Contact improvisation festival in Dali (China)
Contact improvisation is a form of dance born in the 1970s.
It is difficult to define it in a formal way because it is at the crossroads between sport, art but also spirituality.
The movements are extremely diverse but are most often characterized by a duet that uses one or more points of contact and dancers shares their weight and balance. The contact can be very subtle or powerful, the duo can be on the ground or in the air.
The dancers usually get together for jams, which are places of expression where the dancers can share and dance together.
The jams can be accompanied by music or silent, everything can take place with respect for the other and for oneself.
When we discover and deepen our knowledge of this dance, we connect with ourselves and others in new and often very deep ways. In this way, this practice can be seen as spiritual or philosophical.
Fire Nomads through their experience as duo performers have naturally explored all kinds of combinations.
In 2020, they are invited to the “Touch” festival in Lijiang China and fall in love with this practice.
They practice intensively and meet many other talented dancers along the way.
In January 2021, they host the Dali Contact gathering, a week-long gathering of 12 dancers, together practicing from morning to night, they deepen their knowledge and understanding of contact dance.
A few months later the Dali Contact Festival comes to life and welcomes 50 participants from all over China for another week of workshops, jams, and performance.
Discover the atmosphere of the event in the following video.