Contact Improvisation With I-Ying Wu: August 12
Contact Improvisation with I-Ying Wu
Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023
Time: 1:30-3:00pm
Cost: FREE while a small donation is appreciated to support facilitation
Location: New Dance Horizons
This class uses imagery to cultivate a gentle internal space within our bodies. This establishes a stronger connection between our bodies and the ground, allowing our weight to be fully supported. We will explore techniques to deeply connect with the ground, and allow the counter force to our body weight to flow through us. By first building awareness of our centre, we will then work with partners to practice giving, taking, and shifting weight with fluidity and harmony. Our class will delve into different qualities of contact to discover various dynamics, relationships, and possibilities in Contact Improvisation. Drawing inspiration from Subtle Awareness, and from Chinese meditative qigong and martial arts, this approach to Contact Improvisation will stress the importance of instinctive listening and responding to each other's dynamics and energy, going beyond mere physical perception.
Instructor Biography
I-Ying Wu is a somatic and improvisation practitioner and researcher, who works closely with international artistic and academic circles in Taiwan, UK, and Canada. She completed a PhD at the University of Northampton, UK. Later, sponsored by the International Institute for Critical Studies of Improvisation (IICSI). I-Ying completed postdoctoral research at the Improvisation Studies Centre at the University of Regina. Informed by Contact Improvisation, Chinese traditional qigong, martial arts, and Daoist philosophy, I-Ying’s practice focuses on subtle awareness of the very moment when an improvisational phenomenon emerges. To her, improvisation itself is interdisciplinary and transcends boundaries of particular art forms. Currently, I-Ying is involved in teaching, performing, and undertaking artistic research as an independent artist.
