group.
I have various CI videos I'll upload shortly.

What do you think of video taping some of the WCCIF and placing the videos in the group? It could be a bit of an intro to people interested in the form.

I'd be willing to do some taping if whoever's organizing WCCIF is interested.
some things to possibly video tape?
the performances
some short interviews of teachers.
some short interviews of dancers experiences with CI.
any ideas?

some of my other youtube projects are:
http://humanityquest.com/themes/inspiration/TAOLB

edwin

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 9 replies

April 21/22 weekend workshop and 21-27 week-long workshop, Oakland

karlfrost — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:52:51 GMT

Hi

Elanne Kresser and i are teaching for a week. The weekend is an open level workshop and we continue through the week for experienced dancers.

Sat/Sun April 21-22 Readiness ... an open level workshop focussing on athletic readiness and availability in the dance.
Mon- Fri April 23-27 The Known and Unknown -- a week of continuing work for experienced dancers looking at developing our awareness of what we know and thus opening to the unkown...

goto www.bodyresearch.org/bigtraining.html for details

regards
Karl

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

ECITE 2007 dates and information

vitalika — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:57:22 GMT

Dear friends!

We are proud to invite you to the annual Europe Contact Improvisation Conference (ECITE). This year 2007, for the first time in the 22-years history, ECITE is happening in Russia. The organizing team from Saint-Petersburg is honored to be your host from 19 to 26 July 2007.

Beginning:
For the last 9 years there was a tremendous growth in the number of people practicing contact in Russia. Contact is spreading all over the country and it is continuing to gain more and more popularity. There are many teachers in Russia who have been teaching for years and the number of new teachers is continuing to grow. Guest teachers
from all over the world also invited every year. And a lot of research and collaboration in contact happens inside Russian community. In the early 90-s there were only a few people interested in contact and in 1998 we began our exchange with the European contact community with our first ECITE in Potsdam, Germany. We where very
impressed with the efficiency and the positive atmosphere of the conference and we appreciated the clear and spacious structure. For this year we decided to keep `classic' structure of ECITE with teacher's exchange in the morning, study labs in the afternoon and jams and performances during the evening and night hours. We will
work 7 days, from Thursday to Saturday and from Monday to Thursday with one day off. We are working to prepare the ECITE for you and to make it inspiring, fruitful, comfortable and creative exchange. And we would
be happy to hear any questions, requests and feedback from you.

Following is the most important logistical information about ECITE 2007.

The place:

ECITE 2007 is going to take place in the part of Saint-Petersburg well-known for a large number of educational and scientific organizations. It is located in the North of the city and is approx. 30-45 min distance from the historical center of the city (on the metro or by car). All the classes and jams are going to happen in a
large Gym building that is surrounded by a park (Park Sosnovka) and a small lake (Olginsky lake). This lake and the corresponded beach is a popular place of recreation for the city dwellers and are taken care of on a regular bases (the sand and the water is clean and good for swimming). There is a playground on the beach and
the kid's laughter is a constant background there. Park Sosnovka also has a good maintenance and there are a lot of sport facilities.

Arrival and registration:

To register at the conference please visit our website: www.ecite.org. Please register earlier, so we would have a clear picture of who is arriving. When you arrive to the place there will be workexchange people waiting for you at the door. They will show you around. We are happy to organize a team of helpers who would meet you at the airport or at the train station. Please let us know ahead of time if you would like to be met. After the arrival at the ECITE all participants will receive plastic cards that will allow for access to all the conference facilities.

How to get there:

The easiest way to get to the place is by metro. The closest metro station is called "Politechnicheskaya" (Poli-techni-cheskaya). There are as well buses and mini-buses that would take you right to the doors of the conference.

Traveling to Russia:

>From Moscow: The easiest way to travel from Moscow to Saint Petersburg is by train. Check out the website:
http://www.waytorussia.net/Transport/

The Moscow Contact Festival is also going to organize a group traveling on a train from Moscow to St-Petersburg and back to Moscow for easiest and safe transportation. Please inform them about your travel plans to be included in the group info@contactfestival.ru.

>From Europe: By plane or by train (there are trains from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland etc.). The prices are affordable. For example a train ticket Helsinki-Moscow coasts 50€ and the travel time is 6 hours.

A lot of airplane companies have cheep flights to Helsinki and Turku. Knowing that we recommend traveling through Finland. We are also going to organize a transfer from those cities to Saint-Petersburg. It will be a small bus with our own driver circulating Helsinki – Tampere - Saint Petersburg. Please let us know if you are
interested in that option. The coast of the transfer will be 20€.

Visa/Invitation:

For those who will participate in Moscow Contact Festival all the visa and invitation preparation can be made by the MCF organizers. They generously offered to take care of it. For those who will travel directly to Saint Petersburg those preparations will be done by the ECITE organizers. Please send us all the required information
as it explained on the registration page. The formal invitation letter will be send to you by email, fax and mail. Please have all the copies with you when you travel because often you will be asked for an original document on the border. We recommend you to register as soon as possible because it takes much longer time in Russia to
prepare any document. And we will be very sad if you won't be able to join us because of a silly paper work.

Facilities:

We will have an access to a total of 6 studios: (2x450 m² + 2x250 m² + a dojo studio with a soft floor). Plus another large room (400 m²) for sleeping and daytime rest. Every studio will have an access to changing rooms and restrooms including showers and sauna.

Accommodation:

You have several options:

a) A common sleeping room with enough places for all the participants (free). The sleeping room is a large and bright room about 400 m² with windows facing the non-sunny side of the building and is secure and comfortable. This room will have enough space for all the participants. Please bring your own sleeping bags, mats and
blankets if you need them.

b) For those who prefer a hotel room or an apartment (some people were interested in a cooperative sublet) we will prepare those opportunities for you for additional coast. Please let us know ahead of time.

c) Another option might be to stay with a participant from Saint-Petersburg. Some of the local participants might offer such opportunity if you contact them directly (please inform us about it ahead of time as well). The last option will most likely include daily public transportation experience.

For those who will choose a hotel we will book 2 and 3-bed rooms in a hotel 20-min walking distance from the conference. The price for a hotel room is 20€ a night. Also we are going to rent several apartments near the complex for those who prefer a private accommodation to a hotel. Please inform us soon about your choice.
The hotel and the apartment prices are not included in the coast of the conference.

Meal:

The participation fee includes food coast: 3 times a day meal plus snacks and tea for unexpected hunger attack.

