Archive
Archives: 2021; 2020 ; 2019 ; 2018 ; 2017 ; 2016 ; 2014 - 2015
Oxford Contact Dance events in 2018
December: Movement Research Workshop
Movement Research Workshop with facilitator Yi Qing. Photo: Huneid Tyeb.
When: Saturday 29 December
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Location: Upstairs Hall, Jericho St Barnabas Community Centre, Canal Street, Jericho, Oxford, OX2 6BQ.
Cost: £12.50 or £10 concessions
This workshop is for everyone who moves or dances: beginners, experienced dancers in Contact Improvisation, and anyone who wants to move before the end of 2018!
About the workshop: Habitual responses - to a certain extent, develop from practices. How can we avoid habit, and still react spontaneously? What are the alternative ways of reacting to a situation when dancing in contact improvisation? We will investigate this together.
We’ll focus on the concept of ‘when bodies meet’ without perception, expectation, images nor judgements. We will explore a diversity of speeds, movement, and spontaneity yet remain in tune with ourselves and our dance partner.
Note: Please arrive on time - thank-you. The workshop is in the Upper Hall of the Jericho Community Centre. This is a drop-in workshop and reservations are not necessary.
About the workshop facilitator: Yi Qing is originally from Malaysia and trained in Singapore. Presently, she is living in Berlin and an independent movement practitioner in improvisation and contact improvisation. She has facilitated workshops since in 2015 in Malaysia, Singapore and Poland. Beside researching movement, she is also an active performer and dance teacher.
November: Classes & Dancing on 7, 14, 18, 21, 28
Dance Contact Improvisation - Class
Dancing contact improvisation at Oxford Contact Dance. Photo: Pier Corona
When: Wednesdays 7, 14, 21, 28 November
Time: 7.30 - 9 pm
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Cost: £10 or £8 concessions
Join our drop-in classes for dancing contact improvisation – suitable for beginners and experienced dancers located at the University Club, Oxford. All welcome. You can expect body work, games, technique and creative dance in our classes. Be prepared to move and to enjoy moving together with others in contact.
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance – a dialogue in movement – which has a fluid and dynamic form. Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle.
Poster for these dance classes (PDF).
Dance to Sitar
Jack Hally will play sitar at this dance session ('jam') for dancing contact improvisation at Oxford Contact Dance. Photo: Jack Hally
When: Sunday 18 November
Time: 2 - 4 pm
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Cost: £10 or £8 concessions
Jack Hally will play sitar at this dance session ('jam') for dancing contact improvisation at the University Club, Oxford. Beginners and experienced dancers welcome. Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle.
Poster for this dance session/jam (PDF).
Classes & Dancing on 17, 21, 24, 31 October
Enjoy Dancing - Classes
Dancing contact improvisation at Oxford Contact Dance. Photo: Pier Corona
When: Wednesdays 17, 24, 31 October
Time: 7.30 - 9 pm
Cost: £10 or £8 concessions
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Join our drop-in classes for dancing contact improvisation – suitable for beginners and experienced dancers located at the University Club, Oxford. All welcome. You can expect body work, games, technique and creative dance in our classes. Be prepared to move and to enjoy moving together with others in contact.
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance – a dialogue in movement – which has a fluid and dynamic form. Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle.
Poster for these classes (PDF).
Dance to Piano
Dancing contact improvisation at Oxford Contact Dance. Photo: Pier Corona
When: Sunday 21 October
Time: 2 - 4 pm
Cost: £10 or £8 concessions
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Anna Eleftheriadou will play piano at this two hour session (‘a jam’) for dancing contact improvisation at the University Club, Oxford. Beginners and experienced dancers welcome. Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle.
Poster for this dance session/jam (PDF).
The Garden Dance & Workshops, September: 16, 23, 29
Join us and create a composition for the Garden Dance on the afternoon of Saturday 29 September. We invite all dancers – ideally with some experience of contact improvisation – to participate and create a moving flowing sculpture. We’d love to work with you all on this, and offer two workshops including one for dancers with no experience of contact improvisation technique.
- Sunday 16 September: Contact Refresher & Introduction to Contact Improvisation Workshop Attend this workshop if you have no or little experience of contact improvisation. Dancers experienced in contact improvisation my also attend for free!
- Sunday 23 September: Garden Dance Composition Workshop To take part in the Garden Dance then you must attend this workshop.
- Saturday 29 September: Garden Dance Performance The Garden Dance is at the Turrill Sculpture garden which is the garden of the Summertown library, Oxford from 2.30 pm for half an hour.
This is our maxim: All life a dance; everyone a dancer; every moment a dance
Garden Dance Performance
When: 29 September from 14:30-15:00
Where: The Turrill Sculpture garden, in the garden of Summertown Library, Oxford. See map for Summertown Library, South Parade, Summertown, OX2 7JN. The Sculpture Garden is open from 9am to 4pm.
Cost: Free!
