Contact Impro Jam
Every Tuesday from 7 to 9 PM! Contact jams in Casarão da Lua (Colares) are organized by a collective of movement lovers, who rotate in holding the space. Even if we have experience in dancing and improvising, none of us is a "professional" dancer and you don't need to be one either! Contact Improvisation has no definition, and that for itself explains the infinitude of possibilities and freedom of this practice. Here is an attempt to put some words into what happens in this jam, from the perspective of some of its space holders:
"A space to ground in the body and reconnect with life. Unlabelled. Unexpected. Unrestricted."
Constança
"A safe space. A place to connect with my self, my body and others. It is space to experiment and express, but mostly. it is a space to feel welcome."
Ioanna
"A unique place of exploration into the unknown of being present in just being ourselves, and this makes such a fantastic dance!"
Pramod
"It's where the doors are open for pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow, closeness, emptiness, aloneness and whatever moves you or makes you still."
Pi
How it works
The Jam goes from 7pm to 9pm. You can come in and leave anytime, but in your first time we recommend that you participate in the whole session from beginnning to end.
We start with a 30min warm-up guided by a different space holder each week. This warm-up can be anything, from poetic movement meditation practices up to more "technical" bodywork. We see the latter only as playful research around the laws of physics, in order to tap on the full potential of our creative impulses while keeping the improvisation magic, which goes much beyond technique!
After the warm-up, we jam freely for 1h30. Sometimes with live music, sometimes with a playlist created by the space holder, sometimes silent.
This is a space for you to experiment with dancing the way you feel while listening to and respecting your dance partners and the whole group. Anytime you are welcome to leave a dance with someone or say no when someone approaches to dance with you if you feel like doing something else. You can also sit on the side and just observe others dance anytime, go in again, and so on..!
Practicalities
Tuesday jams are paused for the Summer - we come back in September 2023! To participate you don't need to register, you can just show up. If you want to be updated about who is initiating the jam and eventual breaks, you can add yourself to the jam's whatsapp group here.
Contribution (in cash please)
5€ + artist donation if there is live music
Location
Rua do Tojal 12, Casas Novas
(entrance through the back)