Contact Improvisation. Those two words I dreaded so much when I entered Columbia’s Dance program. I dreaded them so much that I waited until my senior year to take the “required” class. Before this class, I had not been trained in any contact improvisation or been to any jams in my life. What little I knew about contact came from my small glimpses into this style in my modern classes and a touch in my dancemaking courses. So I was less than enthused to participate in this class, not because I was not open to it, but because I feared the unknown. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to dancing. I enjoy knowing how things should feel and most of all what they should look like in my head. Contact messes with my notion of dance in a way that I feared as soon as I signed up for the class.
For me, I knew that contact would not come easily to me, and it didn’t. I am an extremely “in thought” kind of person. I’m not necessarily judgmental of myself or insecure, but rather I think way too much about things that have already happened and cannot change. So as we began, I found myself trying to turn my brain off to the useless chatter quite unsuccessfully. It took a few weeks for me to feel comfortable about anything we did in class.
So instead of putting myself down, I tried to really open my mind up to the idea of contact. I began to turn of my useless chatter and focus on the things I thought were my strengths in the form of contact. I’ve always thought that I have a lot of physical strength, and this proved to be true when we began using weight to lift one another and support one another. I found that I had an easier time taking weight than giving weight to my partners. I also learned from this exercise that liked to be in control of what was going on within my duets, so I began to focus on letting things just happen and trusting my partners more with each dance.
I think the most interesting thing that I discovered in contact improvisation class was not a trick, lift, concept, or exercise, but it was something that I have been learning and thinking about for a few years. I once had a teacher tell me that dance is a “metaphor for life.” As I analyze and reflect on my experience through the past 15 weeks of contact, I realize that statement rings true in this situation as well. My conflicts and strengths within contact in general reflect ideas, conflicts, and strengths in my own personal life. For example, I constantly over think many different aspects of my life to the point where I cannot turn my brain off. In contact I worked to do just that, and I found in my everyday life, my over thinking began to disappear. Another aspect would be the idea of taking weight and giving weight. In my own life, I can easily help others and give advice to friends. I actually really enjoy doing that for others; however, I struggle to let people into my life to actually help me out. I feel I always need to do things on my own as if to prove myself. It’s unreal how much contact has taught me about myself in just a very short time.
Reflecting back, my journey into the form of contact has been enjoyable, while still providing a challenge. I love a challenge. The last few weeks I’ve really come into the “zone” and have been focused and excited about the new things I discover with my classmates through our duets and dances together. I’m grateful for having to take a “required” course that I would have never thought I would partake in. Contact has really opened my eyes to a world that I am happily open and ready to participate in and use to further my dancing.
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After reading sara's entry, I never really thought about contact improv as a "metaphor for life" but while reading sara's entry it made a connection with my life. I've noticed that sara and I have a lot of the same weaknesses that made us fear our contact class but seeing some one else with the same fears made me realize that it is normal. The only comment on for Sara is that you don't need to "turn your brain off" from your wondering thoughts and worries, just try and see if you can push them aside and put your focus on the touch between you and your partner.
ReplyDeleteI too had some issues with the required aspect of this course and didn't know what to expect. I honestly think that everyone else at school is also so focused on moving up levels in technique classes, causing us all to focus on improving only the most crucial areas of our dance training. But I believe that we all benefitted tremendously and grew in different ways by being "forced" to take the course. It's difficult to imagine what it would be like had there been level placement for other forms like contact or even hip hop and jazz. Would that have set a different mindset? And how much does the underlying significance of being graded affect how we approach this form?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely understand how the use of contact translated itself well to life's different areas. Something I mentioned in my own recollections was the aspect of mind-body centering and other derivatives of meditation that contribute to psychophysical well-being. It comes as no surprise that even a few hours a week of mental reprogramming can promote health.
As a first semester student at Columbia College, I am so happy that I took contact improvisation right off the bat. I am beginning to notice that it is true, many students focus all their energy into proceeding to higher level of technique, which leaves little space for focusing energy on their own movement. I feel that it is important to have this balance when training so physically. Technique is beneficial and enjoyable, but their always needs to be balance. I have found through this course that it is important for me and my dancing to spend a great amount of time and energy focused on my own body and its relation to others. I also find it important to be in a practice where the dancers around me and I, are in a state of constant exploration of new movement and concepts. Not only did some of us gain a clearer understanding of this form and overcame fears we had, but I feel that we have planted the seed to allow for a community to grow. A community that would create an atmosphere where technique and individual movement discoveries are equally important.
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