Wednesdays Open Class & Jam

Acland Burghley School studios, Tufnell Park

When:  Wednesdays, 6:30pm to 9:00pm,

Autumn term from Wednesday September 03rd to December 17th

Spring term from Wednesday January 07th to Wednesday March 25th (no class during Half Term 18th February)

Where: Acland Burghley School Sports Centre, Churchill Rd, London NW5 1AN (5 minute walk from Tufnell Park Tube, 10 mins walk from Gospel Oak Overground, 12 mins walk from Kentish Town).

What: Contact Improvisation is a structured, but improvised, partner dance based on communication through touch. The technique  develops physical awareness and coordination, pleasure in movement and bravery in exploring the possibilities of dance.

How: an hour and a half class will lead into one hour of Jamming

Who: everyone is welcome

Tickets:     £20, £16 concessions, £15-16-17 with carnet

Info:      contact@ricknodine.com

Mondays Beginners course & classes

Acland Burghley School studios, Tufnell Park

When: Mondays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Monday Beginners Level 1 (Course of 6 classes): 6 classes from Monday January 05th to Monday February 09th

Monday Beginners Level 2: Improvers (Course of 6 classes): 6 classes from Monday February 23rd to Monday March 30rd

Monday Beginner Classes:

• December 08th

• December 15th: Qualities of Touch: Thematic Monday Beginners Class

• January 05th, January 12th, January19th, January 26th, February 02nd, February 09th

• February 23rd, March 02nd, March 09th, March 16th, March 23rd, March 30th

What:

BEGINNERS 1: This course is a carefully crafted syllabus that will support beginners in understanding the conceptual and physical world of Contact Improvisation (CI) so that they can trust their own opinions about what they want as they dive into the CI experience.  Connecting with other people is at the core of this practice and you will learn how CI roots connection in the reality of touch and movement.

Class 1) A talk about what CI is and what to expect from it, a lead somatic warm-up and a solo physical exploration about moving comfortably in close connection with the floor, exercises about communicating with a partner through touch and physical listening, discussion of consensual touch and freedom of choice in dancing, a space for questions and concerns to be expressed and addressed.

Class 2) We will learn some simple patterns that open different body surfaces to meeting in contact. Exercises that clarify how to get in and out of dances will strengthen your agency in following your interests within a group.

Class 3) Exercises about exchanging body weight with a partner will be the beginning of the thrill of taking risks, understanding that good communication leads to pleasure in weight exchange and a lack of communication leads to discomfort, feeling your strength and understanding your limits.

Class 4) Exercises about how to fall safely, learning more CI vocabulary to expand  possibilities in physical communication, building confidence in starting and ending dances.

Class 5) We will explore creativity and improvisation so that we can maintain joy and curiosity in our dancing

Class 6) Understanding Jamming and how to decode its rules and etiquette, responses to specific questions and a discussion about transitioning to open classes and jams. Integrating previous learning into free dancing and connecting to fun and risk in movement.

BEGINNERS 2: IMPROVERS: This course will build on what we started in Beginners 1, deepening your understanding of the basics and developing more vocabulary for giving and receiving weight, moving in close connection with the floor, rolling and falling. We will work on expanding confidence in:

• Expressing what you want and do not want in your partner dances.

• Creativity and playfulness.

• Starting and finishing dances.

• Deep physical listening.

• Dancing in trios

• Lifting and being lifted

• Jamming skills

QUALITIES OF TOUCH: To close the year, we will run a thematic Beginners class entitled "Qualities of Touch". In this class we will refine our understanding of how we touch and become more discerning about our reactions to being touched in a Contact dance. Exercises will help us categorise ways of touching and cultivate agency around how we communicate what we don’t want (Monday 15th December).

Where: Acland Burghley School Sports Centre, Churchill Rd, London NW5 1AN (5 minute walk from Tufnell Park Tube, 10 mins walk from Gospel Oak Overground, 12 mins walk from Kentish Town).

Who:  everyone is welcome.

Tickets: Beginners1/Beginners 2: Improvers, 6 Class Course: £100 (£84 concessions), single class: £20, £16 concessions, £15-16-17 with carnet, Beginners 1+2 : 12 Class Course: £180 (£150 concessions)

Info:      contact@ricknodine.com