Contact improv dance is a practice that is based a lot on listening. One listens for, and deepens and sharpens that listening, rather than fixing or changing based critique or judgment, whether it be aesthetic or preference-based.
This is why I love how dance and movement goes hand-in-hand with psychology. We learn more surely, through embodiment, about principles we can sometimes grapple with endlessly in the mind. So, I had recently done a video blog with a friend about how only a compassionate stand breeds real transformation or effective change (though I don't like the word "change" exactly for this).
This takes some discipline. It is a far cry, to sustain the metaphor of dance, from the world of ballet and high arts. I grew up dancing ballet, jazz, modern. All of these were largely based on a stern discipline and concentration. Lots of rehearsals were doted to fixing tiny details: that foot was out of alignment, not in sync with the other dancers, so on and so forth.
Choreography was the one thing that was different. I could listen to the true impulses of my body. These were what molded the dance. It was only until the dance was complete that the polishing finishing touches, with regards to aesthetics and timing, were placed.
I love contact improv, and I love the disciplines in dance that teach me to see how there is really no right or no wrong, just dancing full out or not, and seeing where we are holding back and how we can let go.
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