There are 2 café's in the gym building. Both have a constant experience in serving tourists and conferences with international participants. They can cook vegetarian food and they are prepared to meet a diverse range of ECITE preferences. If you need a special diet, let us know ahead of time, so we would try to accommodate your
needs.

For breakfast and for an occasional emergency food meal we will have snacks, cereals and tea/coffee table/room in the building.

There will be drinking water delivered for the needs of the conference. The tap water in Saint Petersburg is not good for drinking.

Fee:

The price is 230 Euro, with the visa invitation – 250 Euro
Early registration (before 1st May) – 200 Euro, with the visa invitation – 220 Euro

Your registration is valid after making 50 Euro non-refundable deposit to our bank account. The bank requisites are on the web site http://20078.ecite.org

If you decide to withdraw from the conference, we will have to keep the deposit to cover the administrative expenses. For all the participants of the Moscow Contact Improvisation Festival 2007 we are making a special 50% discount. The MCF organizing team is offering the discount also for ECITE participants. See their website: www.contactfestival.ru

Registration:

Please register to the conference on-line on the web site http://2007.ecite.org (it is also accessible via
http://www.ecite.org). Please register earlier to make it easier to get your Russian visa.

Web-page: http://2007.ecite.org
e-mail: ecite-2007@yandex.ru
phones: Olga +7(911)913-87439, Elena +7(901)3012075, Yaroslav +7(921)3599097

For any questions please don't hesitate to contact with us by e-mail ecite-2007@yandex.ru

We look forward to hearing from you soon,
ECITE-2007 team.
===================================
Olga lesnayao@yandex.ru
Yaroslav dci@narod.ru dci-project@rambler.ru
Yelena yelena@platinumreal.com
Roman romagigly@yandex.ru
Vitali ciworkshop@yahoo.com
Caroline cfw379@hotmail.com

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

CA Contact Jam at Harbin Hot Springs - discount deadline 4/15

Dharam — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 19:02:40 GMT

California Contact Improv Jam at Harbin Hot Springs
Middletown, California
memorial day weekend
24-28 may, 2007
www.harbinjam.org
Master classes every day with guest artist Ray Chung

Ray Chung is a performer, teacher, researcher, engineer, and artist who has worked with Contact Improvisation since 1979. He uses Contact Improvisation as part of his improvisational performance practice. He integrates other movement forms into his work, including martial arts, body work, and Authentic Movement. He has worked with various pioneers of Contact Improvisation, and regularly collaborates with dancers, musicians, and other artists.

Natural hot springs, swimming pools, beautiful setting for hiking and outdoor play
Warm, inclusive dancing and creative exploration
Delicious catered meals
Group sleeping deck or camping
Secluded conference center with private hot pools

Contact experience required. This jam is a place to integrate what you know rather than learn basic skills. Participants must have a firm grasp of contact fundamentals. If you have questions about your level, please contact Susan at susanmck01@hotmail.com.

Rates:
Before April 15 $420
Before May 7 $440
After May 18 $470

Scholarship and Work Exchange: The Harbin Jam is a volunteer run event that costs $400 per person in fixed expenses. Every dollar paid over that amount goes to support dancers in need of financial aid. We are committed to making the Harbin Jam accessible to people of all income levels. We raise money throughout the year at local jams and at an annual benefit performance. Limited work-exchange positions are available at a reduced fee of $350 for one hour of work per day. To apply for work-exchange, e-mail Craig Schwartz, craig@souljoy.com by May 1, 2007 with your name, address, phone number, and involvement in CI.

Registration: To register, fill out and mail the form below with full fee. You may also register
online at www.harbinjam.org. All but $50 refundable if canceling before May 7, 2007.

Name: ________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
City: ______________________________ State: _______ ZIP: ___________
E-mail: _____________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________
Need ride from: __________________________Offering ride from:_________________________________
Dietary preference: _______________________________
______________________________________________
(Meals may include chicken, fish, dairy. Please register
by May 18 for other dietary preference.)

Please fill out and mail the registration form with full payment to:
Susan McKearnan, 1420 Stannage, Berkeley, CA 94702 510.559.3953
Make checks payable to Susan McKearnan
You may also use PayPal to register at www.harbinjam.org/registration

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Fairfax Contact Jam, Mondays 7-9

karlfrost — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:04:06 GMT

'just forwarding this on...

K

********************************
**~CONTACT IMPROV in FAIRFAX!~* *
********************************
* Starting March 19th *
* Mondays from 7-9 pm *
* CircleCenter's "Seed" space *
* 8 Bolinas Rd *
* (upstairs above CoffeeRoasters) *
********************************
Hosted by Rana Stewart and Deb Hubsmith

7 - 7:45 Class: Basic Elements of Contact Improv... $5
7 - 9:30 Jam: Unofficial Freestyle Freeform Fun.... $5

Finally! A Contact class and Jam in Fairfax! Join us in creating what we've always wanted on Monday evenings at CircleCenter's beautiful new "Seed" space which is located across the street from the actual Circlecenter office. Look for a single doorway just to the left of Coffee Roasters on Bolinas Ave. Come up the stairs and into the "vision incubator" on your left. A short Class at 7 will cover some basic contact principles. Jam that follows will set you free to explore your new moves. All Levels are welcome. Beginners are lovingly encouraged to attend the class.

The Post-Jam vibe holds the possibility to catch the "only in Fairfax" town-wide open mic scene. With the streets flowing with a Bohemian glow, there's lot's more fun to be had if you've travelled far to get here, and you can always stop by Frog's Hot Tubs and Sauna for a post-jam soak sesh...

We can't wait to see you there. Tell all your freinds or forward them this email!

Info:: 415-482-1610 or redgingersnap@gmail.com

DRIVE LESS!!! DANCE MORE!!!

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Rumblepeg Dance Intensive Performance!

Andy — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:04:06 GMT

Arcata/Eureka/Nevada City/Santa Cruz/San Francisco

Rumblepeg Dance Theater's winter performance intensive (out of Eureka
California) presents Mongrel: The History of Awkwardness and the Survival
of Grace, an evening of original performance work. Conceived and created
collaboratively by a group of 15 international dancers and performers.
This work has been influencedy by the teachings of Elanne Kresser
(formerly Jez Parus), Erika Chong-Shuch, Jandy Bergmann, Jess Curtis, Karl
Frost and Shinichi Iova-Koga. This show contains nudity.

