The Leipzig Contact Improvisation Intensive

When: 29 April – 1 May and 6 – 8 May
- Fridays 19:15h-22h (This is a change by an hour)
- Saturday/Sunday 10h – 18h
What: Two weekends of training in the technical aspects of classic contact improvisation with Karl Frost
- Weekend 1: Core Explorations of Contact Improvisation: all levels
- Weekend 2:Upside Down, Into the Air, Off-balance and Backwards: intermediate/advanced
Where: Fudoshin Aikido Dojo Josephstraße 45 in Leipzig (a convivial, focus-inspiring space with a padded floor)
Cost: 145-200 for one weekend, 230-400 for both weekends. Costs are pay what you can sliding scale.
Discount with Early Registration by 18 April

Weekend 1 may be done without doing Weekend 2, but participation in Weekend 1 is required for Weekend 2, with possible exceptions for more advanced dancers.

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Contact Improvisation is a 40 year old art exploring the unique physical possibilities of bodies moving through contact: part “non-martial” martial art, part physical meditation and collaborative bodywork practice, part human roller-coaster. This series is meant as a “from the ground, up” workshop focusing on technical skill building for soft power, ease, efficiency and 3-dimensional dynamics. The workshops also explore the Passive Sequencing work: a release-based approach to contact and a study of conscious and unconscious body-use, reactivity, and possibilities for more functional awareness in motion. We develop the possibility for safer and more dynamic states of abandon within the dance and a wider palette of exploration through physical contact.

The weekends may be done independently, but they build on each other, and are priced to make doin both affordable. Beginners are welcome for the 1st weekend, but the 2nd weekend requires some established skill. The weekends will be fast paced and at times athletic and will require an active desire to push oneself physically and mentally.

For information on technical skill development in classic CI, go to contact skill levels. Based on these levels, the 2nd weekend requires level 2 to participate and require level 3 to participate without doing the first weekend. As advanced techniques are mostly just finer applications of the basic core principles, the fist weekend will have much to offer even more experienced dancers.

This workshop is based on a series that Frost used to teach annually in Berkeley, California

Weekend 1 Core Explorations of Contact (All levels)

The first weekend is a fast paced review and integration of the core explorations of the classic off-balance contact dance. This weekend is intended both as a fast-paced intro for beginners and as a deepening for more experienced dancers. Most advanced skills in contact are really just understanding the fundamentals more deeply. We’ll explore

Supporting, Giving, and Sharing weight
Following a rolling/sticking contact
3-dimensional movement while connected through shared off-balance and mutual support
Skills for movement into and out of the floor (falling, rolling, sliding, etc)
Physical listening skills
Use of alignment and off-balance for ease in support.
Lift and weight sharing movement vocabulary (back to back lifts, fireman’s carry, various table supports, hip carries)
off-balance and inversion
Intro to Passive Sequencing (softening, becoming more present with interaction with a partner, and beginning to track our own less-conscious physical reactions to other)

Weekend 2 Upside Down, Into the Air, Off-balance and Backwards (Level 2+):

We’ll explore…

moving support and more dynamic movement into and out of floor with weighted connection to partner
comfort in going higher with lifts, wider array of lifts (shoulder lifts, catches, etc)
… and falling comfortably out of lifts (aikido rolls, side rolls, shock absorption, landing gear available).
comfort with back space and articulating the back
comfort with “no hands” dance as an articulate and interesting dance.
Constant readiness for weight and direction shift
dynamic use of off-balance (including readiness to catch falling partner when coming out of a lift and ability to set partner down intelligently through off-balance)
Deeper into the Passive Sequencing work including
- Sensing triggered reaction in oneself and in partners
- Beginning to soften these reactions to allow more moment to moment presence and decision making
comfort and awareness through inversions into, out of, and through contact
organizing into dynamic efficiency and power through off-balance and spiral tracking of partner’s structure

This workshop is based on the Berkeley Winter Contact Improvisation Intensive, which used to be taught annually in California.

Cost and Registration

	one weekend	two weekends
regular	145 – 200	230 -400
early (payment received by 18 April)	100 – 200	180 – 400

costs are pay-what-you-can sliding scale. We try to maintain a “no one turned away for lack of funds” policy, so if you still can’t afford the weekend, write and we can work somethin out.

to register…

pay workshop fees. You can send via bank transfer to Karl Frost: IBAN DE03860700240162275200 or via paypal to karl_frost@eva.mpg.de. Bank transfer is preferred.
fill out registration survey

Registration is not considered complete until payment received. Of course any cancellations because of covid will get a complete refund. Refunds for other reasons offered minus a cancellation fee

COVID Protocol: Unless there is very significant drop in covid cases in Sachsen, the workshop is 2G (proof of vaccination or infection/recovery) and people are required to have a proof of negative covid test from the previous 24 hours. Also do remember that getting boosted is free, easy and recommended.

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Bio: Karl Frost has been practicing, performing, and teaching contact improvisation and interdisciplinary, dance-based performance since the mid 1980’s in California. His work has been showcased over the last 3 decades across 5 continents, both in established institutions/universities and in independent studios and theaters. Known internationally for his dynamic movement style and for the edge-pushing nature of his work, physically and psychologically, both in process and performance, his performances take the body and emotionally and physically felt experience as their reference points. He is known for his articulate teaching and the depth of the material that he accessibly offers. He began his movement explorations in martial arts as a teenager, before expanding his studies to contemporary dance, contact improvisation, physical theater and a variety of somatic practices. His performance work, via his company, Body Research Physical Theater (www.bodyresearch.org), explores post-dramatic works rooted in somatic psychology and paratheatrical exploration, alternating between stage productions and highly interactive performance happenings exploring audience agency and personal meaning. A base of his movement practice and teaching is the Passive Sequencing work which he has developed, cultivating ease and presence in motion, soft power through movement intelligence, and the pleasure of finer moment-to-moment awareness of self and partner in motion. He has a BA in Physics, an MFA in Dramatic Arts, and a PhD in Ecology.
He has relocated to Leipzig for his work as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture in Leipzig, Germany.
His CI and dance/theater work can be found at www.bodyresearch.org, while some of his visual anthropology work can be found at www.culturalvariant.org