Contact Improv Dance Workshop with Martin Hughes

Booking options
Whole weekend, Sat & Sun
Standard: $270
Early-Bird: $220 (limited Availability)
(Attending 1 day only is by request only & subject to availability)

Limited to 20 people!

Early Birds are until October 25th Only. There are no concessions, so for those with less cashflow, please book early-birds.

Structure of the Weekend
Saturday 9.00am-4.30pm: Day 1 (WAITING & WEIGHTING, TRUSTING & FLOWING)
VENUE: Thomas Dixon Centre, Montague Rd, West End

Sunday 9.30-4.30pm: Day 2 (WAITING & WEIGHTING, TRUSTING & FLOWING cointinues plus 'ROLLING KATA')
Venue: Academy of Grounding, Montague Rd, West End

WAITING & WEIGHTING, TRUSTING & FLOWING

Steve Paxton, considered the founder of Contact Improvisation (CI), classically described CI as a dance 'based on the communication between two moving bodies that are in physical contact and their combined relationship to the physical laws that govern their motion—gravity, momentum, inertia'

Typically, we experience gravity, momentum, and inertia as weight: our weight in relation to the things that support it–the floor, a chair, our internal structure, and other people. We also experience weight as something we are supporting.

Another element of this experience is time (or timing). In stillness, we wonder: how long to wait? In movement, we wonder: how fast to go?

We also experience our weight in 'falling'–being off-centre, allowing our balance to give way to our weight. Catching and releasing your balance. Finding ways into and out of the floor and/or another person.

Sounds all very complicated and, perhaps, a little scary, but we will use simple (not necessarily easy) physical practices and tools that underpin all of this, helping us to find or clarify where Trust and Flow exist.

For those who are just beginning to explore CI, this class will provide a rich place to start. For those with more experience, there will be plenty to chew on.

THE ROLLING KATA
'Kata' (noun) – a term used in Japanese martial arts to describe a detailed, choreographed sequence of movements practiced to perfect technique and build muscle memory.

“The Rolling Kata” is a sequence of rolls that Martin gathered during his CI studies in the US. It started with workshops with Steve Paxton, KJ Holmes, Karen Nelson and Nina Martin, who clearly thought rolling was serious business. Then it got really interesting with State of Flux who helped him unpack the somatic importance of each roll as it applies to Contact Improvisation. It was also Flux that gave this sequence its name (it was a bit of a joke at the time).

Each set of rolls develops specific skills in Contact Improvisation that help coordinate the levers, pulleys, and weights of the body into and out of the floor and other partners.

MARTIN HUGHES
Martin trained as a contemporary dancer and worked with dance, theatre, and street theatre companies in Australia and overseas. He started learning CI in New York in the late 1980s where he was taught by Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, Daniel Lepkoff, Nita Little, Karen Nelson, KJ Holmes, and Nina Martin. Back in Melbourne (Naarm) he co-founded the CI teaching and performing group State of Flux who started the Melbourne CI Jam (still going after 30 years) and ran the first residential jams in Australia. He also founded Cecil Street Studio, a centre for improvisation in Melbourne for 21 years and has co-led several Australian Contact Improvisation Convergences. Martin taught dance at the Victorian College of the Arts for roughly 20 years and has taught CI throughout Australia and internationally, in many different contexts. For nearly 40 years, CI for Martin has been a source of intriguing investigation, excitement, and fun! He enjoys nothing more than sharing that fun and excitement and digging into that interest with others.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION:

Partial or full refunds and ticket transfers are at the discretion of the organiser.
Whilst we encourage a diverse range of ages, backgrounds and abilities, this dance intensive assumes a reasonable degree of physical and mental health so that you can work and play within your own limits of comfort and wellbeing.

By participating in sessions you agree that:
-You are 16 years old or over;
-You will come to all sessions with a good standard of personal hygiene and appropriately dressed to roll and slide on the floor and with others (long comfortable stretchy clothing, hair tied back, short nails, no dangly jewellery, no strongly scented deodorants, perfumes etc;
-Bring a small towel, and maybe a change of tee-shirt, so that if needed you can refresh your clothing if you get sweaty, for the comfort and well-being of your co-dancers;
-You will stay hydrated through the weekend;
-You are entirely responsible for your own body and choice to participate in activities throughout the course of the weekend; resting and watching are more than welcome if you need to step out for any reason.
-You are willing to be included in group photographs that may be used for publicity (personal/ close-ups will not be published on social media without your express permission);