See our Garden Dance at the Turrill Sculpture Garden (Summertown Library, Oxford) on the afternoon of Saturday 29 September from 2.30-3pm. Four dancers - Stacy, Sonia, Tamsyn and Andrew have a created a living flowing sculpture using contact improvisation techniques which celebrate the abstract painting of Wassily Kandinsky, and the forms and colours of the Turrill Sculpture Garden where they will dance. Cellist Josie Weber will accompany the dancing.
The dance was developed at a workshop of Oxford Contact Dance. The performance is part of events hosted by Fairplay Oxford to raise awareness of climate change.
Programme for this performance(PDF).
Garden Dance Composition Workshop
Photo of Wassily Kandinsky painting by https://www.flickr.com/photos/89375755@N00/ under a Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license
When: 23 September from 12:30-16:00
Where: Multi-Purpose Room (in basement), Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Cost: Free but email Oxford Contact Dance (contact@contactdance.org). Note: you must also participate in the Garden Dance.
We’ll use 1.2 meter wooden poles as a compositional device in this dance. The actual ‘stage’ is a small round area of grass so we’ll have these geometric shapes – lines and a circle – along with the movement of our dance with which to create a score/composition. The artistic director is Andrew Wood.
If you have no experience of dancing contact improvisation and wish to participate in the Garden Dance then please join our Contact Refresher (1-4pm) on Sunday 16 September. See above for further details
Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle.
The painting shown is by Wassily Kandinsky which we take as an inspiration. He said:
“At that time [~1904 – 1905] I tried, by means of lines and by distribution of mottled points of colours to express the musical spirit of Russia. Other pictures of that period reflected the contradictions and later the eccentricities of Russia.” — Wassily Kandinsky
Facebook event for this workshop.
Poster for this workshop (PDF).
Contact Refresher & Introduction to Contact Improvisation
Photo of Wassily Kandinsky painting by https://www.flickr.com/photos/89375755@N00/ under a Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license
When: 16 September from 13:00-16:00
Where: Multi-Purpose Room (in basement), Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Cost: Free if you intend to participate in the Garden Dance or otherwise £10. Note: Experience dancers may attend without charge to assist with the teaching and learning.
Class for beginners in dancing contact improvisation or those wanting a refresher (1-3pm with dance session ‘jam’ 3-4 pm). If you have little or no experience of dancing contact improvisation and wish to participate in the Garden Dance then please join this workshop. You’ll also need to attend the Composition Workshop too to dance in the Garden Dance (see below).
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance – a dialogue in movement – which has a fluid and dynamic form.
Please wear loose clothing and bring a water bottle. The teacher is Andrew Wood.
Facebook event for this workshop.
Poster for this workshop (PDF).
Dance in the Park, August: 1, 15, 23, 29
Come and dance or learn to dance, contact improvisation/ contact tango with us in University Parks, Oxford. All welcome. We're meeting 6.30pm at Keble Gate, University Parks (AT KEBLE GATE - by the gate on the pavement, not inside the park and not the main gate!) which is at the intersection of Keble Road & Parks Road, next to the new physics building, to find a spot in the park. There is an optional introductory session or simply come to dance. Note: no amplified music is allowed in the park but acoustic instruments welcome.
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance - a dialogue in movement - which has a fluid and dynamic form, and it’s social dancing; not stage dancing. Suitable for everyone, whatever your age, gender or dancing experience.
Please bring a water bottle and wear loose clothing in which you can move freely.
Cost: Free!
Location: Meeting at Keble Gate, University Parks, Parks Road, Oxford. The gate is opposite the intersection of Keble Road & Parks Road and beside the Physics building. Keble Gate is shown on this map). You can also see a picture of Keble Gate on Google's Streetview too.
Time: 6.30 - 8.30 pm
This is our maxim: All life a dance; everyone a dancer; every moment a dance
Dance in the Park, July: 4, 12, 18, 26
Dance in the Park, June: 13, 21, 28
Dance Sunday, 22 April
Oxford Contact Dance session December 2016. Photo credit: Pier Corona
Stop Press! Josie Webber will accompany our dancing on her cello.
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Cost: £15 or £10 concessions
This is a class and dance session for contact improvisation. There's a two hour class which will teach fundamental skills in contact improvisation, and it's suitable for beginners and experienced dancers. Then we'll have an hours dance session - a 'jam' as it's known - accompanied by cello. Afterwards, you'll feel invigorated and free from tension.
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance - a dialogue in movement - which has a fluid and dynamic form, and it’s social dancing; not stage dancing.
Please wear loose clothing in which you can move freely and bring a bottle of water. Note: We'll use the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) on the lower floor of the University Club.
After the dance session, there will be a meeting at 4pm in the Cafe at the University Club for prospective members of Oxford Contact Dance. All welcome.
Note: Drop-in session, reservations unnecessary.
