—we explored: Direct Touch that feels good

yielding, toning, pushing, and will further explore transforming

Listening with, to, and through

You can either

—take a photo of your notecard and share your questions + please share (in text, voice note, or a drawing) anything that came up for you from this week’s practice

—let’s think about different qualities of touch: brushing past someone in busy city streets, “creepy touch”?, loving and grounding touch (how to tone: body, hands, awareness, attitude), listening through touch (that can potential develop into weight transfer)

—share thoughts/impressions freeform

Was it easy or difficult to express verbal consent to partners you did or did not know?

Was it easy or difficult to express non-verbal consent?

How did you give non-verbal consent? What are some strategies you deployed in class or in life (if you think it's related to this discussion and would like to share)?

Next week we will work on:

Sending and receiving invitations—what are ways to invite a partner/partners into a dance? How do we (/not) accept them?

This class is giving me an opportunity to treat touch as a neutral form of connection/communication, whereas in the outside world it is often charged with a lot more context and feeling.

I think a mix of verbal and non-verbal cues are vital when working so closely with people, especially people I don't know super well yet. When giving touch, I find it's helpful to check in verbally if I'm sensing a non-verbal cue that I am having trouble reading.

I look forward to more dancing next week when the weather is milder!

Consent was interesting to think about because in the past I've typically only come across conversations about consent in the context of sex, so it was a little weird for me at first to think of it outside of that context. Once I got past that, I felt comfortable seeking and giving verbal cues. It was a little more difficult to tune in to non-verbal consent, but I'm sure that will become easier with practice.

I think giving verbal consent in the beginning is quick and easy, but I can also understand that some people (including me sometimes) can have trouble with expressing boundaries because of people pleasing - like if someone who has less boundaries expresses theirs first, a people pleaser with more boundaries might feel pressured to not express them.

Nonverbal consent can be harder to pick up on because what someone does physically will not always match up with how they feel. Moving away and/or tensing can express boundaries, but it's harder to find whether someone has given consent, if that makes any sense.

I found it relatively easy to express verbal consent with partners in the rolling activity when I would tell them something like "I'm going to put weight on slowly, tell me to stop if you need," and I felt like that opened up my (and hopefully my partner's) comfort levels for expressing verbal consent.

I'm not sure that non-verbal consent was as clear-cut, but I tried to provide it by offering where I was comfortable being touched (i.e. holding out a hand, opening up my back). When I was reaching a new point of contact for the first time, I tried to give my partner time to recognize what I was going for and decide if they were okay with it.

-it was pretty easy to express verbal consent with both partners I knew and did not know, but it felt a little harder to express it non verbally, I would do this by starting off gentler with touch then increasing in pressure

-another way to apply non verbal consent is listening to how the other person reacts to what is being done

During this exercise, I found it really helpful when you told us what to be looking and listening for (in terms of listening to the connection, contact, where to take moments to connect, breathing, etc.). I think the scariest part of trying something new is going in with no direction so having a framework in which we could improvise and explore was amazing. I came out of it feeling like I had learned a lot about myself and contact.

Nonverbal consent was tricky, I usually asked verbally before initiating contact if there was anywhere my partner didn't want to be touched but I would love to go over more exercises in nonverbal consent to be able to understand and communicate better in contact.

Weighted blankets

Fluid

Gracefully (falling and rolling)

Gradualness (while yielding)

Please add to this in this week's responses. What are the words and imageries that you would like in there?

floor

gaze

reach

grip

tension

gradual

gravity

breeze

invite

experiment

weeeeeeeeeee~

Surrender

Explore (in jams)

Trust (your partner to catch you)

Rest (don't be afraid of stillness or slowness)

Expanding

Falling

Reaching

reaching

giving (as in giving weight, support, trust, etc)

finding balance (with self and with others)

exploration

trial and error

release

-feel through

-connect

-enter

-exit

-shift

-gradual

-continuity

Observe

Learn

Touch

Feel through

In Contact

I'm a banana

Melting

Releasing

Listening

Balancing

Yielding

Play

Connection

Whimsy

Shifting

Natural

Consent

Support

childlike

awareness

allow

let go

roll

stretch

take up space

Release

Uninhibited

Basic

Joyful

Feel

Connect

Listen

Slime mold

Roll

Twirl

Communicate

Collaborate

flow

traverse

listen

confide

reach

become

drift

magnet

flow

falling

risk

gravity

weight

pushing

connection

listening

consent

support

flow

attuned

connection

breathing

my back spaaace

stretch

warp

melt

sweep

feel through

trust

invite

consent

thank

The warm touch in jam weirdly remind me of zombie movies where the main characters were stuck in an island in the middle of city and zombies reaching to lay hands on them. But the vibe is the opposite here, safe and firm.