Here is a calendar of show information:

Saturday, February 24th -- @ Dancenter, Arcata, 8pm - $10
824 L St., Old Creamery Building
For reservations, call Tanya Stotsky at 707-407-7566

Sunday, February 25th -- @ Runeberg Hall (Ruenberg?) in Eureka, 7pm - $10
Corner of Wabash & Union
For reservations, call Tanya Stotsky at 707-407-7566

Wednesday February 28th -- @ Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, 8pm - $10
314 W. Main St.
For reservations, call Calder McCutchan 530-599-8188

Friday March 2nd -- @ The 418 Project, Santa Cruz, 8pm - $12
418 Front St.
For reservations, call Tanya Stotsky at 707-407-7566

Saturday March 3rd -- @ Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, 8pm - $12
1519 Mission St. between 11th & Van Ness
For reservations, call Tanya Stotsky at 707-407-7566

This is a link to the print-resolution versions of our posters.
www.yousendit.com/download/...V3g1VEE9PQ

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

classes out there?

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:26:26 GMT

I have not practiced contact in a few years. Now I have a new dance partner that has never had training. I would like both of us to take a class together. Are there any beginner classes out there in the San Francisco area?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 2 replies

work exchange opportunity at west coast contact improv festival--apply now!

therealkimharmon — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:57:12 GMT

Do you want to attend the West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival 2007?

Do you have excellent writing and verbal skills, experience dealing with press and public relations, and an affinity for Contact Improv or other dance forms?

We are looking for an enthusiastic work-exchange volunteer to help us promote this year’s Festival. Responsibilities include writing press releases, managing print and online calendar listings, and working with two co-organizers of the festival on any other press/publicity-related tasks as they arise.

This position—affectionately titled Press/PR WEXer—entails not over 35 hours of work to be spread between February, March, April, and July of 2007, in relationship to events and deadlines for the festival. The work can be done largely from home; the teachers and committee members are a fun, dedicated, and supportive group, and we largely communicate via email.

The right person will receive full tuition (value of up to $500) to the West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival, June 29-July 4, 2007!!! For more information on this year’s festival, please visit www.wccif.com.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to:
contact@wccif.com.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

sunday jam on jan 7th 3-7pm @ DanceGround Keriac

Ilka — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 21:03:01 GMT

Hi friends,

My dear friend Laci from Hungary is coming to visit me between jan 6th and 9th. Unfortunately he will miss all the local jams. So, I decided to organize a surprize jam for him. Come and have a sunday dance with us!

Sunday, january 7th 3-7pm

at DanceGround Keriac - 1805 Divisadero St. San Francisco CA 94115 (@Bush)

parking is free that day!

This is also going to be a try out for a sunday time jam. If it works, we might have it regularly!

You can bring some snacks to share.
Bring your kids and friends!
Musical instruments and musicians are welcome!
Bring left over christmas cookies!

Also, you can bring unwanted xmas presents, clothes...etc. for swap and exchange or give away!

See you on the dancefloor!

Ilka

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

rising cost of workshops...

karlfrost — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:54:02 GMT

i just wrote a little something on the rising cost of dance workshops on the west coast, mainly focussing on San Francisco, but including elsewhere.

a link to it is www.bodyresearch.org/costs.html , if you are interested in forwarding it or seeing an updated version of it at some future date. the current version rests below...

peace
karl

It is an ongoing dialogue that I have had with many friends of mine in the arts about the high cost of workshops in dance these days. This increase is well beyond inflation or increases in the cost of living. I remember that when I took a workshop with Joe Goode in the summer of 91, it was a 3 week full time workshop with one of the most respected contemporary companies in the bay area that people were coming to from all over the country, and we paid $500 for it. Even counting for inflation, that would be the equivalent of paying $700 now for a workshop. Joe Goode’s workshops via Dancer’s Group’s summer festival now goes for $420 for one week, and that is one of their cheaper workshops on a per hour basis… this represents an 80 percent increase in the real cost of workshops (increase beyond inflation – not counting inflation, it is a 150% increase).

I feel outraged and thoroughly perplexed that the fees should have risen so much. I do not believe that teachers are making more money, as i hear that attendance is down for many workshops, and where teachers are paid a flat fee, it is s ridiculously low amount of the money coming in. I have been told that Moving on Center, for example, only pays $50 an hour for teachers … the fees of 2 to 3 students. I also know that Keith Hennessey had to argue with Dancer’s Group to at least allow him to teach more – WITHOUT PAYING HIM MORE! -- so that he felt that participants were getting more for their money. It feel outrageous that an organization that is supposed to be supporting dancers would want to turn down such an offer of volunteering teaching time. What would be their vested interest in keeping the per hour fees for workshops so high?

What is it about? Is it about focusing on teaching to people who work full time? It feels like there is a change in spirit from organizing events for a community of artists who prioritize making time for exploration, living cheaply to organizing workshops for dancers who basically work full time at other things and have to pull themselves away for shorter experiences that cost more. Somehow there has been a trend in marketing workshops --which I and others like Keith Hennessey or Ben Yalom (of Foolsfury Theater) have been fighting – of raising the per hour cost.

There is a strange piece of marketing wisdom that if you charge more, people will value it more and want it more. There is a truth to that which I really try not to give into, having faith that it is not the whole picture. If I was faced with a choice, I would rather fill a workshop and have people come and study more with me and make a little less than perhaps make more by charging more and having more limited financial accessibility for workshops. However, I have actually had a fair amount of success charging less for workshops and filling them so that I make more in the end – at least compared to many of those who charge more for their workshops.

Keith Hennessey has written a number of times how he feels that the cost of training new artists should not fall entirely on the them, but that funding to support teachers should come from their performing work, from grants and fundraisers. There is something to this view, I think, although it does not necessarily apply to arts that are more focused on personal process and investigation as opposed to purely performance oriented arts. However, without even going there, there is also something of economics to look at and also the kind of society of arts makers that we are trying to create… when workshops cost more, then they must be aimed at 1)the rich or 2)those who work full time and can only take off small pieces of time for workshops, or 3) in the sense of a pyramid scheme, those who aspire to teach and charge that much (by mathematics and casual observation, most who try this fail and are led on by false hopes). I would argue that we can create a viable alternate economy of dance when we offer more frequent or longer workshops charging less, trying to create a world where people are working less (don’t need to pay so much for workshops) and take more workshops and where we collaborate on making a richer world of exploration in creative process.

