In Contact: A CI Community Day
with Melbourne Contact Improvisation
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Photo by Ian Ferguson (2021)
— Practice, play, and connect with the Melbourne CI community
In Contact: A CI Community Day is a full-day gathering dedicated to the shared practice of Contact Improvisation.
The event features three core sessions: a morning class led by experienced community teachers and open to all levels; a guided Underscore facilitated by Doreen Ooi, offering a deep dive into the structures and states of CI practice; and a Music & Movement Jam in the evening, led by Justin Holland, with live musicians and support from Sophie Rasheed.
Dancers, movers, and newcomers are invited to participate through touch, listening, and spontaneous composition. The day is designed to foster openness, connection, and embodied play.
This year marks 29 years of continuous CI practice in Melbourne—beginning in the mid-1990s with the collective State of Flux and evolving through spaces such as Danceworks, Cecil Street, the Abbotsford Convent, and now Dancehouse, which has hosted the long-running Monday night jam for the past four years.
The CI Community Day celebrates this legacy while welcoming new energy into the practice. Come move, rest, roll, and connect in a spirit of curiosity and care.
Coordinators / Producers: Jonathan Sinatra, Aaron Dean
Morning Class Facilitators: Rachel West, Nicole Alicastro (TBC – two confirmed)
Underscore Facilitator: Doreen Ooi
Music & Movement Jam Lead: Justin Holland
Jam Score Co-Designer / Support: Sophie Rasheed
Live Musicians: TBC
Poster & Flyer Design: Doreen Ooi
Community Support / Event Assistant: Catherine Mag
Hosted by: Melbourne Contact Improvisation Community
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The Melbourne Contact Improvisation (CI) community began in the mid-1990s with the performance collective State of Flux, whose members cultivated a local CI practice rooted in exploration, trust, and shared movement. Since then, the community has grown into a vibrant, intergenerational collective of dancers, teachers, and improvisers committed to keeping the form alive and evolving.
With over 29 years of continuous practice, the community has hosted weekly jams, workshops, and classes across many venues—from Danceworks in South Melbourne to Cecil Street Studio, the Abbotsford Convent, and now Dancehouse, which has supported a long-standing Monday night jam since 2020.
Volunteer-led and open to all levels, the Melbourne CI community fosters spaces for embodied inquiry, creative connection, and collective practice through movement, touch, and improvisation.
