Andrew de L. Harwood & Nancy Stark Smith – Photo: Rafal Nowak
Andrew and group in workshop – Photo: Paak Dgzevan
Intensives with Andrew Harwood (CA)
Contact improvisation offers us a container for the practice of non-verbal communication, of expanded awareness, and for creative expression while allowing what is unexpected to emerge. As we ground ourselves in the core principles of Contact Improvisation and focus on the dynamic subtleties of touch, tone and weight, we will expand our awareness to include space, time, image, gesture and design through duet, trio and ensemble dancing. Seeking a quality of attention that shifts from self to other, to the environment and the ever-changing atmospheres in the room, we will consider how a lightly held compositional awareness and feeling can support our efforts to connect, find meaning when we are dancing, and engage with innovative possibilities for individual and collective improvisation. This work can be viewed not only as a means for creative expression but as a process for developing our capacity to collaborate and build a community that holds space for each individual.