Contact Improvisation Dance: A Different Type of Communication

Are words the best way to communicate effectively? What we mean to say gets lost in translation by our limited vocabulary and body language, the tone of our voice, and so on. The person listening also has a clouded interpretation of it.

What if we found out that the best way to communicate is without words? Perhaps the best way is to be aware of ourselves first, followed by being aware of our environment and finally,  being aware of the other person. One way to do it is through Contact Improvisation Dance.

Steve Paxton the man who introduced it in 1972, in New York, called it a "heightened state of awareness".

According to Tanya Williams, who runs a Contact Improv class in Waterloo, Ontario, Paxton was fed up with modern dance where people were learning the movements from a teacher. "So he wanted to create a dance from where the movement would arise organically from the person themselves. He focused on the physical relationship that we have to our environment, which involves gravity and how our structure of our body responds to gravity and momentum and centrifugal forces. Contact Improv is very circular and spiraling and radiating our from the center of our body. There's the center of gravity in the middle of the earth which we are all attracted to, but every object has a center of gravity that we can revolve around."

She goes on to explain that the center of gravity in the body is found near the naval area of the body, often associated with creativity and sexuality. I would go further to say that when sexuality is non-exploitative, it becomes an energy of Creation, Connection and Communication. Perhaps Freud had a valid point when he believed that our problems arise from sexual oppression.

The dance, which can be done alone or with a multitude of partners, is predominantly done in pairs. Williams says,"People will lean into each other and create a bridge, but it is a dynamic moving bridge, with a rolling point of contact between the two bodies. Because they are leaning into each other there's this interdependent relationship. (It is) just so satisfying to feel the connection... to be supported by someone or supporting someone else."  One does not only learn to be aware of the other, but they learn trust, intimacy, and compassion. 

CHECK OUT THIS CONTACT IMPROV WHERE THE WOMAN PLAYS THE MAN'S ROLE AND THE MAN DANCES AS A WOMAN.

I wondered what the criteria was. "There are no rules" announced Williams, "There are guiding principles that are helpful. I can't tell someone this is what it is. It will always be changing and different for every person. What I do is offer my experience."

Holding your partner is not encouraged, but light nudging is acceptable."If I hold someone else, there is a chance I would take away their ability to take care of themselves. I am more likely to hurt my back and take away their freedom."

Because it revolves around gravity, the floor is your first partner. Music may become another partner, though many dances are done silently, without the distraction of music.

It has helped Tanya Williams with her chronic pain, to move more freely and with greater ease. She also notices that her conversations have become gentler since.

"I think when I am doing contact, I am repatterning the neurological system in my brain and body, creating profound changes in my system," she adds, "I can't live without it."

As I digress for a moment, I imagine the Canadian Parliament using this type of communication instead of the antiquated system used today, with all the bickering going on. Would it make a difference? Stephen, Iggy, and Jack... holding each other up.

Sigh...