Welcome

You have found the Carolina Contact Improv web site. We are a group of people who meet every Sunday at 2:00 at the Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro, NC to participate in the dance form Contact Improvisation.

If you are unfamiliar with this form you are not alone. Many of the people in our group had never heard of it before either and now they won't miss a week! To a loose approximation, Contact Improv can be defined by its name - the "Contact" part means that you are in physical contact with one or more people most of the time, and the "Improv" part means that it is not choreographed and you move where ever your body takes you.

Two young men, dressed in loose-fitting T-shirts and draw-string pants, roll and slide on the floor, moving in close proximity but not looking directly at each other. Although one is small and compact, the other taller and more gangly, both move with the same kind of careful languor, a deliberateness which is at once efficient and casual. They circle closer together. The shoulder of one brushes against the back of another, head touches head, hip rest momentarily against leg, and suddenly (it seems), the larger man is supported on the other's back, his weight suspended easily, his arms dangling.

Saliq Francis Savage and Stephanie Maher, Berlin
Copyright 1999 WireMonkeyDance.com

The supporting figure shifts slightly, and his partner tumbles smoothly to the floor; the two enmeshed but not entangled, roll and slide over each other now, exchanging support like two friendly wrestlers whose desire is to keep moving rather than to pin the opponent. Now they are standing, leaning against each other, still not looking into the other's face; with a sudden leap, the smaller man launches himself into the air. His partner steps quickly underneath him to break his fall, becoming a kind of moving post around which he spirals in his descent.

1. Relieve stress
2. Get a very fulfilling workout
3. Kick-start your imagination
4. Meet a fun and diverse group of people
5. Gain self-confidence
6. Become more aware of your body
7. Have a safe space to express yourself
8. Let your body take charge for a few hours
9. Act like a kid again!
10. Learn a new way to communicate with others

We have people of all different ages (15-75), weights (90-260lb), and an even split between men and women. Most of our members had never danced before. So, don't be shy!! Come by any Sunday or email Dan Schmidt. All we ask is a $5.00 donation to the Balanced Movement Studio for the use of their space.