The Ponderosa Annual Contact Improvisation Jam (June 18-20)
The Ponderosa TanzLand Festival began as a weekend Contact Jam. The Contact Improvisation community basically built our kitchen, guest house, studios,solar showers and compost toilets while dancing in between. If you have never done Contact we offer beginners classes lead by the infamous Pondi team and will orientate you to the art of jamming. For those with experience, we have Nancy Stark-Smith, leading the "Global Underscore". We will jam with and without live music, enjoy led warm-ups and sink into the ultimate of dancing in the cowbarn late into the night. Contact Improvisation is the heart and soul of the Ponderosa TanzLand Festival. The evenings are mixed with jams, sauna, talks, video showings, bar, fireside chats and/or spontaneous discos and informal showings.
Fr-Sun all incl. 90€ (register before June 1st: 80€)
Global Underscore Solstice 2010
Friday, June 18: evening talk-thru (required for Sat. participation)
Saturday, June 19: Underscore, 12–4pm
Description: The Underscore is a long jamming/contact/improvisation score that Nancy has been developing since 1990. The Underscore guides us through a progression of “changing states” of body and mind—from solo sensitizing to gravity and support, into group circulation and contact improvisation engagements, opening out into whole-room compositional awareness and interaction, and back to rest and reflections.
The Underscore talk on Friday evening will give some background and outline the structure in detail, to be followed the next day by the physical practice itself (with minimal guidance from Nancy), including periods of silence and periods of live music improvised/composed by Mike Vargas.
The Global Underscore Solstice is an annual, synchronized practice of the Underscore at the summer solstice, linking many sites around the globe dancing the Underscore at the same time. This is the 10th anniversary of the Global Underscore Solstice, which has been initiated and organized by Claire Filmon and the Paris Underscore Group. This year’s event will have some special features to honor the anniversary! Our Ponderosa site will be one of the global network of sites practicing together on this day.
Participation: The Ponderosa Global Underscore group will be open for anyone with experience in contact improvisation that would like to join (and can come to the talk on Friday and stay for the entire Underscore). It will also be the culmination event for Nancy and Mike’s week 1 States of Grace workshop and will be the beginning of the week 2 States of Grace (continuing) workshop. It will also be part of the transition into the Ponderosa Festival as well as a link to dancers improvising in the Underscore all over the world!
Requirements:
* Previous experience with contact improvisation.
* Attendance at the talk and the full Underscore event.
Workshop Contact Improvisation for beginners led by the Pondi Team
We will cover the basics of CI, allowing one to feel prepared to join the Contact Jams (all except the Underscore)
and dance with others. We will cover some classic Contact Improvisation exercises and
give individuals the starting skills to allow one to feel safe coming in and out of dances.
We will practice rolling, giving weight and listening to the many partners and group
improvisations that will spontaneously occur in our dancing together. Bring loose
comfortable clothing and knee pads.
