| Since arriving in Australia in late November, I began frequenting Tuesday night jams at Cecil Street Studios in Fitzroy. I'm lucky in that I have had the opportunity to study a bit of contact improvisation in the States and participate in "open movements" at P.S. 122 in New York City. Coming into such a new environment, though, and not feeling confident with my improv skills, I was hesitant to move at first. Like anywhere, it is scary to get started and ask total strangers to share the intimate experience of rolling around all folds of your body for the sake of exploring movement. But slowly barriers begin to break down. Of all places to feel a bit insecure, Cecil Street is a good one. The atmosphere is so open minded and unjudgemental that anyone who tries it out will feel comfortable soon enough. With a mix of participants, from very experienced to those contacting for the first time, the jam remains friendly, casual and generally calm. There is space to get really wild and people to help you with that pursuit, but also as much opportunity to relax and take things slowly. The studio is playground, classroom and lounge room simultaneously. The jam exists for all of us, to take from it as much or as little as we like. Some people dance for two hours straight. Some don't dance much at all. |
One thing, though, that I do notice as an outsider to the Melbourne contact improv scene is that everyone dances in duets at the jams. Occasionally a trio breaks out, but mostly people stick in pairs. While, perhaps, this is more comfortable, I think that the more we expand into different groupings, the more possibilities and innovations will present themselves. I challenge all of us to do this. I know that I, along with everyone else, am working through inhibitions, fears, and insecurities about contact improv. The jams offer me the outlet to struggle with personal issues in a positive and encouraging environment. Since I am now in Melbourne, where the improvisation scene is so vibrant, I will take advantage of the extensive resources here. Hopefully, from these experiences, I will enter my next improv scene more confidently than I did in Melbourne. That may sound like a small goal, but confidence is most of the battle with improvisation. Because contact is such a personal thing, as an individual or shared activity, the environment in which we practice it has to be comfortable and appropriate. Tuesday nights at Cecil Street provide these accommodations. Where else can you experiment with other bodies and test your own boundaries in a relaxed and creative atmosphere, all for the price of a cafe latte? |
vol 6 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3&4 - 2003 vol 5 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2002 vol 4 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2001 vol 3 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 2000 vol 2 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 1999 vol 1 ed 1 - ed 2 - ed 3 - ed 4 - 1998 |
e m a i l - <Proximity> |