07/11/2024
Have you been pining for a sweet night of connection with this beautiful Contact Improv community?? Donât miss the MONTHLY, next week, July 16th!!
The dates for our monthly 3rd Tuesday event will be: 7/16, 8/20, 9/17 etc. Youâll also notice that these align very closely with the full moons. So you can watch the moon grow, and youâll know our time is approaching.
This event is now a Snackluck each time! Also, the pricing structure has changed to reflect rising costs.
We will be meeting (once a month) at the usual time and place.
â¨7:30-10:30 Tuesday evenings
Santa Cruz Yoga 402 Ingalls Street #11
Our Format:
â¨7:30 Doors open
â¨Opening circle is recommended for all and required for newcomers.
⨠7:45-8 Opening Circle
Passing chocolate, check ins and setting the agreement field.
⨠8:00-8:15 Movement exercises to blend and connect our group.
⨠8:15-10:00 Open jam space.
⨠10:00-10:15 Closing circle
Energy Exchange:
â¨$20 (note the new price)
â¨BIPOC identifying by donation. The purpose of the BIPOC by donation option is to encourage folks who might otherwise not feel safe doing so, to try the container. If you try it and find you feel comfortable in it, you can begin contributing the regular amount to support the container, if that feels good. Itâs also available to continue to keep it by donation if that, internally, feels appropriate for you.
â¨Students $15
â¨Worktrade and scholarship available (reach out if you need support with being able to attend. Iâm happy to look at options.) â¨
Detailed Format:
7:30-7:45 Open Space for Stretching, Chatting, and Connecting.
7:45-8:00
Opening Circle
(usually promptly) at 7:45 til 8:00
Passing of the chocolate â¨
Check ins â¨
Setting the agreement field â¨
Note:
â¨If youâre a newcomer, Opening Circle is required.
â¨If youâve been to several opening circles:
-You can join us or choose to arrive after opening circle.
-Joining the circle helps set the tone for the new folks, but, again, isnât required.
-If youâre going to not participate in opening circle please arrive after itâs over (8:00).
Once again, If you are new, opening circle is required.
8:00-8:15
Exercises to connect the group and let everyone interact in short well contained ways as well as to model our culture for engaging and disengaging from dances.
These are super connective and fun!
I highly recommend that everyone makes it for this part, but again, if youâve been to several opening circles it isnât required and you can come afterward if you want.
8:15-10:00 Open Jam with downtempo music.
Note:
There may be a minute or two of silence somewhere in the middle to have everyone check in with themselves, track their Yes, and get clear on what they want to do with the rest of their evening.
10:00 ->15 to 20 min Closing Circle
10:30 Cleanup
Know that you will be well held and supported by our agreement field, dance tenders, and check ins.
As well, you can participate at whatever level feels good to you.
This is a very beginner friendly space!
Come on out and start building community with this wonderful group!
See you soon, along with the full moon! 𼰠â¨đđ
â¨This a very intentionally held, inclusive and welcoming container designed to support everyone, especially newcomers.
The beginning activities are crafted to encourage tracking your yes and easefully flowing in and out of engagement.
There are support tenders available to check in with at anytime.
Come play with us! â¨đ
â¨What to expect?
This is not a contact âjamâ in the typical sense.
This is a carefully crafted container, with a focus on the development of the individual and group field toward supporting every dancer being in their Yes throughout the night.
This is a dance container where there is a high value on Community and Trust Building.
Contact dance is different from other modalities in that there is the ability to track, moment to moment, where your Yes is and to leave a dance when you are no longer feeling it or even when you just feel like seeing what it would be like to leave a still enjoyable dance and float off to something else enjoyable.
It is my belief that the most important skills a contact dancer can develop are their ability to track their Yes and to advocate for themselves coupled with an ability to be resilient around receiving a No from another dancer.
The agreements, exercises, and invitations in our opening circle/container setting are specifically crafted to form a group field that celebrates fluidity in engaging and disengaging with minimal âstoryâ about it.
With a group field set up that celebrates fluidity of engaging and disengaging, each dancer can explore freely the types of dances they want to, without fear of getting stuck in something that doesnât feel aligned.
