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Contact Improvisation:
an introduction to a
vitalizing dance form
published by
McFarland and Co.
an introduction to a
vitalizing dance form
published by
McFarland and Co.
Moving Touch
by Cheryl Pallant
This article was originally published in Natural
Awakenings, November/December 2005.
In the early 1900's, a doctor with a
Baltimore orphanage was puzzled by its
high mortality rates. Despite receiving
regular feedings and diaper changes,
many infants died within months of their
admission. A similar trend noted at
orphanages across the country and in
Europe spawned a study to determine
the cause. Researchers learned that the
difference between life and death for
infants came down to a single factor: the
amount of human touch
received.
Subsequent studies have revealed that
touch provides innumerable benefits not
only for infants, but for adults as well.
Touch relieves stress, stimulates
nerves, bolsters immune systems,
reduces physical and emotional pain,
and increases concentration. None of
this information is new to bodyworkers.
They well know the therapeutic value of
touch and use it to treat a wide array of
discomforts and diseases, everything
from muscle strain and depression to
autism and dementia.
Touch puts us in touch. Touch steers
our attention to the largest organ of our
body, our skin, with its myriad nerve
endings. Touch brings attention to our
physical self while simultaneously
highlighting our emotions, thoughts, and
relationship with the world. Our skin both
separates and links us to what lies
beyond us. When a friend or family
member rests her hand on our shoulder
or arm, we feel her presence and feel,
too, our response.
For years, I’ve been practicing and
teaching a form of dance called Contact
Improvisation in which touch plays a
major role. Dancers partner in an
improvisational exchange of weight and
balance, consistently maintaining sites
on their bodies where they rely on each
other to roll, spiral, lift, and slide along
the contours of each other’s bodies. The
dance was developed in 1972 by dancer
and choreographer Steve Paxton. His
intention was to further the vocabulary
for partnering in contemporary dance
and choreography. Since his initial
exploration, the dance, frequently
described as art-sport, physical dialog,
meditation, creative play, a
choreographic technique, and therapy,
has mushroomed into a world-wide
practice enjoyed primarily by people
outside the circle of professional
dancers.
The majority of Contact Improvisation
practitioners who gather for “jamming”
are comprised of movement enthusiasts
from such diverse backgrounds as
computer programming, carpentry,
bodywork, biochemistry, social work,
and, of course, dance. Reasons for
partaking in this partnered dance vary.
Participants enjoy the dance because it
is athletic, relaxing, stimulating,
centering, playful, therapeutic, social,
provocative, and fun.
After more than twenty years, I am still
amazed by the richness of this form.
Contact Improvisation builds strength,
increases flexibility, elicits joy, and
stimulates genuine self-reflection.
Dancers roll across the floor, spiral
around a partner’s shoulder, or tumble
over a back, in slow or fast motion, one
moving body offering another moving
body support. To accomplish these
maneuvers requires trust. Through
contact, practitioners awaken to an
increased range of motion and an inner
life. The dance, potent in its combination
of touch with motion, rarely leaves a
dancer unmoved.
by Cheryl Pallant
This article was originally published in Natural
Awakenings, November/December 2005.
In the early 1900's, a doctor with a
Baltimore orphanage was puzzled by its
high mortality rates. Despite receiving
regular feedings and diaper changes,
many infants died within months of their
admission. A similar trend noted at
orphanages across the country and in
Europe spawned a study to determine
the cause. Researchers learned that the
difference between life and death for
infants came down to a single factor: the
amount of human touch
received.
Subsequent studies have revealed that
touch provides innumerable benefits not
only for infants, but for adults as well.
Touch relieves stress, stimulates
nerves, bolsters immune systems,
reduces physical and emotional pain,
and increases concentration. None of
this information is new to bodyworkers.
They well know the therapeutic value of
touch and use it to treat a wide array of
discomforts and diseases, everything
from muscle strain and depression to
autism and dementia.
Touch puts us in touch. Touch steers
our attention to the largest organ of our
body, our skin, with its myriad nerve
endings. Touch brings attention to our
physical self while simultaneously
highlighting our emotions, thoughts, and
relationship with the world. Our skin both
separates and links us to what lies
beyond us. When a friend or family
member rests her hand on our shoulder
or arm, we feel her presence and feel,
too, our response.
For years, I’ve been practicing and
teaching a form of dance called Contact
Improvisation in which touch plays a
major role. Dancers partner in an
improvisational exchange of weight and
balance, consistently maintaining sites
on their bodies where they rely on each
other to roll, spiral, lift, and slide along
the contours of each other’s bodies. The
dance was developed in 1972 by dancer
and choreographer Steve Paxton. His
intention was to further the vocabulary
for partnering in contemporary dance
and choreography. Since his initial
exploration, the dance, frequently
described as art-sport, physical dialog,
meditation, creative play, a
choreographic technique, and therapy,
has mushroomed into a world-wide
practice enjoyed primarily by people
outside the circle of professional
dancers.
The majority of Contact Improvisation
practitioners who gather for “jamming”
are comprised of movement enthusiasts
from such diverse backgrounds as
computer programming, carpentry,
bodywork, biochemistry, social work,
and, of course, dance. Reasons for
partaking in this partnered dance vary.
Participants enjoy the dance because it
is athletic, relaxing, stimulating,
centering, playful, therapeutic, social,
provocative, and fun.
After more than twenty years, I am still
amazed by the richness of this form.
Contact Improvisation builds strength,
increases flexibility, elicits joy, and
stimulates genuine self-reflection.
Dancers roll across the floor, spiral
around a partner’s shoulder, or tumble
over a back, in slow or fast motion, one
moving body offering another moving
body support. To accomplish these
maneuvers requires trust. Through
contact, practitioners awaken to an
increased range of motion and an inner
life. The dance, potent in its combination
of touch with motion, rarely leaves a
dancer unmoved.
photos by John K. MacLellan,
copyright 2005
copyright 2005
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