Glossary words :)

touch

pressure

laugh!!!

backspace

ventral space

mycelium

leap risk trust

I was noticing where people's eyes were in the stillness -- sometimes still moving, sometimes looking at each other, sometimes avoiding eye contact!

I hope to explore more sharing weight and shed some of my hesitancy.

I loved our name game and also an awesome moment with Ronja where her foot ended up on my shoulder!

1) use of levels is satisfying to see as an observer. I liked when the dance groups had a variety of dancers who were lying down, sitting, kneeling, standing, as opposed to all lying down.

2) I loved seeing the dancers very interwoven with each other and utilizing the negative space. When everyone is under one person and over another, everyone look very connected.

3) I liked seeing people use their dorsal surfaces! For example, when someone is on their back and extends their arm or leg upward to gain some height variation, and then someone else leans against the limb - it looks very cool!

(could not figure out how to photoshop George washington taking a selfie)

I would love for some feedback on how the class is run. In class, I have been using a variety of methods to introduce CI: workshopping specific movement patterns, discussing what went well, sharing strategies, open jamming, witnessing, compositional jam, etc.

Which methods have you found most useful and engaging and why? What would you like more and less of?

Please provide me with specific examples from the class so that I can understand what you are referring to. Thank you all!

I have LOVED the jams as a chance to use all the great tools you are introducing us to. I especially the partner-squatting exercise we did on Tuesday! I also really enjoyed exploring how to incorporate the physical space into our jam and improv. I also find that as a group we are becoming more comfortable with each other. It has been really lovely to get to know everyone!

Sometimes, I still feel awkward in a jam when I don't have a clear vision of what's gonna happen next, or when I assumed different directions with the partner I'm dancing with. I'd suddenly zoom out of the vibe and judge myself for not making enough sense in my moves. I wonder if others had that feeling and how they've been dealing with it.

I wonder about more small group exercises -- I think we have done a lot of full group and partner and it might be fun to play in the in-between of that a little.

At first, it felt a little uncomfortable giving people a touch, but I ended up enjoying it because I got to see how they interpreted my touch.

The second exercise with weight sharing and supporting was also really fun, although I wish I’d let go more in the moment. It can be scary to give so much of your weight to another person.

I also really loved the half and half touch exercise - it was super interesting to be given the space to let my body respond to the touch.

I feel like I struggled a lot with locomoting while committing to pushing against my partner -- I felt kind of stumbly at times. Super interesting to explore!

my little ad on 3 music ensemble performances:

Celtic music ensemble 4/29 Tue 7:30pm in Earle Recital hall

Chinese music ensemble 4/30 Wed 7:30pm in Sweeney Concert hall

Handbell choir 4/27 Sun 1pm in HHHC (we have pirates of the Caribbean and other fun songs! not just church music!)

I'll update the exact time when I have it. Please come if you have time and feel interested🥹

-Anais

Also plug for an upcoming performance:

Noteables a cappella Jam on Friday 4/18 at 8pm in Graham Hall in Hillyer!

The last class was so emotional🥲I really love this community we had in the class with amazing and inspiring classmates and Yun! Me favorite take-away is "everyone deserves to be lifted"! in this class it's my first time being lifted. I used to really want to try it but I thought it's never possible because I'm not in sport teams or cheers. But it happened here just like that🥹thanks to Yun and my kind classmates I now believe that I don't have to be "popular" to be lifted and so it everyone else.

Also, thank you so much to everyone for such a wonderful experience! It was a joy to explore this with you guys and create a sense of community through such a specific act. And thank you so much Yun! You created a welcoming space full of curiosity!

I hope to bring the bone to bone especially into my life as it is not something I ever did before this class. I would love to bring this into my choreography more as well as just continuing to practice it and become more well acquainted with it. One of my favorite scores I did not mention yet was body to floor connection. This connection always feels really great for my body and is a recessive practice.

As the course progressed, I appreciated learning different movements and techniques. It was especially helpful to understand the importance of anatomical strength, like the sacrum as a source of stability. This was important foundational knowledge for movements that required balance.

I appreciated the focus placed on different qualities of touch: skin, muscle, and bone. I think these categories allowed me to understand the difference in movement, balance, and experience allowed by different levels of pressure. I feel like in the beginning of the course I was hesitant to put a lot of pressure on peers, but I learned throughout the course the value of pressure.

I enjoyed times where there was focus on experiencing jams as audience and participant. One time when we did this we were asked to write down words that came to mind and share them at the end. I think this sort of mini multimedia approach where we responded movement through something that wasn’t movement was interesting.