At the end of this little missive, I have tabulated a few selective workshops and training programs and how much they cost on a per hour basis, plus mitigating notes.

Before I get to the comparison, though, I want to share an interesting story about a novel way to collectively organize a dance/performance education…the Jaffa school in Israel. A few years ago, there was a large cluster of people who had been rejected by the only real contemporary training program in Israel… they were mostly in their early 30s and were looking to get into performance work and dance relatively late. Many of them knew each other from the workshop circuit. Rather than surrender to just keeping up with sporadic workshops, they decided to organize a training program themselves… they decided the subjects that they wanted to study – yoga, modern dance, composition/improvisation, tai chi, voice work, contact improvisation – and they hired the teachers themselves and organized studio space to make a 20 hour a week training program in Jaffa. In the end it was a small fraction of the cost that they would have paid in workshops, and they got to create a truly contemporary training program, reflecting their interests rather than the interests of the establishment. The teachers were all delighted, as it gave them a guaranteed attendance and pay check as well as a motivated and interesting body of students. I put this model out to inspire any of you who want to study…

Peace
Karl

Table of per hour fees for training… no comments made on relative quality of training, a factor not correlated with price necessarily.
per hour fees (based on early enrollment)/Name of Training/Location/Duration/Notes
$3 / Rumblepeg Winter Dance and Performance Intensive (Jan-Feb 2007)/Eureka, CA /2 months/this is like the Jaffa program, in spirit… includes some hours done in group laboratory
$3.75 / EDAM Summer Intensive w/Peter Bingham, Andrew Harwood, Mark Bovain/ Vancouver, BC/3 weeks/ this is supported by the Canadian government
$5.50 / Strictly Seattle /Seattle, WA/2 weeks
$7.10/Roots & Wings Summer workshop w/Karl Frost/Berkeley, CA/2 weeks
$7.20/foolsFury physical theater intensive/ SF, CA/2 weeks
$8.30/Nancy Stark Smith’s winter intensive/Earthdance, MA/2.5 weeks/ This does not include $33/day room and board fee
$8.75/Lower Left Contact Workshop/2 days/ SF, CA
$10.60/Seattle Festival of Alternative Dance and Improvisation/ Seattle, WA/ 6 days ( a little complicated to estimate because of evening activities … assumes doing the whole thing rather than drop-in rates, which are much higher)
$12.75/ West Coast Contact Festival/Berkeley, CA/5 days/ ( a little complicated to estimate because of evening activities … assumes doing the whole thing rather than drop-in rates, which are much higher)
$13.30/Moving on Center (MOC) summer somatics & performance intensive (Konanov, Savage, Cheng)/Oakland, CA/ 2 weeks
$13.70/University of California, Santa Cruz, Dance Dept/Santa Cruz, CA/ 1 semester to 4 years/ (does not include things like studio access, rehearsals, etc, nor the fact that you have a BA at the end)
$14/ Dancer’s Group Summer Festival training w/ Joe Goode/SF, CA/1 week
$14.50/Dancer’s Group Summer Festival training w/Nina Martin and Shelly Center/SF, CA/1 week (full time)
$16.10/MOC Laban training/ Oakland, CA/ 1 week
$16.40/Dancer’s Group Summer Festival training w/Nina Martin/SF,CA/1 week (half time)
$23/MOC Authentic Movement training/ Oakland, CA/1 week
$25.70/ Experimental Performance Institute at New College/SF, CA/ 1 semester to 4 years/ (does not include things like studio access, rehearsals, etc, nor the fact that you have a BA at the end)
$43.70/Cornish College of the Arts/Seattle, WA/ 1 semester to 4 years/ (does not include things like studio access, rehearsals, etc, nor the fact that you have a BA at the end)

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 3 replies

Israeli Contact Festival – update!

Dror — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:32:34 GMT

Hello people,

The Israeli contact festival is drawing nearer… and it is not too late to join us for this exciting celebration of dance, communication and peaceful exchange. You can come for any or all of the 3 weeks of the festival:

The greenhouse: 19-23 December
The greenhouse is moving to a new location! We will have better dance facilities,
more comfortable sleeping spaces, and use of a heated swimming pool!
You can still join 90 Israelis and 50 internationals for these magical 5 days.
There are about 15 places left in the greenhouse!

Contact in the City: 26-30 December
Starting right after Christmas, this week offers 4 intensive workshops:
Adalisa Menghini – CI and performance.
Joerg Hassman – Momentum and Slow-motion
Andrew Harwood – CI and Instantaneous Composition.
Stephanie Maher - Release based technique.
In addition there will be a rich program of 9 evening classes, 3 jams, 2 performances
and a day-long gathering of celebration on the last day of this week.

The Contact Tour: 1-5 January 2007
A voyage that combines visits to ancient, holy places with breathtaking scenes of natural beauty, and various movement and awareness sessions in-doors and out-doors.
The tour will go through Jerusalem and head south to the Dead Sea,
the southern desert and the Dolphin Reef in the Red Sea (Eylat).

For more information please contact us:
festival@contactil.org
www.contactil.org
++972-54-4221314

All the best!
The festival team.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Israeli CI Festival 2006

Dror — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:28:19 GMT

>>> Israeli Contact Festival 2006
>>> 19 December – 5 January 2007

The Israeli Contact Festival is the annual celebration of the Israeli CI community and a meeting with teachers and dancers from around the world. The festival spans 3 weeks during which we will meet in different locations to dance, to play, to learn, and to get to know each other.

>>> Teachers
Italy: Adalisa Menghini Canada: Andrew Harwood Germany: Jörg Hassmann USA: Stephanie Maher Spain: Ester Momblant Ribas Hungary: Judit Keri Scotland: Merav Israel Israel: Adi Shaal, Arie Bursztyn, Danya Elraz, Hay Cohen, Ilanit Tadmor, Ilya Domanov, Itay Yatoov, Or Prochter, Orly Portal, Ronen Berger, Ruvik Osovsky, Shahar Dor, Tal Avni, Tali Vertheim, Vered Tzach, Zohar Rabinowitz.

>>> Week 1: The Greenhouse
19-23 December 2006 5 days and 4 nights of dance, love and people in a secluded countryside location, with fresh vegetarian food and communal sleep. Program includes 2-3 classes each day, intensive workshops, long jams every night, performances, outdoor dancing and much more.

