Contact Improvisation Class

This page is more for myself than potential participants. It can be useful for people who may need some tangible guidance ahead of time prior to the class.

  • 6/12/2023 at Ellen webb studio | 7-8:30pm, oakland
  • 5/24/2023 at the Center SF | 7:30-9pm, 548 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
    • Theme: polarity and integration (two opposite components serve one purpose)
    • Name, name with breath, therapeutic approach to CI: practicing how to attune to different bodies, studying different responses, applying attunement skills from CI into interpersonal relationship
    • Addressing intention and impact: touch is involved in this class due to the nature of CI which is an improvisational dance form to maintaining or making physical contact with others explicitly, negative interpretation can happen with previous lived experiences, try to be mindful of own experience, I am available to discuss about your experience as a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) 
    • conceptual contents: 3 different levels, 3 different paces, upper&lower body, front and back, thumb and pinky, push and full, acceptance and resistacne, functional body and expressive body  
    • class contents:
      • solo improv: 5min low level in slow pace, 3min mid level in medium pace, 1min high level in fast pace, 
      • sliding touch to note physical boundary/edges, option to play with different pace 
      • pressured and direct touch for backside of upper body (from pinky), frontside of upper body (thumb), backside of lower body, frontside of lower body
        • space qualities with functional body: advancing, retreating, enclosing, spreading, rising, sinking, 
        • [6 Space qualities with rotation]
        • improv with expressive body, option to change levels
      • discussion, questions, explaining or survey about space qualities with expressive body
      • Exploring three levels of receptivity: this is intentional choice of score to understand your tendency in interpersonal relationship. By practicing these options, you can choose one way to respond to others with clear intention when it is needed. Great practice for people whose boundary was not respected historically.
        • no response: in pairs, one person (A) lays down, another person (B) push and pull of partner’s limbs. A uses passive weight with no response.
          • feel weight of forearms, push towards elbow and shoulder, pull away from it, explore range of motion
          • feel weight of legs, push towards joints, pull away from joints, explore range of motion
          • feel weight of head, explore range of motion
        • acceptance: A becomes responsive (responsive body). A responses to B’s input (push and pull).
        • resistance: A becomes reactive. A resists to B’s input. When B pushes A, A pushes back. When B pulls A, A pulls B.
      • Change roles: push and pull from no response to acceptance then resistance
      • one person with 6 people in limbs, push and pull
      • reflection, discussion about connection between class materials and interpersonal relationship

  • 5/11/2023 at Finnish Hall | 7-8pm, 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA 94702
    • Exploring simple movement
      • Engaging rhythm of heart beat as a resource to center yourself
      • Arms guide breath in 3 directions (horizontal, vertical, sagittal), Visual Perception in 3 directions (closing eyes in transitions), Head-Tail connection, Upper-Lower body connection (push and pull), Left-Right body connection (stability and mobility), Cross-Lateral
    • Movement into dance: 5 min improvisation based on the exercise in 2 groups (one group observes and another group dances)
    • Exploring being passive and active in pairs.
      • exploring mechanism of physical body: person A lays down and relax by disengaging with muscle tension. person B pushes and pulls A’s limbs to support B to relax muscular tension and to explore different range of motion in joints.
      • person A begins to respond to B occasionally and gradually.
      • this exploration turns into CI without roles
      • switch roles
    • Multiple groups of people, CI in pairs