Often I’ve included online videos of contact improvisation in the newsletters of Oxford Contact Dance under the title of ‘Dancing Inspiration’. Here’s the videos which I’ve included; some are tutorials and others are dances. Enjoy!
There’s alot of videos listed here and my favourites constantly change. I’ve grouped them under headings: dancing; tutorials; festivals & promotional videos; jams; contact tango; other.
What’s missing from this list? Alot! Few of the ‘pioneers’ of contact improvisation are here. If you’re interested in this then see this essay as a starting point: ‘The Experiment Called Contact Improvisation – Historical Essay’ by Keith Hennessy. Much of the historic footage is under copyright and not released. Contact Quarterly is your first stop in your search for this or try Google!
Dancing
Senape di maggio Contact Improv Glenda Giacco & Linda Bufali SenapeDiMaggio Anghiari maggio ’15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GH3IgDl-Mw
Contact Improvisation – Ray Chang e Linda Bufali – Roma Contact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKwuBIltaA
Moments of practice, with Irene Sposetti & Johan Nilsson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED8hNoulZv4
Contact Improvisation – practice time. Dancers : Yaniv Ginton and Bar Altshuler. ‘We meet to dance; to move together; to share our weight; to be up and down; we fly, we fall; together’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mptyZmxaYvE
‘Silkies’ Water Dance with Manuela Blanchard Russi & Collin Edina Leach (Contact Improvisation in water & nature): https://vimeo.com/143397945
Joerg Hassmann & Jenny Haack performing ‘paarmitsessel’ 2005 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaEWRGmpg04
Daniel Werner & Joerg Hassmann – ‘a taste of us 2’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNTwZTK_MCI
Video of Elske Seidel & Joerg Hassmann Contact Improvisation Duet: https://vimeo.com/162251068
Ray Chung & Kirstie Simson at Jacob’s Pillow, August 1998. Steve Paxton gives a commentary: https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/steve-paxton/improvisation-project/ (Incidentally, the historical archive from Jacob’s Pillow is great resource.)
This duet with Eckhard Mueller and Noam Carmeli is taken from the Freiburg Contact Festival in Germany: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1aLHupAF90
Contact Improvisation Performance Duet. Performed by Andrew Wass and Caterina Mocciola (8. April 2017), Marameo, Berlin, Germany https://vimeo.com/223688821
FRU – Polish Contact Improvisation Festival – Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_quWWSoDvnk
Tutorials
These two technique videos are presented by Viola Ongaro and Kieran Mitchell.
1) Reaching : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx_gb9IEnWU
2) Spirals : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBZQIdatn9c
These two technique videos are presented by Maria Elste and Mireia Aragones.
1) Lifting : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhg6ElWe2Ko
2) Point of Contact : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CekBZXsvvX8
Barbara Pfundt teaches contact improvisation. You can see a selection of her technique videos about lifts on her You Tube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFlShwWpUUK_miX14J0S04Q
Angela Donny & Athos – CONTACT IMPROVISATION 2009 IBIZA. Part of a class at the festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0OmQaLaj6c
Festivals & promotional videos
Poland Contact Improvisation Festival – Warsaw Flow 2012 – Jam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyaHk7KN9bY
КОНТАКТ (о контактной импровизации и не только…) (Translated text: Based on the materials of the training for beginners, contact improvisation – “Born not only crawl.” Teacher: Angelica Donius. Moscow, May 2015. Shooting and editing: Alena Simonova. Music: Lamb – Angelica. https://vimeo.com/140477526
Shared Levitation Poland at Cyrculacje Festival 2018 with Marion Sparber and Alan Fuentes-Guerra: https://vimeo.com/268139284
Shared Levitation – Partnering with Marion Sparber and Alan Fuentes y Guerra: https://vimeo.com/249494837
Jams
Jam – number 2 at The Place, London (film maker Gabriela Tropia) : https://vimeo.com/97596313
Jam – number 3 at The Place, London (film maker Gabriela Tropia) : https://vimeo.com/97578800
Contact improvisation music jam, Helsinki 11.03.2017: https://vimeo.com/207956543
Contact Tango
Very beautiful and talented dancing in the video: Soeurs (Raffaella Tempesta et Alexia Périneau): https://vimeo.com/167631361
Other!
Justine et Frédéri – SUR TON DOS from Frédéri Vernier: https://vimeo.com/66312531
Notes
Top/ Featured image: ‘The fabled lost graveyard of old television sets’ by byronv2. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0). https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/