i went to my first contact improv in a long time, and was reminded of how fun and tiring and weird and freeing and smelly and sweaty and silly and loud and awkward and loving and playful and and and… it could be. It can be all the things, at once sometimes.
contact improv is an improvised form of partner movement that is both dance and non-dance — no outcome is reached for, just the moment itself.
“the dancers remain in physical touch, mutually supportive and innovative, meditating upon the physical laws relating to their masses: gravity, momentum, inertia, and friction. They do not strive to achieve results, but rather, to meet the constantly changing physical reality with appropriate placement and energy.” - Steve Paxton
i wasn’t doing any of these moves (I don’t think), but here’s a fun vid from the 70s of folks playing like baby animals.
my favorite today was rolling on the floor, spinning cartwheels, and climbing on the metal balance bars in the dance studio we were practicing in.
sometimes i just enjoy being in the space where people are being weird. gives me a little more room to be weird too.