CONTACT
Festival Information, Teacher Applications, Volunteer Opportunities
Contact by e-mail: corfucontactfestival@gmail.com
Organisers
Ageliki Papadopoulou
Elisabeth Andrio
Katya Podoprigora
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Corfu Land & Water Contact Festival was born out of our desire to bring the art of Contact Improvisation (CI) to Corfu. CI has been a transformative journey of discovery, growth and connection for us. We would love to share with all of you the gifts that this practice can offer: exploration, improvisation, creativity, joy, celebration, connectedness, just to name a few :)
We invite you to dive into diverse learning opportunities, including intensives, workshops, labs and jams led by wonderful teachers.
Our festival aims to include the whole landscape as a dance floor. We have an exquisite venue with a beautiful dancefloor, captivating views and a cooling sea breeze for our intensives and evening jams. In the afternoons we will explore movement in olive groves, the beach and the sea, with authentic movement , eco-somatics and other practices. And last but not least there is a heated therapy pool where there will be daily labs taking place. Including all elements in our movement explorations is pivotal.
There will also be time to enjoy moments of rest, beach time, walks in nature, bodywork sessions, healthy yummy Mediterranean food, music and singing all wonderful elements to nourish our body and soul. It's a celebration of movement, connection, and personal growth, where everyone is welcome independent of prior experience. You are welcome, just as you are!
The Festival welcomes all. If you are a beginner it the perfect place to start, if you are an advanced practitioner you will surely go deeper in your exploration and journey.
Families with young children are very welcome! We provide childcare in the mornings so parents can join the workshops and Contakids (parent-child) classes in the evening ♡
WHAT IS CONTACT IMPROVISATION?
Contact Improvisation (CI) is a unique form of dance that explores the physical concepts of touch, momentum, and sharing of weight. Two or more dancers come together through a point of physical contact to embark on a journey of movement exploration and improvisation.
Contact improvisation dance begins with physical points of contact between dancers that serve as the starting point for movement exploration and interaction. Dancers engage in sharing and shifting weight between each other, allowing for a sense of balance, support, and reciprocity. CI utilises the forces of gravity and momentum to drive movement. Dancers explore the effects of gravity on their bodies and utilise momentum to initiate, sustain, and redirect movement pathways. One remains responsive and attuned to each other's movements, impulses, and intentions. This requires a high degree of sensitivity, adaptability, and communication, allowing for spontaneous and collaborative improvisation.
CI emphasises somatic awareness, or the mindful attention to bodily sensations, alignment, and presence. Practitioners cultivate a deep awareness of their own bodies and their partner's bodies, facilitating a fluid and embodied movement experience. Communication in CI is primarily non-verbal, relying on physical cues, touch, and kinesthetic awareness. CI encourages creativity, experimentation, and exploration. Dancers are free to explore a wide range of movement possibilities, discovering new pathways, shapes, and dynamics within the improvisational exchange.
Contact improvisation emerged in the 1970s in the United States, when Steve Paxton, a pioneer in this art, amalgamated his experiences in contemporary dance, acrobatics, and Aikido to create this unique practice. It was initially developed as an experimental movement practice within the post-modern dance scene. Paxton began experimenting with weight sharing, dynamics of touch, spontaneous movement and momentum in movement with fellow dancers. Contact improvisation has had a significant impact on the field of dance, influencing choreographers, performers, and educators worldwide. It challenged traditional notions of choreography and technique, emphasising improvisation, collaboration, and somatic awareness.