Report on the third meeting on contact improvisation and body politics - in Göteborg, 25 – 29 October 2013 - -
How can I be clearer in my approach to another person, another body? How can I better listen to myself as well as to the responses of the people I am contact with? How can each person articulate their needs and wishes within the dance more clearly? - -
Communication and awareness, boundaries and listening were major themes at this meeting. Organisers and attendees alike, most of them engaged in both movement/physical practices and some form of political activism, participated in the facilitation of classes, labs, and jams. - - The structure foresaw a teaching session each morning, followed by different collaborative workshops (labs) in the afternoon and open practice sessions (jams) in the evening. Apart from that, the possibility to share and discuss in ongoing small groups (base groups) every day, great vegan food, and the city of Göteborg in autumn contributed to everyone’s well-being. - -
The 36 participants came from several different European countries, and from social/political backgrounds attentive to mechanisms of domination and exclusion, particularly gender norms and sexism. We were interested in revisiting the ways in which social norms and perceptions affect the practice of contact improvisation and how we could introduce more safety and communication to our practice. In the „Sexual Politics“ and „Body Constellation“ labs we explored mixing verbal with non-verbal communication in contact improvisation, invited attention to each person’s responses to different qualities of touch, and focused on clarity, safer spaces and empathy in dance. - -
Next year’s meeting is planned for June. For more information, see: www.radicalcontact.org. - -