>>> Week 2: City
26-30 December. 5 days of Contact Festival in the city, offering a wide range of dance opportunities:
6 workshops of different lengths, 9 evening classes, 3 evening jams, and on the last day “Shabat Contact”: a day-long gathering, including performances and a big Jam. Unlike the greenhouse this is an open structure so you can explore the city and get a taste of Beach-side Tel-Aviv.

>>> Week 3: Tour
1-5 January 2007. Join us for 5 magical days on the road, as we meet local dance communities and enjoy diverse workshops and jams. We will visit ancient Jerusalem and then head south to the amazing natural treasures of the desert: The dead see, the Ramon Crater, Desert Ashram community, and the Dolphin Reef in Eylat. The full Tour schedule (with pictures!) will be on our website soon.

>>> To register of to find out more
www.contactil.org
festival@contactil.org
+972-54-4221314
+972-9-7462430

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Karl Frost's Axolotl and Felix Ruckert's Rituals of the Inner Circle, Aug 18-20

karlfrost — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 06:37:17 GMT

Don’t miss these two Participatory Performance events in San Francisco!!!

Karl Frost's AXOLOTL
and
Felix Ruckert's RITUALS OF THE INNER CIRCLE,
Aug 18-20
www.bodyresearch.org/twoshows.html

Karl Frost’s AXOLOTL
A participatory performance experience, psychological and kinesthetic:
BE BLINDFOLDED FOR 2 HOURS of exploration of self and other. Explore in
interaction with other audience members and a group of actors, dancers
and musicians researching the nature of meaning. Not a singular event
on a stage, Axolotl is a multiplicity of events occurring simultaneously
in the minds of the members of the audience...

I left the theater shell-shocked. It was easily the oddest, most surprising performance experience I've ever had. And, against all expectations, one of the most rewarding.
BRENDAN KILEY, The Stranger (Seattle 2005)

Two Shows Only! Friday/Sunday, August 18 & 20

Felix Ruckert’s RITUALS OF THE INNER CIRCLE
You are invited to join a temporary structured society exploring
issues of power, status, and intimacy. Within a set of
predetermined rules, we live out our curiosities, seeing what
exists in our physical/emotional edges.

Strong concepts, well thought rules-of-the-game and elegant esthetics give a strong frame to the Felix Ruckert's shows, that allow an active artistic and emotional input from the performers, the musicians (music is mostly performed live) as well as a safe cocoon for the spectators reactions.

One Show Only! Saturday, August 19

Shows 8pm at Danceground Keriac
1805 Divisadero (at Pine), San Francisco
$12-$20 suggested donation. Limited audience capacity, so reservations recommended:
bodyresearch@gmail.com, (206)790-1645

Performers: Isabelle Kirouac, Tanya Stotsky (Canada), Dasniya Sommer, Elske Seidel, Felix Ruckert (Germany), Claudia Anfuso, Laura Inserra (Italy), Ayano Oride (Japan), Andy Lundberg, Cammie Kelly, Karl Frost, Kim Harmon, Kincaide Reed, Leslie Castelano, Margo Ende (US) and guests…

for more information on these amazing participatory performance opportunities, goto…
www.bodyresearch.org/twoshows.html

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience these works!
Please pass the word!
And as always, let us know if you want off the list

Peace
Karl

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

A Dance-Focused Wilderness Trek with Nita Little

aaronisan — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:45:12 GMT

Presented by The Institute for the Study of Awareness in Nature (ISAN)

Five days of nature immersion and dance accompanied by acclaimed Contact Improvisation teacher Nita Little. In this C.I., movement and awareness focused backpacking expedition we will draw inspiration from the everyday miracles of the natural world. Who wouldn’t want to spend time hiking, dancing, doing bodywork and frolicking in the pristine northern sierras?

Details
Where: Gold Lakes Basin (in the northern sierras)
When: September 15-19, 2006
Cost: $535 with $200 non-refundable deposit by 9/1/06.
($600 after 9/1/06)
Deposit To: Aaron Jessup, 1786 Filbert St., San Francisco, CA 94123
Info: www.isantrips.com

The Institute for the Study of Awareness in Nature combines wilderness immersion with awareness practices (in this case Contact Improvisation) to create deep, meaningful and potentially life changing experiences.

The founder of ISAN (Aaron Jessup) will be leading the backpacking portion of this trip. In addition to his outdoor leadership, wilderness survival skills and naturalist experience, Aaron has been a bodyworker since 1993 and a Contact Improvisation teacher since 1997.

For more information go to www.isantrips.com or call (888) 211-8526.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Simone Forti in Italy!! Zipfestival - October 14-29/06 - Orvieto/Italy - International Improvisation festival live performing arts

Rossella — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:05:35 GMT

Zip 2006 project

Orvieto Italy
October 14-29 \ 2006 – Seventh edition
International improvisation festival live performing arts
www.contactfestival.it

Our website www.contactfestival.it has all the information on our Zip project 2006 calendar. Please visit it.
Zip is a lively kermes on improvisation performances of dance and live music, with international guest artists and a rich program of concerts, performances and jams, intensive workshops and master class on Contact Improvisation and Improvisation, as well as laboratories organized around the themes of physicality.

Guest Artists 2006
Simone Forti (USA ), Scott Smith (USA), Mans Erlandson (Sweden), Rossella Fiumi (Italy), Rick Nodine (USA\UK), Robert Anderson (UK), Gaby Koch (Germany), Piero Leccese (Italy), Susanne Martin (Germany), Franco Zita (Italy), and musicians Roberto Bellatalla (Italy) and Michele Rabbia (Italy).

We are particularly proud to communicate the presence at the festival of the great Italian/American Artist Simone Forti, a pioneer in the genesis of the performing arts and improvisation dance. Forti has received various grants, including six NEA fellowships, a “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance award for sustained achievement, and a Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles Lester Horton Award for lifetime achievement.
In 2005 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship.
She is an adjunct professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, and continues to teach and perform worldwide.

Presently enrollment in the festival program and residential intensive workshops are under way.

We communicate that for the entire month of August the festival offices will be closed for vacation and we will be unable to answer your mail or phone calls, nor verifying money orders and credit transfers sent during the summer break.
The office will reopen on September 4th.
Answers to any mail sent in August will be sent the first days in September.
Hurry to get in your requests for participation.
Zip team and Caravajal15 residenza dinamica

Info and reservations
Caravajal15 residenza dinamica
Via Malabranca 15, 05018 Orvieto (TR) - Italy
tel +39 0763341479 (if answering machine, please leave a message with your name and phone number so that we can contact you)
fax +39 0763340669
mobile +39 3396675800
info@contactfestival.it
monica@contactfestival.it
www.contactfestival.it

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

July 14-18 - Body Research Contact Improvisation Gathering

karlfrost — Fri, 05 May 2006 04:00:56 GMT

Body Research Contact Improvisation Gathering
July 14-18
SF Bay Area, California

A gathering celebrating and developing the practice of contact improvisation.

