WHAT IS CONTACT IMPROVISATION?
A social dance form created by contemporary dancer, Steve Paxton, in 1972.
He wanted to see what would happen to the way two or more bodies moved together when sharing weight through physical contact.
Turns out alot happens, and the exploration and insights are endless.
I love CI for its cultivation of physical communication, being with what is happening in the moment and its endless physical puzzles that are so joyous.
WHO IS CI FOR?
Any one who is interested in CI. It does not require any prior dance or movement experience. All levels of experience work together in class.
WHERE DO I OFFER CI?
I offer Community Classes, High School and Higher Education Guest Teaching, and Workplace Workshops.
Community Classes are through Contact Improvisation Melbourne. They run every Saturday 1.30-3.30 at Dance of Life Yoga Studio
St Marks Church, 250 George Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065.
Please contact me for details of when I am teaching my next Saturday class or if you are interested in what CI can bring to your students or workplace.
WHAT TO EXPECT
We begin by bringing our attention to our own bodies.
From here we learn our relationship to the ground. Folding and unfolding, rolling and finding different ways to come in and out of the floor.
Then we learn how to make contact and communicate with each other through ‘the rolling point of contact’
Through that contact point we learn how to give and receive weight.
Lastly we play with all the things we have learnt in the class in a container called a ‘jam’.
The we sit and share in a ‘harvest’ together, which is a sharing of your experiences in class and what you have learned about the form.
Nicole brings a rigorous understanding of CI as well as years of experience training bodies. This combination ensures people leave her class empowered to safely continue their own explorations of the form.
— Colin Sneesby, Lecturer in Movement (Theatre), University of Melbourne.
Through her classes, Nicole gives this elusive dance form clarity and inspiration. Her deep understanding of movement from a mechanical perspective and her somatic curiosity offers the students concrete tools to explore and develop in the form of CI.
— Doreen, student
Nicole has a rare gift for turning complex skills and subtle concepts into clear, simple tasks that become “aha!” moments for your body.
— Martin Hughes , CI Teacher & Mentor
"I always look forward to Nicole's classes—she brings energy, enthusiasm, and a curiosity that makes them fun and informative. I'm always impressed by how she guides a class that's inclusive of both beginners and experienced dancers. I love how she adapts to participants, gives clear instructions, welcomes feedback and reflection, and always leaves time for dancing to integrate the technical."
— Dom, student
What CI looks like in practice
Below is Sasha Dodo and Dolores Dewhurst Marks. They run ‘Towards’ a Contact Improvisation travelling school in Thailand. I had the pleasure of learning from them and their team in a week long training in 2022. They are advance CI dancers, and like anyone who dances CI they have their own style. Here, they are dancing in the context of a ‘Jam’. Traditionally Jams are silent but it is also common practice to have music Jams.
“My profession and passion is to dance and to share the dance with others. That’s what I do through teaching, performing, writing and organizing. In the beginning I was mainly driven by creating dance and theatre pieces, bringing improvisation on stage. A while back teaching CI has become my main field of exploration, which I began in 1995 – and now it lets me travel the whole world. Developmental movement patterns, an anatomical focus on the skeleton and the fascia system, Capoeira, Release Techniques and many kinds of sports have guided my understanding of the moving body.
Originally I am from Germany but now based in Australia. I regularly return to Europe to dance, teach and research.”