Multiplicity in Motion

A full-day Contact Improvisation workshop exploring beyond the duet & finding flow in the collective

When we finally thought we’d got the hang of dancing with another person… another one shows up!… and, all too often, sinks the ship. We lose the ease, fluidity and/or connection that had been cultivated in the duet. Our familiar movement pathways no longer work and we become unsure how to move, share weight and orient to everyone. 

But, if we don’t give up there; if we could find that creativity, that freedom, that flow, even that depth of connection with that 3rd person too… then an exponentially increasing number of possibilities for creative movement open up to us. New layers of listening, timing, spatial awareness and responsibility emerge, inviting us to constantly adjust, balance and re-organize our choices.

And, what we master through integrating the 3rd person, we can apply to the 4th, 5th and so on, until we become an octopus on the dancefloor.

We explore

✨MulipliC.I.ty: The physical, relational and playful dimensions of dancing Contact Improvisation (CI) with more than one other person

✨Expanding our awareness: Developing our sensitivity to the wider group, spatial awareness, peripheral vision and ability to tune into several people simultaneously, while remaining attentive to ourselves

✨ Integrating the ‘3rd wheel’: The dynamics of entering and exiting an existing dance, welcoming others in, and sometimes compassionately declining an invitation. What does it mean to be the ‘third wheel’? Am I welcome here?

✨ Constant reconstellation: The shifting dynamics of increasing and decreasing numbers of dance partners with seamless transitions.

✨ CI skills applied to multiple people: Rolling points of contact, spirals, different levels and ways of sharing weight in trios, quartets and beyond

✨ More flight pathways: How we can offer and receive support from multiple people, discovering new possibilities for lifting and flying together.

✨ Leading, following and responding: Different roles and ways of influencing, supporting and being influenced by others, when more than two.

How we roll

We’ll move between playful group dynamics, focused CI practices, labbing, scores, freer dancing and structured explorations, drawing from a large collection of games and exercises, including:

✨Constellations ✨Orbits ✨The Wheel Jack ✨Bodyguard & Killer ✨Round Robin ✨Seamless transitions✨The Revolving Cameraman ✨Fields of View✨Blind Dodgems✨ Flocking & Collective Movement ✨Agitating the Mass ✨Blind space holding✨Cosmic Spiral✨Copies & Clamps✨The Sweeping score ✨ Telescopic Awareness ✨Role plays ✨ Post-Porridge Conscious Conglomeration ✨ Non-Traffic Jam ✨ I am | Yes, you are | How about? 

There’ll be opportunities to play, observe, experiment, make discoveries and share reflections along the way, as well as breaks for meals, socialising, rest and/or wandering through the beautiful nature of the Dancers’ Village.

From 7 – 9.30pm (or possibly beyond), there will be a guided intro into a long jam. Everyone attending is invited to join for as much or as little as this as desired (no extra payment required).

Draft schedule 

Who it’s for

This workshop is open to all levels of CI experience.

We will introduce, rather than give time to teach, foundational CI principles such as sharing weight through a rolling point of contact. So, if you’re newer to CI, you’re very welcome; and, you may find some of the explorations more challenging. There’ll be plenty to discover without needing to master everything.

There’s no expectation to participate in every activity or explore every level of physicality. You can find your own way of engaging with the invitations, respecting your boundaries and those of others.

Come multiply your possibilities!

Let’s get curious, embrace the unknown, and discover what becomes possible when we dance with more than two.