The energy in a space like this is very different from a typical jam or ecstatic dance experience. It is exciting and flowing and moving in a very special way.
The agreement field helps to set the stage for a laboratory of exploration. The potential for learning and growth in a carefully crafted container is exponentially greater than what can be experienced in a more loosely held container. Your personal experiments in the space have context and setting and reference points in a way that you may have never experienced before.
Thereâs so much more I could say about this. Iâm deeply passionate about these explorations and how they affect our interactions in all aspects of our lives. Attending this dance will almost certainly deeply and positively impact your human relationships of all kinds and support you in moving toward your Yes in all aspects of your life. This is not just about a dance form it is about finding your Yes and advocating for it.
Below are a few answers to possible questions and below that you can find the agreements that we read and agree to each week.
Feel free to message MichaelDavid with any feedback or questions.
See you on the dance floor soon! đĽ°
~Why a deep circle container?
This is a space where there are a lot of folks who are new to contact improv dance and to the flowing style of close physical interactions. Especially for these newer folks, a trust building connective circle assists them in feeling like they understand the space better and leaves them feeling more in an open trusting state. The group goes deeper if we take some time to connect ourselves and set a container.
~Why should I be at circle if Iâve been dancing a long time?
Each of us helps to set the tone for the whole group. If youâve been dancing awhile, having your energy present in the circle palpably affects the forming container. When we all hear each otherâs voices and hear where weâre each at, emotionally and physically, there is a deeper layer that becomes available beyond the usual âshow up and danceâ type of spaces.
As well, when dancers enter the space without being a part of circle, newcomers miss out on hearing their names and getting a feel for them in the exercises.
One of the focuses of this group is on community building. Having everyone attend circle supports that. However, if youâve been to several opening circles it isnât required for you to attend circle.
~Why do we read the agreements each week together?
There is a magic in continuing to state the agreements and see a show of hands that we are in agreement with each other. Also, each time we hear the agreements it allows another opportunity for them to become more deeply embodied.
My hope is that restating and connecting with these concepts each week will support us in staying in our Yes more and more consistently throughout our evenings together and even out into our daily lives.
Agreements:
Self:
I agree, to the best of my ability, to tune into myself and to track my Yes in interactions in this space and to advocate for myself and to make shifts when I need to, to stay in my Yes.
I agree, to the best of my ability, to pause and take some space when I am no longer clear about where my Yes is.
When I am unable to make those shifts I agree to track myself in that process and to learn and grow in my ability to be resilient and to courageously advocate for myself.
I am aware that there are Tenders to support me, and I will consider getting support from them if I am feeling like I need that support.
Each Other:
I agree, to the best of my ability, to attune to those Iâm dancing with and sharing space with and to value them being in their Yes.
In that attunement I will be aware of dynamics that might affect the other dancersâ Voice and Choice in interactions with me including the possibility of there being gender and ethnicity dynamics, differences in experience level, or the possibility of someone being new to the community.
I agree to practice my resilience around receiving a No.
I agree to consider checking in if Iâm sensing that someone may not be a Yes to an interaction.
I agree, to the best of my ability, to track the story Iâm making up about the dance Iâm having with someone and to be aware that the stronger that story is the less likely it is that I am attuning to my dance partnerâs actual experience.
I agree to leave dances on the dance floor and to not expect another dance, nor a hug goodbye, nor a phone number nor anything else.
Space:
I agree to value inclusivity, and community building in this space and to have awareness of how my movements affect the space.
I understand that this is a sober space, and I agree to honor that.
Although dancing with another can be a deeply sensual experience, I understand that this is a non-sexual space.
If a dance feels like itâs becoming sexual for me or (in my perception) for the person Iâm dancing with, I agree to either shift my energy, have a check in, or simply take a break from that dance.
(MichaelDavid understands that this last agreement offers the idea of a sensual to sexual spectrum and that that can be confusing for some.
Please ask for clarification!
Iâm happy to discuss this and anything else.)
See you dancing soon!! đĽ°