Focus on...
· developing and sharing research and study
· participant generated curiosity and exploration
· co-creating a culture of active, deepening investigation of contact improvisation

two studios for 5 days of research and practice of contact: Jams, Laboratories, Discussions, Classes, Performances

for more info, goto www.bodyresearch.org/cigathering.html

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 3 replies

Please Please Bring a video camera to WCCIF

talg — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:44:01 GMT

I am so completely tired of telling people, I do this great thing called contact improv, its hard to explain what it is without seeing it,
and having nothing to point them at.

If you are in possession of a video camera would you please do the world a service and bring it to WCCIF, and put some stuff online.

If there was some cool contact stuff out there I think it would be a great way to encourage new folks to get into contact, not to mention
at least allowing our friends and family to have some idea of what the f@!%$ we are doing with our weekends.

Tal

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

WCCIF / commuting from SF/carpool?

nuh — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 21:09:04 GMT

anyone going from SF?

i'm hoping to arrange some carpooling.

i have no car, but i can meet you where you are, ride with you, and pay your toll. what a deal!

be in touch, please.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 1 reply

Dance & Contact Improvisation Lab

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 02:18:22 GMT

Body-Mind Centering® brings a subtlety and finesse to dancework, expanding your present-moment movement choices whether dancing solo, with a partner or in ensemble. This workshop will source dances from a menu of Body-Mind Centering® explorations which could include: fluids, organs, respiration cycles, nervous system process and architecture, muscles, skeletal embodiment, cellular consciousness, developmental movement patterns. The learning environment will encourage dialogue, depth, risk, curiosity, and an openess to inquiry and possibility.
This laboratory is designed for experienced movers.

Llewellyn Wishart (RSMT, BA, Grad Dip Movement & Dance, Grad Cert Adult Education in Training, Certified Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner) has worked in movement, dance, somatic education and the human potential field for the last 15 years. He has been dancing and studying contact improvisation since 1987. Llewellyn was a founding member of State of Flux dance company. He was most recently part of a team presenting at the Commonwealth International Sport Conference - CISC 2006 (part of the Commonwealth Games) on the application of dance and Body-Mind Centering® methodologies to the training and development of elite level athletes and coaches.

Dates: 29 June, 6, 13 & 20 July
Cost: $80.00 Full (prepaid), $72.00 Dancehouse Subscribers/Concession (prepaid), $25.00 (per class casual attendance)
Please RSVP and/or send your payment by Thursday 23/06. To RSVP, please send an email with your name & contact details to register@embodied-life.net
Enquiries: phone 0500 555 563 or email info@embodied-life.net

More info...

Dancehouse

03 9347 2860
150 Princes Street
North Carlton
Victoria 3054

www.dancehouse.com.au

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Tuesday Jam

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 21:06:30 GMT

Hello,

Just thought that I would write and say that I had a great time at the jam yesterday. Dancing and watching. The quiet space and focused attention was marvelous; small conversations peppering the space. Nice to pop back in after not being there for a few weeks and have a dance anchor, an "institution" (oh my god, I am going crazy and need to be institutionalized!!).

Watching made me realize how much I can learn, seeing different pathways and states from the outside. Try to "guess" what is going to happen next. Observing dances while I am dancing, how does that affect my dance, being ther observer/participant?

Thanks

Andrew

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

carpooling from seattle to wccif?

mishek — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:06:22 GMT

yep, need a ride there and also a place to stay,
thanks for any offers/ideas about that,
michael

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

wccif

Vajrana — Thu, 04 May 2006 17:35:06 GMT

a friend and i we're talking about coming down for the festival, but we can't find anything up to date on line. is it happening?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 5 replies

June 3/4 -- Contact Improv on the Yuba River

karlfrost — Fri, 26 May 2006 15:02:33 GMT

I'm going to be leading a workhsop in Nevada City, CA

Sat evening, 6-10p dancing in the studio
Sun all day, dancing out on the Yuba River... sandy beaches, beautiful rock and boulders, trees. I'll be pulling for the day from the more directly contact related side of the Dancing Wilderness Project work (www.bodyresearch.org/dancingwilderness.html)

... sensory exploratioin, authentic movement, contact with each other and the environment.

come play! 3 hour drive from San Francisco, in the lower Sierras.

$85 - $125 sliding scale, NOTA
contact Max to register... 530 273 3566

peace
karl

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Contact Improv Backpacking Expeditons

aaronisan — Wed, 17 May 2006 21:42:39 GMT

The Institute for the Study of Awareness in Nature (ISAN) offers wilderness expedtions with an awareness focus. Various trips encorporate Contact Improvisation, awareness exercises, meditation and breathwork.

www.isantrips.com

The Summer 2006 Schedule includes two C.I. based expeditions:

July 9-14 ~ Contacting Nature (with Aaron Jessup)
A Contact Improvisation, movement and awareness focused backpacking expedition

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

September 10-15 - Wilderness Trek with master Contact Improv teacher Nita Little
Don't miss this chance to spend a week immersed in nature and dance accompanied by acclaimed Contact Improvisation dance teacher Nita Little. This expedition will change your dance life forever.

www.isantrips.com

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival needs a Site Manager

improvarts — Sat, 06 May 2006 19:59:58 GMT

West Coast Contact Improvisation Festival needs a site manager for the festival coming up from June 29 - July 4, 2006 in Berkeley, CA. Site manager's responsibilities include coordination of consessions, workstudy students, and other basic site needs. Pay is $1,000 for working the complete festival as well as coordinating details pre-festival. Starting immediately. Must live in the Bay area and have a car. Contact Karen @ karen.dancingk@gmail.com for further details. To find out more about the festival go to www.wccif.com (it will be updated very soon...).

