Jamming

Like jazz musicians, contact dancers practice their art by jamming together and, again as in jazz, a jam doubles up as a social meeting place. Styles vary according to where you go but in general when people jam it is without recorded music though sometimes a live musician will come along and jam too.

Though most people take some classes at some time, many people's first contact with contact is on visiting a jam and popular contact mythology has it that there are some very capable dancers who've learned the form by only going to jams.

Jams often begin with people taking time on their own to 'centre themselves' and warm themselves up into movement before going on to find others to dance with.

Dances can be long or short, with one or more partners. People also take time out to watch others. As a jam draws to a close people often warm down together with some form of bodywork or massage, or maybe by taking time alone for quite reflection.

Safety at jams

In terms of sheer physical safety, following the form brings safety in itself – by taking time to 'center' and 'ground' yourself first; then by tuning in to your partner; following the point of contact rather than pushing it; staying relaxed, open and aware; turning the momentum of falls into rolls; and never holding on to your partner. I've only heard of one serious injury and that was more about the choice of dance surface.

With people working so closely in contact with each other, often total strangers, 'social' safety is another important issue. The form itself confounds so many social conventions and sometimes the permission to exchange touch that is its premise can be abused.The bottom line is that you always have the choice whether or not to enter or continue a dance.

In this respect as in so many others contact is about taking responsibilty for your own experience and safety. However these choices are not always so easy to make in practice. The contact community needs to recognise this and consciously support individuals in that choice-making process. A step towards this would be to display a safety code (click here to view a sample as a PDF) at your public jam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Introduction
• Jamming
• Learning and teaching
• Underscore
• Classes and workshops
• Links

Links to Festivals

International Contact Festival Freiburg www.contactfestival.de

ECITE
www.ecite.org

Bern Jam

more links ...

Example of a Score Jam : Helsinki CI practice sessions

In Autumn 2005 we began to hold CI practice sessions every second Saturday in Zodiak rehearsal space. The sessions last 3 hours and close to new arrivals after the first 20 minutes arrival time.

See the full CI practice session score

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