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 The
Blackforestjam was an annual dance event, that took place end of May,
beginning of June in the boarding school of Birklehof,
Blackforest, Germany from 1996 to 2005.
For 2,3 or 4 days contact dancers from all over the world came together
to
share the dance, explore the form Contact Improvisation physically as
well as in organized labs, discussions or informal talks. It has always
been a
nice opportunity to meet familiar people, friends and other contact
dancers.
The heart of the jam was a huge gym hall with about 15 X 25 meters,
enough space for 120 dancers. Here we met all day to celebrate the
dance, from time to time supported by improvised live music.
For bodywork at daytime and sleeping at night there was a smaller
studio
downstairs.
Children were welcome, their parents organized the care.
Vegetarian food was offered during the whole period.
A huge green area with hills and sports field, fireplace, cows and a
small river invited outdoor activities and gave space for camping.
The Birklehof area is in the middle of the black forest.
What is
Contact Improvisation?
…a dance form working through touch, sharing weight, listening and
responding to the movement impulses and the physical forces. The
partners have equal rights and are responsible for themselves. The form
itself is very open, you can move on the floor or fly through the air.
What is a
contact jam?
…an open structured meeting to share this improvisational dance form
The concept
of the Blackforestjam
With this
jam we wanted to create a container of openness, safety and trust to
share and explore the dance form Contact Improvisation during the
days of the meeting.
Therefore:
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- the
participants were asked to stay the whole time if possible
- in
the main space we focused on the dance form Contact Improvisation-we offered structures
(warm
up and down, round robins, labs, …) to more easily connect and find
into the dance in the big group. There was also enough open space to
explore the individual dance and communication.
-
dancers with at least a basic experience in this dance form were welcome
- we
wanted to generate a hand full of qualities, like: mindfulness,
responsibility, playfulness, commitment and generosity in the dance as
well as in all day situations
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Ines Heckmann
More about the
Blackforestjam history here
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