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

July 8-14 - ROOTS and WINGS - Contact Improvisation Workshop with Karl Frost in Berkeley

karlfrost — Fri, 05 May 2006 03:58:10 GMT

7 days of contact with Karl Frost

July 8-9 ROOTS - a weekend workshop focussing on the Fundamentals of Contact - begining to advanced
8th Street Studio, Sat 10-3p , Sun 10-5p
Berkeley, CA

July 10-14 WINGS - a 5 day intermediate/advanced intensive in Contact -- taking things further, cultivating greater sophistication and articulation, and exploring many idiosyncratic kinesthetic and psychological studies in contact
Wildcat Studio, M-F 10-4p
Berkeley, CA

for more info, goto www.bodyresearch.org/rootsandwings.html

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is there anyone here that went to the CI class at CounterPulse on Tuesday? Anyone going to Berklee Jam on Friday or Saturday that has a car?

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 06:41:33 GMT

wondering if there are any folks here who went to the CounterPulse class on Tuesday, and if they wanted to get together for jams outside of CounterPulse and/or are going to Berklee Jam on Friday or Saturday and have a car? I and I think my friend Brikshaw are interested in going, and we would be most grateful with a ride...
let me know...

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

looking for jams, or people who want to get together for a jam here in SF who have space....

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 06:29:14 GMT

hey, I'm new to the CI scene, went to the Berklee Jam on Friday and had my first CI class tonight, really loved it...
looking for fellow CI folks who like to do more of the faster, athletic movements of CI who would want to get together for a jam, or have studio space in or out of their homes. I would really like to jam to some house or trance music, that really inspires me kinesthetically...
peace

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Harbin Jam May 25-29

Dharam — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 23:57:43 GMT

Come dance with us!!

Harbin Jam
memorial day weekend 25-29 may, 2006
www.harbinjam.org 510.526.1055

Natural hot springs and swimming pools
Classes and morning warm-ups
Warm, inclusive dancing and creative play
Delicious catered meals
Group sleeping deck or camping
Secluded conference center with private hot pools
Beautiful natural setting for hiking and outdoor play

Contact experience required. This jam is a place to integrate what you know rather than learn basic skills. Participants must have a firm grasp of contact fundamentals. If you have questions about your level, please contact Susan at susanmck01@hotmail.com

Rates:
Before May 8 After May 8
$365 $380 Starving Artist (economically deprived students and the unemployed)
$430 $445 Professional (actually contributing to your retirement plan - support the arts!)
$395 $415 Regular (employed but economically challenged - teacher, librarian, lots of kids)

Please register by May 18 to receive your food choice.

Registration: To register, fill out and mail the form below with full fee. You may also register online at www.harbinjam.org. All but $50 refundable if canceling before May 6, 2005.

Contact Improvisation at Harbin Hot Springs Middletown, California Registration Form

Name: _______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
City: ______________________________ State: _______ ZIP: __________
E-mail: ______________________________ Phone: __________________
Need ride from: _______________________________________
Offering ride from: _____________________________________

Food choices (check one):
___Chicken/Fish/Dairy
___Chicken/Fish/Non-dairy
___Fish/Dairy
___ Fish/Non-dairy
___Vegetarian/Dairy
___Vegetarian/Non-dairy
___No wheat

Please fill out and mail the registration form with full payment to: Susan McKearnan, 1825 Curtis Street, Berkeley, CA 94702. Make checks payable to Susan McKearnan. You may also use PayPal to register at www.harbinjam.org/registration

Ride Information: Rides from Middletown area available in advance through the Harbin Hot Springs office at 800.622.2477. General ride information call Katja Irvin at 408.286.5354

Scholarship and Work Exchange: The Harbin Jam is a volunteer run event that costs $370 per person in fixed expenses. Every dollar paid over that amount goes to support dancers in need of financial aid. We are committed to making the Harbin Jam accessible to people of all income levels. We raise money throughout the year at local jams and at an annual benefit performance.

Limited work-exchange positions are available at a reduced fee of $330 for 1 hour of work per day. Additional financial aid may be granted based on donations and need. To apply for work-exchange and financial aid, e-mail Craig Schwartz, craig@souljoy.com by May 1, 2006 with your name, address, phone number, involvement in CI, and amount of aid needed.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

dancing genes

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:09:46 GMT

Hello,

Something interesting that came my way.

"I came across this interesting piece in THE WEEK (March 10, 2006)
in its Health and Science Section and thought you would like to see it. The
piece is entitled The DNA of dancing. It states: "Some people, it appears,
are born to dance. After analyzing the DNA of the families of 85
professional dancers and 782 other people, researchers spotted two genes that
appeared in dancers, but not in the others. They were't genes for rhythm,
coordination, or flexibility. Instead, people who love to dance are
genetically programmed to respond strongly to hormones and chemicals
that promote feelings of spirituality, social communication, and bonding
with other people. 'The genes we studied are more related to the emotional
side of dancing,' researcher Richard Ebstein tells Discovery.Com. Dancers,
he said, have 'the need and ability to communicate with other people and a
spiritual side to their natures that not only enable them to feel the music but to communicate that feeling to others via dance.'"

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 6 replies

Core Values

Wynship — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 20:56:51 GMT

I have recently been faced with some decisions that have required that I examine my core values. Fortunately, I am familiar with cutting-edge techniques for doing this. Nevertheless, the results were surprising to me. They also greatly reduced my anxiety about the issues at hand. I would like to share with you the exercise that I did as a way for us to get to know one another better, presuming that you will share your results as I do. You may feel that you already have a very firm grasp on your core values, but if you do the exercise, you may find that you didn't know nearly as much as you thought you did, and you may then know a good deal more.

The exercise makes some assumptions about your present situation which may not apply to you personally. I will clearly state them below. If they don't apply and you really want to do the exercise, make some appropriate substitutions.

The exercise makes use of three different life scenarios. In the first life scenario, the easiest for many of us to imagine, everything stays more or less the same as it is now. Whatever income you have currently, whatever work you are doing, you will continue to have and to do for the rest of your working life. Presumably, you will be able to retire and maintain the same standard of living that you did when you were working (first assumption!).

In the second life scenario, everything is exactly the same as the first, with the exception that, as a result of your activities, 10,000 people, excluding yourself, are lifted out of poverty (i.e. they previously had incomes below the poverty line as defined by the government) and make median incomes as a result of your actions. No one is made poorer as a result. Everything is the same, except for those 10,000 people - basically, an entire neighborhood. For your life personally, however, everything is the same: same income, same work, same retirement, etc.