I especially appreciated our last class, and the sentiment that “everyone deserves to be carried.” This class was especially emotional for me given that I am a senior and it was my last ever Smith Class. As Yun said, like life, contact improv is a high risk practice. Being carried was certainly the most “risky” movement I did during the class. Yet, I felt no nervousness or fear. Instead I felt trust and care, and smiled profusely. 

Thinking about this class in relation to the world, so much is applicable. I think that contact improv is a physical manifestation of what is truly necessary: trust, care, exploration, and community. Thank you all for a lovely experience.

I loved this class so much and I know I'll randomly think of it and be like dang that was such a fun time!

I decided to take CI at Smith because of another transfer friend I had made. She had said that CI was very freeing, and that it was one of the only forms of dance where you were actively encouraged to have fun. That seemed even more strange to me. Wasn’t dance supposed to be about restraint and control? About technique and precision? Apparently, that wasn’t always the case. I had to see the free nature of CI myself.

The first class was a bit of a shock to my system. I had never been in an academic setting where we were encouraged to make physical contact with other students in the class. I was also not used to the communal nature of CI; the dance I was used to was individualistic, with dancers regularly having solos in big group dances. The concept of supporting and holding other students felt foreign to me at the time of my first CI class. I felt incredibly unsure of myself, and unsure if I should keep taking the clas.

I took the week to mull over it, and I came to a realization. I was uncomfortable in the class because I was experiencing a form of dance that I simply wasn’t used to because of my previous dance experience. Whether I liked it or not, I was impacted by my dance upbringing, looking at everything through the lens of perfection and high-strung performance. If I wanted to be able to freely dance again, without the worrying and the stress over getting it right, I needed to take this class and become comfortable with the unpredictability. 

So I kept coming back to class. For a good chunk of the semester, I felt tested. As the weeks went by, and we explored more and more physical contact and positions, I kept freezing up and being unsure of myself. I felt like I wasn’t making the right moves, or that I wasn’t moving at the right times. The improv portion of the class frustrated me. 

Some more time passed. The class became a regular part of my weeks. And that is when I think I started to feel a little more comfortable. Doing partner or group dances, I noticed I was taking more risks in my own dancing. I was moving in ways that felt foreign but ultimately free. There was no one to criticize or yell at me. I was just moving with the rhythm of the group or the music. 

There were several moments in CI where I felt that me and my partner were on the same brain wave. No words were shared. We simply danced together, trying to use our senses to anticipate the other’s moves. The more I practiced, the more I was able to have dances with students where everything moved like water. The pushes and the pulls met each other. 

I think one of the strongest memories I will have from the CI class was the last class, in which we carried each other and formed a amoeba like thing. I got carried up, which I really loved. It felt silly and fun, feelings I wasn’t expecting to have in a dance class. What was also really heart-warming about the experience of being carried was that the people who carried me noticed I wanted to do it and asked. I think my body language showed that I wanted to go up, and I really appreciate the attention and care I received with those people. 

The amoeba in the last class was so cool. We were all huddled together, climbing and dancing over each other. I remember it was so warm in the middle of this giant ball of students. Despite the sweatiness, there was a strong feeling of joy radiating from everywhere. People were happy and carefree, and so was I. I really enjoyed that. 

One of the aspects of CI that I noticed immediately was the complete breakdown of traditional touch and action based taboos. For example, in the dining hall or in the library or in a cafe it would be extremely out of bounds to touch a stranger’s public bone, lay my head on their lap, or even touch them at all. Everyone is expected to have their own “personal space” bubble and it is socially unacceptable to cross it. Sometimes that bubble shrinks, for example if you’re riding a crowded subway. But even in that situation, you are doing your best to be considerate of those around you, and if you accidentally touch, you immediately apologize. Within the environment of a contact improv class though, not only is unusual touch socially acceptable, it’s also expected. This gives me a lot of liberation to dance and touch in creative (while still respectful ways) without feeling the need to constantly excuse myself. Funnily enough, I noticed this same breakdown of touch based taboos in a different environment: the mosh pit. If you are moshing, you have entered an agreement with those around you that you’re okay with being elbowed, pushed, hit in the face & touched roughly. But, this means that you are free to do the same, to enter the thick of it and push everyone around and dance however you want, without the impulse to be like “I’m sorry, My Bad, I’m so sorry, oops”. It's interesting how though the quality of touch is completely different from CI to moshing, the social environment is the same. 

