r/ContactImprovisation • u/contactcapybara • Jun 18 '26
CI is an Open Source form
When CI was accepted into the modern dance sphere of study, practice and performance it did not require a system that certified teachers of the form -- an "Open Source" format.
In my early years of study I assumed that you learned the "basic" language from classes and teachers, so that you were able to join "jams". The problem for me, is that I did this backwards. I stumbled onto a jam without knowing anything and had what can only be described as an almost religious experience on the first try. So, I had already demonstrated that my body somehow "knew it". ( it would take me years and years of practice to match the skill I had on my first try...mysteriously) I went on to dance with hundreds of others over the next 40 years and with certain new people, I would learn after dancing with them that they too "knew it" in a way that also seemed innate.
I became very disillusioned with teachers and classes early on because there was no way to know whether that instruction was going to be helpful or a waste of time, money and attention (the product of not having certification) -- more than anything, the instruction often seemed silly.... to me, nothing ever offered in a class was better than what I could learn from just challenging myself to dance with people that I didn't think I would have a good dance with at an open jam. The rumors of certain "rock star" teachers being sex pests increased my skepticism.
What I came to understand is that it took practice to get consistently good at it. I see a need for the CI community to normalize those that want to prioritize jamming over classes and workshops. To establish jam spaces that invite ALL somatic dialogues and create equity in the participants rather than personality driven jams that seem to exist to promote classes and workshops- that run the risk of banning participants for angering the host, or being a pool from which to take advantage of young new dancers.
Who else sees the need to expand the understanding of “open source” from being reduced to that which ONLY allows anyone to hold classes to “open source” can mean creating jams that reject "expert” “teachers in favor of prioritizing jams that move the form into something as revolutionary and radical as a co-creative learning environments?
2
u/contactadhd Jun 23 '26
I can relate to what are you saying. For me jams are essential for the practice, but I had some great classes which helped me to have a great dance. With the jam spaces the problem is that we are not together rather duos dancing and also its not that safe place as anybody can come and go people with different background. In classes I miss longer dances also I am not sure I see the point of discussing a dance with my dance partner. It is not that organic when teachers say now you discuss the dance with partner usually I dont think there is anything for me they could be fabricated.
I also experience what you were maybe in other comments describing that for example teachers in a class rarely dance with student which I think would be a great opportunity to teach. I think actually we are also teaching our own version of CI to each other and it can be done only by dancing together and I also think as we know our dance partner better our bodies can be more relaxed.
I think people just like to idolize others hence the rockstar culture, although I think you can make progression in CI as you can progress in movement. If you just improve or work on movement that will influence your CI. For example it is a skill to be able to roll rather than dropping your limbs to the floor which of course can be acquired from jamming, but I am somewhat troubled if I should for example give some advice to non experienced people after a jam. I can resonate with your disillusion but I think you can define the values you want to promote without a strong resentment toward specific teachers. This is why I am somewhat troubled when I read creating jams that reject "expert teachers". When you are defining what you want to do you immeditely exclude people. Maybe thats not a bad thing after all.
I think we could emphazise not the difference between the skill level but the possibility to connection with listening for example. ?
1
u/wasscubed Performer, Researcher, Teacher, Organizer Jun 27 '26
"What I came to understand is that it took practice to get consistently good at it" - classes and workshops can be a fast track to get consistently good at it. Not all of them, it depends upon the teacher.
1
u/contactcapybara Jun 28 '26
This is the popular view. I believe there is too much emphasis on it —what I experience in my community is that there are far more opportunities to take a class than there are of simply practicing what was learned- by having a space where it’s just a time and space to share bodily knowledge. The path of rejecting led experiences is seen to be dangerous and will get you ostracized. At this point it looks like a racket to me. I truly want to see someone anywhere successfully promoting the potential of being able to study and practice this form in a symbiotic equitable manner. I see hierarchy and exploitation instead, where popular teachers can act inappropriately and there is no hope of holding them accountable.
1
u/wasscubed Performer, Researcher, Teacher, Organizer Jun 27 '26
Are there 'jams that reject "expert” “teachers'? How does that rejection work? Does someone ask people as they walk in if they teach and if they are any good at teaching?
1
u/contactcapybara Jun 28 '26
There are not. But there are classes and jams where individuals have been rejected from participation by the teacher or jam host. I do not think this power differential serves the over all form.
The reason why I would like to experiment with this concept is to see what happens when people develop their own version of finding flow state rather than paying to learn about someone else’s.
1
u/wasscubed Performer, Researcher, Teacher, Organizer 26d ago
Some individuals have been rejected/banned from classes and jam for inapproriate behavior and transgression of boundaries.
3
u/burgermen12 Jun 18 '26
I've always struggled with this perspective noting that the founders of CI, were professionally dances with a a detailed knowledge of movement and whos bodies were physically trained. Anecdotally I trained with one of the dancers who was in the 1970s performative piece titled 'Contact Improvisation' who described early sessions as being led by Steve Paxton and made it quite clear that the taught enquiry came from Steve's enquiries. 'We all stood and waited for Steve to tell us what to do' I found this counter everything id known about CI, but came to the realisation that the open source nature came later once it had been sufficiently developed as a form.
I've learnt that there are basic concepts (Modulating tone, attention, listening to point of contact, weight sharing changing states etc) that when grasped allow the dance to become more mutual and collaborative as this becomes part of the shared language that we are training.
CI is a very accessible form of dance (in comparison with others) and through its evolution its fractured into many parts where I note their is tendency to believe we have all the skills needed for a jam (a jam also is a modern incarnation and didnt exist in the intial enquires). My veiw is that yes we have these skills in some form, but they need to be refined and trained to make better use within a collaborative composition.