Example videos Jam - number 2 (Gabriela Tropia) ; Jam - number 3 (Gabriela Tropia)
Easter Dance - Bank Holiday Monday 2 April: Dance contact improvisation with us
Photo: Pamela Carls Easter Eggs (2007) https://www.flickr.com/photos/irisdragon used under a Creative Commons license.
This is a two hour dance session with an introduction to contact improvisation for beginners on Bank Holiday Monday. We will be using the space at Common Ground in Oxford, and improvising and composing a dance. Easter treat: it's free!
Contact improvisation is a dance which originated in the 1970’s and which has now spread throughout the world. It’s often taught in university dance courses but it’s easy to learn and fun. It’s an improvised dance - a dialogue in movement - which has a fluid and dynamic form, and it’s social dancing; not stage dancing.Example videos of contact improvisation (on vimeo; film maker Gabriela Tropia): Video Jam #13 ; Video Jam #10 ; Video Jam #6 ; Video Jam #5 ; Video Jam #2.
Common Ground (see https://www.facebook.com/CommonGroundWorkspace/) was formerly a Barclays Bank but it is now used as a community and co-working space with a cafe, cycle repair, workshops, yoga and dance/performance. The dance space is the former bank vault! But there's no money in it now! There are mats and it's a unique space for dance, yoga, etc.
Please bring a water bottle and wear loose clothing. Afterwards, well go for coffee, cake, ice cream and yes, Easter eggs if that's what you want!
Google map here showing Common Ground's location!
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/182028002594079/
Dance Lab : Falling UP! Sunday 4 March
Photo: Join us at our first Dance Lab session.
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Cost: £10 (members**)/£13 (non-members)
Falling in love might be easy but falling in dance can be trickier! In this 'laboratory' session, we'll investigate falling which is fun, safe and dynamic using techniques from contact improvisation. Let's lab!
Contra-balancing and rotation; spiralling and our bodies natural elasticity can direct our momentum to make falling less down and more up! Beside our investigation, there will be an hours dance session (jam) where you can dance freely. Andrew Wood will facilitate the session.
Please wear loose clothing in which you can move freely and bring a bottle of water. Note: We'll use the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) on the lower floor. Some experience of Contact Improvisation helpful but not essential.
(**Note: Membership of Oxford Contact Dance is £10 for the calendar year 2018. You can purchase membership at your first session with us which gives discounts and a say in the running of Oxford Contact Dance - a constituted association.)
Workshop: Grounding & Fragile Balances, Sunday 11 February
Photo: In December 2017, Oxford Contact Dance performed in Oxford's Central Library.
There were four dancers. Photographer: Karl Wallendszus.
Location: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Time: 2 - 4 pm
Cost: £10 (members)/£15 (non-members)
No booking required - just turn up. Some experience of Contact Improvisation recommended.
This two hour workshop for dancing contact improvisation will use training from a week long intensive with Joerg Hassmann earlier this year, called Grounding & Fragile Balances.
Joerg Hassmann, contact improvisation dance teacher:
'One essential ingredient of CI technique is that we constantly create fragile balances - to loose them and to catch them again. Static stability produces safety and stuckness in what we know but does not serve an alive dance.
'I want to give a good sense of grounding to grow the necessary trust so we can let go of holding patterns that limit aliveness. I want to invite the pleasure of subtleties that change the way we experience ourselves, the dance and maybe bits of our life beyond.'
Please wear loose clothing in which you can move freely and bring a bottle of water. We'll use the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) on the lower floor.
(Note: Membership of Oxford Contact Dance is £10 for the calendar year 2018. You can purchase membership at your first session with us which gives discounts and a say in the running of Oxford Contact Dance - a constituted association.)
New Year Jam! January 9 2018; Tuesday Drop-in Class - January 16, 30 2018
All these events take place at the University Club: Oxford University Club, 11 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ. Note: everyone welcome including non-club/non-university members.
Photo: In December 2017, Oxford Contact Dance performed in Oxford's Central Library.
There were four dancers. Photographer: Karl Wallendszus.
Tuesday 9 Jan 2018: New Year Jam! (dance session)
Time: 7.30 - 9.30 pm
Cost: £10/£8 concs.
No booking required - just turn up
This is a two hour dance session for contact improvisation (which is also known as a jam!) without a class where you can dance, learn from others and practice dancing. All welcome. Please wear loose clothing in which you can move freely and bring a bottle of water. Note: We'll use the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) on the lower floor of the Club.
Tuesday 16, 30 Jan 2018: Tuesday Drop-in Class
Time: 7.30 - 9.30 pm
Cost: £10/£8 concs.
No booking required - just turn up
Our regular weekly dance classes are on Tuesday evening (but NOT Tue 23 Jan). We'll be exploring tools for improvising and developing our technique for dancing contact improvisation. Suitable for beginners and experienced dancers. Please wear loose clothing in which you can move freely and bring a bottle of water. Note: We'll use the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room) on the lower floor of the Club.