PELVIS AND MOMENTUM!
the 2nd annual Leipzig Winter Contact Improvisation Focus Jam Festival
What: a multi-day gathering for contact improvisors, centered around classic, physics based CI exploration with an emphasis on “Focus Jams”*… semi-structured jams inspired by a specific shared reference point and curiosity
(also included… food and conviviality)
Maximum 45 participants
When: 27-31 December 2024
(afternoon Friday to afternoon Tuesday)
Where: Leipzig, Empower Project
Produced by Karl Frost, Deborah Manavi, Olha Bershadska, and friends
see below for fees and registration info
While we support/encourage attending the whole, there are possibilities for partial attendance. Click here for partial attendance options.
(This event emerges out of the weekly Leipzig Wednesday CI Focus Jam)
Structure and content 
We have two studios available all day for use.
The Schedule is a work-in progress, a living thing partly planned and partly developed as we go. Our starting point is…
- Friday: arrive early evening for opening circle and jam
- Saturday/Sunday/Monday
- Morning Session: technique and core practices Class in one studio, Focus Jam in the other
- Afternoon Session: Focus Jams in both studios
- Evening Session: Open Jam in one studio, Score Jam in the other
- Tuesday: morning Focus Jams into closing jam/circle
Day time sessions are 2 to 3 hours. Evenings are open ended. Around that, spaces can be used for discussions, labs, 1-on-1 dance dates, or simply open jamming.
* A Focus Jam is an open contact jam that starts with a shared focus or theme, introduced at the beginning through discussion and/or exercises. The theme is a starting point, reference, or spring board, rather than a restriction or rule.
A Score Jam is a contact jam with additional rules or restrictions (a “score”) that take the jam places that open jams might otherwise not reach.
Performance: One evening we have space for improvised performance work, prepared or devised/instigated at the event.
Themes: Some of the foci and facilitators will be set ahead of time in November/December. Others will be left open to see where curiosity in the moment takes us. While none are yet set, examples which have already been discussed, to spark the imagination include…
There will be a mix of sessions with music and in silence.
Who is this for? The event will be for people comfortable with and excited by classic contact improvisation of weight sharing and physically engaged mutual mechanical exploration, whether coming from contemporary dance or CI practice/jam context. We drift in different directions, but we share this base in classic CI. All should be comfortable finding and exploring their own curiosity and with the mostly non-verbal process of starting and ending dances in a convivial context where we can safely assume that everyone is similarly curious.**
‘limit of 50 participants.
Facilitation and Horizontality: Focus/Score Jams are not classes. Within the Focus Jams, there will be some initial facilitation / exercises, but these are there to launch personal investigation. The Focus Jams are created out of our personal curiosities and investigations, in physical dialogue with others. There will be some more experienced dancers offering facilitation (and the morning technique classes), but the spirit of the event is more horizontal, about sharing curiosity.
The morning “technique and core explorations” classes will be conventional CI classes, with instruction by Zita Pavlistova (Czechia), Karl Frost (USA/Germany), Ingrid Hoerlezeder (Austria). Many of the Focus Jams will be decided at the event based on shared interests, but some will be set before the festival, with facilitators announced as we get closer.
Other Logistics:
Venue change: originally, the event was planned to be at Tanz Zentrale, but we have moved the event to The Empower Project to accommodate more people and have everything in one building. On the plus side, we have more space, including a 3rd small studio and more hang out space. Unfortunately, we won’t be having the sauna this year as originally planned, though. However, for those who stay through clean-up on the 31st, we have reserved a sauna for our use that afternoon.
Food: Dinner is provided on Saturday/Sunday/Monday as well as ongoing snacks, fruit, tea, and coffee.
Lunch is collaborative buffet — you bring something to share one day and partake in the buffet as you like on all days.
Place to Stay: People visiting from out of town can stay in the studio if they want/need for 10 euros/night. If you might need it, say something in the registration form.
Collaborative effort, work shifts, and work exchange: To make this work and keep costs down, everyone will do one “work shift” during the event. This might be cleaning a studio, helping with dinner cook or clean after dinner one day, etc. This will be arranged at the event. For people who want to be more involved or who need to pay less than the low end of the sliding scale, there are also some partial work exchange spots… please register early if you want to do Work exchange.
(Flu/Covid protocol): If you attend the festival either test yourself at home with a Covid rapid test (some test kits available onsite if you have problems getting one). Of course, if you feel ill, please stay at home until you checked your health and you feel well to dance with us! If you start feeling symptomatic and you are already at the event, please communicate with the organizers.
(what we did last year): click here for the 2023 event page
| Fees | Sliding Scale (Pay what is comfortable within the range) |
| Pay by 8 December | 150 – 250€ |
| After 8 December | 180 – 250€ |
| Fee includes dinners and snacks/tea/coffee and daily use of sauna. Some work trade available… write to for details. Refund possible with cancellation before the event, minus cancellation fee (50 before 13 December, 90 after 13 December) click here for cancellation/refund policy |
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To register, do the following…
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- pay fees: You can send via bank transfer to Karl Frost: IBAN DE03860700240162275200
- fill out the linked google doc
You are only considered registered once fees sent. It is helpful and appreciated if you register early!
We’ll be sending out further logistics in the weeks before the event as needed to those who have registered.
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** Note: interpretations of “contact improvisation” have diversified and diverged over the last years. CI emerged in the 1970s out of postmodern dance, exploring the physics of bodies moving together. In trying to capture the spirit of the open explorations, it was often referred to as an “artsport”: a little bit contemporary dance, a little bit martial arts, a little bit movement meditation, a little bit improvised partner acrobatics, a little bit performance experiment. Over the years, some people have taken it more in the direction of intimacy exploration, or into a space for negotiating relationship, identity, and boundaries. We emphasize that this event is for dancing… it is a more “classic” CI event, a friendly space organized around the shared exploration of bodies moving together, of physics and dance for those who are actively enthusiastic to explore such. We actively invite responsible risk taking and assume personal agency, self responsibility and shared enthusiasm around physical exploration. For more information on classic contact improvisation, follow the link. 