Another aspect of Contact Improv that was significant to me was the need to warm up / ease into a dance. Even though we were in this unique dance environment, and we all signed up to take contact improv, it seemed like every class we were all tired and lethargic, not ready to move freely. I really enjoyed the various warm up exercises we did, from yoga to room-crossing. On mornings when I was really stressed or tired, I really appreciated taking the time to check in with my body, to stretch, to slowly wake up, and prepare myself for dancing with another person. By the point in the warmup when Yun says “and now find someone near you to pair up with” I feel ready and eager to dance. It’s amazing to me the shift in energy levels from the beginning of a class to the end. 

Finally, there are some moments and activities from class that really stick out for me. My favorite thing to do is always rolling/climbing over other people- I find it really thrilling- so the first time we did weight sharing on our backs and later with the jungle gym activity was really fun. I also had a lot of fun with the socks: so whimsical and unexpected. It was also hilarious to be interrupted by the construction worker and picture our dance from an outsiders perspective for a second. I loved loved the activity this past week where one person was blind for seven minutes and their two partners guided them. Dancing is so different with your eyes closed and it feels like you’re exploring a different world. Trusting my partners enough that I wasn’t going to run into anything or anyone mena that I could move freely, even without sight. It was also fun to guide others and see how I could insert myself into their dance. Finally, our group dancing and lifting in our last class was the perfect way to end. I felt really connected and supported by everyone in the class, and the sheer joy of lifting everyone and being lifted as a group was incredible. Overall, I am really grateful for this class, something wildly out of my comfort zone, but I feel like I’ve gained a lot of incredible experience and confidence.

As someone who is very physically affectionate with my friends in day to day life, I particularly enjoyed the weight sharing aspect of CI. Rolling over each other and just laying on your partner and feeling their weight was deeply satisfying. I feel like this class also helped with my ability to support others physically as well as my own willingness to trust others to support me. I was really excited when we first introduced lofting. When we did the intuitive movement with closed eyes, I was surprised by my lack of fear. Within the beautiful class community we created, I felt safe to explore moving without seeing where I was going, knowing I would be supported and taken care of no matter what. I appreciated that we ended on the note of "everyone deserves to be lifted" and I would like to carry that into the rest of my life even outside of dance.

-roots of tree

-rocks in ocean

-tall grass in wind

CI often has this tension of “does this person want to dance with me? Do they want contact? Am I making safe choices that we are both comfortable with trying out?” especially during jams. I wonder if I’m reading a situation correctly, if I’m pushing someone’s boundaries too far, or if I have made incorrect assumptions about what they want to do or are capable of doing with me. I have known that I can always ask, but sometimes it can kind of feel like speaking would disturb the vibe of the jam. In this class, I found myself becoming less worried about these questions and more willing to just ask whoever I was dancing with if the amount of weight I had on them was okay. I also became more comfortable with being a little wrong and just going with the flow, and it was a relief to know that others were also experiencing these questions.

One of my two favorite scores from the semester was the one where we were either in twos or threes and we were giving one person information and resistance through touch, and that person could kind of go anywhere with that information. It was fun to experiment with the different places of contact and where I could go with them, and the ways that I could support and give information to others. I feel like this was one of the ways that I was able to develop a great understanding of where someone might be trying to move through space and how I can support them in that.  My other favorite score that we did was the authentic movement one, where one person closed their eyes and did whatever they felt like, and they had two people helping them in their movement and keeping them safe. It was incredibly weird but also so much fun to move without a lot of understanding of where I was facing or where I was going, and to allow myself to not overthink what was happening or who I might be near, because it’s not in my control and I have people nearby who will prevent anything unsafe from happening. It was also a fun challenge to be a person helping in this score! I got to learn each of my partners’ movement patterns and habits and then adapt my support to work best for them. There were some moments that were a little scary or I had to catch someone, but I didn’t feel like anyone was genuinely out of control and I felt really confident in my abilities on all sides of CI.

Overall, I’m really thankful for this class and everyone in it! I feel like we really learned as a community, and I’m really grateful that I was able to take this class and bring CI into my regular life this semester.

dance for everyone

poker face starburst lean and burst

beginning hip hop

knee lock and hop

head on floor and legs out like spin pause

beginning contemporary

the last move someone does the next person starts

very organic shapes

contact improv

lift cradle tuck around body that lifts, floor spinning, lay on body like a stool/table

elementary composition

movement like eels or seaweed but more structured

beginning afro Caribbean

live drumming

everyone stood up to do a small dance

wedding triangle two people go in at a time and shake then start triangle again

modern afro caribbean

live drumming and shaker

each dancer introduces the other by spin and arm

dancing and frolicking like birds or flowers

jump push with arm and leg tuck in air

moving arms like wings

jump with back leg fully up curved and arms curved up

clapping the floor to support live music

intermediate pointe

someone fell but got back up and joined again immediately

very graceful

based on solo from jewels ballet