English
Improvisation of contact is a dance technique and style in which the dancers lean on each other using the mass of their bodies during the movement, respecting certain basic rules, but unleashing instinct and improvisation. It´s considered that during the early 1970s, the American dancer Steve Paxton was the first one in laying out the basics of this art, especially developing intense duos which lacked a musical background, in other words, a pair of dancers touching each other, falling, counter-weighing each other, standing up, caressing each other in a mutual balance which ends up being a mix of dance, theatre and a martial arts duel. The atmosphere which is created among the dancers, and with the crowd in general, is cooperative and equal.
This accessible and slightly elitist atmosphere favours the celebration of informal encounters which receive the name ´jams´, and which the promoters of this style of dance usually celebrate around the world.
Today I want to talk to you about a place in Amsterdam where you can attend both classes and weekly ´jams´: it´s the Studio 100 dance studio, located on Wittenstraat 100 (between Westerpark and the Jordaan). Every Saturday afternoon a large amount of dancers from different styles, origins and levels of experience (an advantage of improvisation is that there´s no need for a long technical learning curve before you begin to dance) gather there. From 2pm until 4pm they have a class (with a different teacher every week) to explain the bases of contact improvisation, suggest basic movements to start each dance and (most importantly) clarify some security notions to avoid injuries in the heat of the moment. For example, they show you how to rest your weight and how to move the centre of gravity to preserve balance in any situation, and they also give advice on how to try and leave her hands always free in order to soften a possible fall if someone slips or some other type of mishap.
At the end of class and until 6pm, in the very same Studio 100 they carry out improvisations in groups or couples. Sometimes a musician brings instruments and adds the sound of a clarinet, a piano, drums, a guitar or simple human voice to a dance, although generally ´jams´ have a place in silence which barely contains any sounds, just the ones of jumping, standing up and falling.