In the third life scenario, you lift 10,000 people out of poverty, just as in the second. However, in this scenario, you also improve yourself a great deal. As a result of your actions (which are the same in each case -- everything is the same except for the things that I specifically mention), you are able to support your spouse and two children in an upper-middle-class lifestyle -- "the good life," as it has been defined by some people, whom I can't recall at the moment, who look at this sort of thing. Basically, though, money is never an object and the family has fantastic vacations every year, two cars in the driveway, a spacious, beatiful house in a nice area, education money for the kids, etc. Your work is the same, and you retire in that lifestyle.

The second assumption present here is that you prefer the third outcome to the second, and you prefer the second to the first. If that isn't the case for you -- e.g., you already have the good life and don't care, etc. -- then put in the things that you want, so that it works.

I chose these outcomes because I was trying to make a decision about activities that were charitable in nature, vs. activities that are not. I think this is an interesting distinction, and I am curious how others in the contact community would answer the question below. Anyway, if you are making substitutions, keep that in mind.

Suppose there is a lottery. You may pick a ping-pong ball out of an opaque urn. If that ball is black, then you get "the good life" (i.e. the best) scenario. It all plays out magically and you don't have to do anything differently. If that ball is white, then you get the least desirable scenario (i.e. your life as it currently is, in my version). It is fated, and there will be nothing you else you can do to change it. The ball that you get is randomly selected. However, you know the ratio of black balls to white in the urn. (Aside: For those of you who have the Iliad, it contains a myth that we do something similar before entering this life.)

Suppose further that you have a choice with respect to the lottery -- you may either choose to participate in it or not. However, if you choose not to participate in it, there's a penalty to pay. The penalty is that you get the second-most desirable scenario as your fate -- nothing that you can do will ever change it. (In my version, this is the lift-10,000-people-out-of-poverty-but-do-nothing-to-improve-yourself scenario, the altrustic outcome.)

If you are like most people, whether you choose the lottery or not will depend on how good the odds are. If every ball in the urn is black, you will definitely choose the lottery. If every ball in the urn is white, you will definitely reject it. Therefore, however, somewhere in the vast grey scale between every ball being black and every ball being white, there is a proportion of black balls to white that makes you just indifferent between taking the lottery and taking the second-best outcome with certainty.

The question is, what is that proportion? For me, it was 75% black to 25% white, roughly.

It wasn't easy for me to figure this out, and I feel that the answer is just an approximation. One of the drawbacks of the way I have set up the question is that two of the three outcomes are so far from my present reality that they are difficult even to imagine with much detail. I was fortunate to grow up in an affluent family, albeit very unhappily, and live in it until the age of sixteen, when I moved out, and lost all financial support on my ninteenth birthday. So, I have some idea what it might be like. If it's too difficult for you, make some changes so that it isn't. There's also another method of obtaining the same result which doesn't require such leaps of imagination that I can look up and relate if anyone is interested.

Part of the relief that this gave me had to do with my familiarity with and confidence in methods that can make this information about seemingly irrelevant, impossible situations, very relevant to much more ambiguous and smaller-change decisions. If people show interest, we can go there.

In the meantime, I'm curious what other people answers are or would be. The contact community seems very egalitarian, altruistic, and, at times, somewhat idealistic, to me, and I'm curious what this would look like in terms of numbers.

I'm also curious what people think about this very mental way of going about making decisions. I've heard people talk about "making decisions with your body" in conversations and in the literature, and I have to confess I don't really know what this means. I'm curious how it compares to what I have described here. How do you use your body to, say, make a financial decision?

I hope that people will be interested enough in this to reply.

A very mental person who very much enjoys to dance,
Wynship

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 8 replies

Sat Berkeley Contact Jam - noise? kids?

vitalika — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:22:56 GMT

Hello collegues,

Several people recently shared with me their concern about the noise level at the Berkeley Jam. They have been also feeling uncomfortable to dance on a high speed because of the kids running around. I thought I should initiate a discussion about this. The issue doesn't seem to be an easy one. Many contacters have kids and we probably want them to feel invited to bring kids with them. Not to mention that it's also fun when we have children playing in the space where we play too. I personally often get inspired because of the kids. On the other hand I certanly understand how one can feel restricted and affraid to move freely if there is the kids are taking over the space. What are your thoughts?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 24 replies

jam ethics

vitalika — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:08:28 GMT

Since we are discussing the jams here maybe there is anything else to talk about relating to the jam ethics? Does anyone feel anything should be addressed here or "there"? I think there is a tendency to leave thing as they are and unspoken if nothing major happens. Whether it relates to physical safety, emotional safety or anything else we might benefit greatly from collective awareness. Any other topics?

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 3 replies

Talking in Berkeley Jam

Ken — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 20:47:04 GMT

Hi Dancers, I am the resident DJ in the Warm Room at Dance Jam. I share your concerns about talking in the dance space. I started doing the deejaying many years ago at the Harbin Jams. I try to play music that is a reflection of the CI sensibility. I am interested in creating spaces that is conducive to CI and enhances that experience.

I of course have to play to a wider audience, but try to play a lot of music for CI. The talking issue has been a thorn in my side for a long time. I tried successfully and unsuccessfully to try and quell the room many times. I have even gone to the trouble of creating a “chat” tent space in the corridor once. Recently the level seems to have increased. This is very discouraging to me. It really saps my desire to do the best and creative deejaying that I like to do.

The next few times I DJ, I will stop the music and talk to the room about this. I encourage you to continue coming. The beginning of the evening is usually very good for CI, so come early. If I see lots of CI, I will orient my music in that direction. If there is a transcendent space, I will work very hard to support it.

Ken

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 0 replies

Talk, Talk! instead of Movement

Don — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 02:52:05 GMT

I'm sorry to hear this is verbal talk, talk, is now occurring at Saturday Berkeley Jams. I
> was going to start coming on Saturdays due to the fact that more times
> than not at the Friday night Berkeley jam people just start standing around
> in the middle of the floor carrying on extensive conversations. Also
> some folks just lay down in the middle of the floor for up to an hour for talk, talk!
> I have concluded that they are not really there to dance. For me the
> true gift of dance is the opportunity to communicate through my movements without my mouth. Although I'm all for verbalizing if it comes out through and as a part of my movements.
> -Don
>

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 1 reply

Spring/Fall

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:29:03 GMT

Is anyone else concerned that the owner of the building have not been as helpful in the restoration of Spring/Fall studio as they should be? Can we help Linda in anyway? An ideas? I miss that studio.

posted in Contactimprov_SFBA - 3 replies