Tackling choreography in the style of contact improvisation seems nearly impossible in a time when physical contact is limited. In Dr. Rebecca Rossen’s Dance History II class, undergraduate students Ashley Stone and Lindsay Ball were tasked with exploring this style for a group presentation. As their class transferred to an online setting, the two had to find a way to incorporate aspects of contact improvisation, a form rooted in physical collaboration, while maintaining social distancing restrictions. Luckily, they had a special advantage—they’re roommates!
Every semester, Dr. Rossen assigns her students to present research and a dance performance based on significant dancers and genres throughout history. Contact improvisation was just one of many styles assigned for this project. As Ball and Stone learned through their research, this dance form encourages dancers to rely on their partner and on the physical laws of motion to determine their movement. The form fosters a push and pull between partners and requires trust and support as each dancer releases their muscles and lets their contact and weight distribution motivate their improvisations.
Created by Steve Paxton in the early 1970’s, contact improvisation has evolved to include dancers of all skill levels and abilities, and its impact is still celebrated today. In this strange new world of quarantine and social distancing, its reimagined use brought some much needed joy to Rossen’s class. “It’s been hard to imagine how they’re going to translate the dances online,” Rossen shared, “but their creative response was brilliant and fun, and raised everyone’s spirits.” As roommates who were quarantining together, Ball and Stone had a unique chance to explore the style in a way that many of their fellow classmates couldn’t, and they used that opportunity to spread a little cheer and laughter.
The dancers created a presentation for the class over Zoom that touched on important aspects of the style and featured images of the form in action. In addition to their informative presentation and performance, they recreated poses in their kitchen with clever captions (like the one shown) playfully titled “Sizzling Bacon.”
Other students found unique ways to present their dance styles, combining choreography from remote locations into videos. Andreina Hurtado, Matthew James, Mykaela Johnson, Madelyn Manlove and Avery Moore were assigned with the dance company Pilobolus, a group known for their circus-like choreography that’s typically dependent on dance partners. Without group members nearby, the students used a wall in each of their locations to simulate a duet partner. Cellise Brown, Kennedy Cannon, Tori Loper and Briah Napier created a dance inspired by the Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company, collaborating despite the distance to dance in unison. Both of their responses can be seen in the videos below.
Reference: Information about contact improvisation used in this article can be found here.
