This workshop is inspired by the term “Chaordic,” which I heard from David Abram, an ecological philosopher who deeply inspires the way I relate to dance. Like the beating of the heart, like the flow of air leaving our nostrils, like raindrops falling on a window, it is impossible to predict exactly when the next beat will occur, in which direction the air will move, where the raindrop will fall… it escapes control.

In the middle of an urban square, humans move, some stop, others cross, in straight lines or zigzags… Seen from above, our perception might capture a harmonious order that can neither be predicted nor controlled.

In the 1970s, Contact Improvisation, within the postmodern movement, revolutionized the world of dance. This practice often took place in public spaces and invited audiences to witness the work, placing dance within a performative context. Their scores sounded like: “Come as you are” and “Come and we will show you what we do.” Be as you are and show what you do without any intention of proving or justifying your dance.

I am interested in returning to the roots of Contact Improvisation: how can we revive and develop the experience both for the dancer and for the audience, so that it becomes at once an intimate experience of dance and a performance?

As in Authentic Movement, the witness plays a crucial grounding role: a kind of magical field is created between the dancer and the witness, which gives substance, nourishes, and brings another presence to the moment. In the practice of Contact Improvisation, can we play with this performative field and dimension, and how?