Contact Improvisation is an improvisational form, but freedom in the dance grows from physical understanding.

This four-week committed series is an opportunity to train the physical skills underneath the improvisation: how to organize your structure, share weight, move in and out of the floor, find pathways into lifting and being lifted, and respond to gravity and momentum without relying on force.

Like a martial art, Contact Improvisation asks the body to develop specific physical capacities through repetition and practice.

If you’ve been attending jams and one-off classes but still find yourself wondering: How do I actually give my weight? How do I receive someone else’s? How do I get comfortable on the floor? How do lifts happen without muscling through them? This series is for you.

We’ll work progressively over four weeks, allowing each class to build on the last. We’ll train spiraling, rolling, falling, weight transfer, skeletal support, center-to-center connection, getting underneath and getting over, and the mechanics that allow two bodies to organize together.

No previous Contact Improvisation experience is necessary. This series is also appropriate for dancers who have been practicing for some time but want more clarity and confidence with the mechanics of weight sharing.

Four Fridays

January 15, 22 & 29 + February 5, 2027

6:30–8:30 PM

Finnish Hall

Berkeley, California

Pricing

Early Bird — $100

Standard — $120

Contributor — $140

Choose the level that works for you. Your registration includes all four classes in the series.

This is a committed four-week series rather than a drop-in class. Each week builds progressively on the material from the week before.

How to Prepare

Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely and slide easily on the floor. T-shirts or long-sleeved shirts are recommended. Bring knee pads if you like to use them, and bring water.

Please arrive with enough time to settle in and be ready to begin together at 6:30 PM. Because each class builds progressively and we’ll be creating a focused learning container together, arriving on time is an important part of the practice.