Contact Improvisation For Older Bodies — Rachael West
CONTACT IMPROVISATION FOR OLDER BODIES
Contact Improvisation dance (CI) explores the physical forces that hold dancers in relationship, such as gravity, momentum and inertia. CI can be wildly athletic. It can also be slow and gentle.
A brilliant aspect to CI is how easily it can be adapted. Injuries and limitations can be creative constraints that help us find new ways to move.
These classes with Rachael West develop key contact improvisation principles, like weight-sharing, rolling point of contact and falling in a way that cares for where your body is at – and is creatively interesting.
Classes typically include somatic practice, slow duet exercises and chances to develop the material through “CI jams”, trios and ensemble work.
Rachael West has been dancing Contact Improvisation for 15 years. She is a regular Saturday teacher for Melbourne CI and in 2024 co-choreographed an ensemble CI piece with 13 dancers and 3 musicians. Rachael’s teaching is influenced by extensive training in circus, physical theatre and somatics and her previous work with Yoga for Pain Care Australia.
Dates
26 June—7 August 2025
23 October—18 December 2025
Day
Thursday, fortnightly
Time
12pm—1:30pm
Cost
$25 per class
$115 for all 5 classes in the series
Capacity
8
Accessibility
The definition of mature is pretty loose! You might have persistent pain, be returning to dancing, working with injury – or just feeling like your body is changing or you want to work with more complexity in your dance.
Wear comfortable clothes e.g. tracksuit pants and long-sleeved t-shirt. Daggy is welcome! Knee pads may be useful for some exercises. CI is typically danced barefoot, unless you need supportive footwear.
Classes are located in Skylab and are only accessible via two flights of stairs.