Performance/Workshop/Conference Project
A project of Contact Collaborations, Inc. that organizes symposia devoted to the investigation, dissemination, and performance of contemporary movement work.
JANUARY WORKSHOP 2018
+ LONG DANCE 2018
a 3-week "continuing" * workshop
+ a 3-week extension
with NANCY STARK SMITH
plus Mike Vargas and other guests
* “continuing” = for people who have attended other intensives with NSS
January Workshop:
January 7 (arrive afternoon) – January 26, 2018
Earthdance, western Massachusetts, USA
Long Dance:
January 30 – February 21, 2018
Dragon's Egg Studio, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA
Contact Improvisation
Solo Training • Changing States
Improvisation Scores • The Underscore
Composition • Performance
Self-guided Research
The January Workshop is a 3-week residential workshop taught by Nancy specifically designed to develop our practice of Contact Improvisation (CI) and other related improvised dance work.
The 2018 January workshop is a "continuing" intensive and will not be an ordinary one as it will be for people who have already been exposed to the practices and perspectives of Nancy's and Mike's work—i.e., people who have participated in other intensive workshops with them (anywhere in the world). We will refresh and go deeper into the material.
The January Workshop 2018 will include physical training, Contact Improvisation skills and practice, improvisation and composition scores, listening practice, jamming, observing, discussion, feedback, labs, contemplative practice, and performance studies. In solo, duet, trio, and group work; in and out of contact; in silence and with live music; we'll move toward greater clarity and depth in our dancing and watching. In addition, this January Workshop will lay the foundations of the continuing research in Phase II. (Please note that this is not a purely CI workshop.)
Phase II, the Long Dance extension—for continued group practice and self-guided research—will be coordinated by Jo Bruhn and Tatiana Musi; it will be self-organized cooperatively by the whole group.
“The Long Dance gives time as a group to integrate and digest the work done with Nancy and others in the previous weeks. One of our main objectives for this phase is to cooperatively create a supportive structure that will enable us to continue a focused practice to develop the material further. How does the material apply to our present concerns, personal research, creativity, and communities? Creating a deep playground to support each other’s experiments, with time for personal projects, in groups or solo. Nancy will come once or twice for a few days to work with us. There will be jams, Underscores, performance, somatic explorations, and sharing nights.” [J.B. & T.M.]
(Only people in the January Workshop 2018 are eligible to do the Long Dance phase.)
Schedule:
The January Workshop will meet Monday–Friday, 10 am to 5:30/6 pm, at Earthdance, in Plainfield, MA (a beautiful dance retreat center located 35 minutes west of Northampton, MA, in the Berkshire Mountains), and in town at an Aikido dojo. There will be some evening and weekend activities.
The Long Dance will be self-organized cooperatively by the whole group, dancing and living at Dragon’s Egg Studio (another beautiful retreat center) in Ledyard, CT, and nearby.
Requirements:
Intermediate level in CI required and attendance at a previous intensive with Nancy. Fill our online application form outlining your background and skill level in contact improvisation, dance, and improvisation, and your reasons for wanting to attend. All registrations must be approved by Nancy.
For details & application form: www.nancystarksmith.com
Early Registration & Discount Deadline: September 8, 2017
Limited space. Apply as early as possible for most favorable consideration.
Contact: Patrick Crowley, workshop coordinator, januaryworkshop at nancystarksmith.com, (617) 320-9792; or Nancy, contactq at aol.com, (413) 586-8243.
