What is in the roots and in the heart of this form?

In these moments, when we just passed the 50 years of Contact Improvisation, I am honouring and questioning the dance and its roots. Finding the practice that underlies what is visible in the dance.

We will delve into the principles of the form, training the body and mind to be ready and available to allow the physics to affect the body as we dance.

We will notice and work with our attention to the details of the body, alone and with others, letting the dance pass through us, letting it happen, supporting it rather than doing it.

We will focus on a skills framework that allows for increasing readiness to step into the unknown with your dance partner, including:

expanding our attention to be present within ourselves, others and space
developing a lucidity of touch where you feel your partner, and also feel your partner feeling you
change levels being supported and guided by the weights of our partner
three-dimensional falling skills from different heights, alone and together
the dance of the unknown renouncing custody of the center itself
These intensives are for dancers with the desire to boldly go deeper on the paths that sustain the dance in its underground places.
 

Leilani Weis (Chile, Spain)

I am a dancer, mover and researcher of movement as a creative process. I am very curious about my own body and others bodies dancing, together or alone.

I live dance as an act of presence and attention, where I receive information from myself, from others and from the environment. With these I can play, compose and create and feel great joy.

My work focuses on the mechanics of bodies on Earth and how it affects us. When I come into contact with others, with space I let myself be affected equally. The dance space, filled with information, is my place to practice presence and attention.

In the classes I try to open possibilities for practitioners/dancers to find their own organic, biological and natural paths, the ones the body possesses and we so often forget. I trust in the beauty and natural organisation of the body and seek its wise ways.

My work world is moving around, teaching classes, facilitating labs, performing, organizing CI events and creating pieces.

I have taught in several countries in Latin America, North America and Europe. Where I continue researching and collaborating with different groups of artists.

For 18 years I have been investigating the intersection between Contact Improvisation and Argentine Tango, two dances that I love deeply. In this research I have learned a lot about space and compositional musicality in the body. I am fascinated by understanding the depths of these two techniques and seeing how they can meet and disagree during a creative and compositional process.

I am part of the organisation of different events trying to create attentive containers where we can study and practice Contact Improvisation and the techniques that nourished it. (ItalyContactFest, IMMERSIONES, Contact Improvisation festival)

APPLICATION & INFOS

https://www.freibewegt.at/frei-tanzen/deepening-your-praxis/