(preliminary)

at the contact improvisation jam (see Fostering Contact Improv for a description) i've attended for many years, we've gone through many ups and downs. over time, we've come to identify some needs and ways to satisfy them that foster the dancing in very nice ways. as with any kind of general health, there are many factors which play into the robustness of the jam, so that it can be hard to identify any one things that is most important. i have come to a point, however, where i feel confident that we've found some ways to satisfy some of the needs which distinctly foster and strengthen the shared practice, and which i can describe. i think the effort to do so is an opportunity to clarify both the questions, challenges, and aims of the endeavor, as well as possibly conveying some useful insights to others.

contact improvisation is, foremost, defined by its practice rather than by a central authority. that said, some things work better than others, both in individual dances and in the logistics by which people gather to practice together.

• the practice is not a prevalent social institution, so there are not a lot of other opportunities for getting experience with it.

• conversely, the practice does not have a lot of prerequisites in the way of equipment or obscure technique - it requires a decent dance space and interested people who are willing to explore the dynamics of the form together.

• each jam involves a range of experience - the jam serves both as an avenue for people to become acquainted with the practice as well as a primary forum for continuing and deepening it.

• so exclusivity is not an option, it often needs to satisfy a range of expertise and focus

• the lack of clear explicit definition is both a challenge and an opportunity: it is quite possible to feel lost and actually lose one's way, yet it tends to reward attention and earnest exploration, even when lost, with discovery and enjoyment.

• nonetheless, there can be all kinds of noise in the process:

  • avoidance of the challenges of attending and opening to undeliberated collaboration is not very effective for discovering the exciting dances.
  • it is also possible to join the activity and manipulate the situation for icky ulterior motives - copping a feel or pursuing dates - but that also doesn't work well for discovering dances.
  • people are drawn to explore the edge of their abilities - that is fundamentally useful and exciting, and this is a terrific opportunity to do so. when people are at their edge they are dealing with their blocks as well as their strengths.

  lack of earnest engagement doesn't work well, and even when earnestly engaging the situation is not ideal, it is real. one aspect of earnest engagement is learning to discern when there's not a dance to be had, for whatever reason, and give up on that one, move on.

  so part of the practice is dealing with what doesn't work, as well as what does.

• instruction can be useful for helping inexperienced people find their way, yet the jam is not a teacher/student structure. every dance involves the give and take of learning, but the experienced people as much need the opportunity to explore the edge of their dances as do the inexperienced.

how do we create a container that nurtures the various levels of discovery amidst the various kinds of noise and practical obstacles?

• periodic practice of a connection structure - the underscore - which embodies orientation that works for finding good dances. see CI Jam And The Underscore?.
• responsibility on each participant to support the well-being of the jam as well as their own well-being

will say a lot more about the underscore and how it has informed our jam, what a remarkably vibrant jam we regularly attend, partly because this structure has helped us strengthen the things that work well.