Asheville Jam
Weekly Contact Improvisation Jam
in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
Asheville Jam is a community-led, volunteer-run, weekly contact improvisation jam hosting live musicians, CI classes, underscores and more in Asheville, North Carolina.
We dance every Saturday from 4 to 6pm
315 Old Haw Creek Rd.
Asheville, NC 28805
What is CI?
Contact Improvisation is a physical discipline,
a social dance, a practice in presence, an expressive art, a technical form, an athletic endeavor and structured play.
A more detailed definition from Contact Quarterly:
"Contact Improvisation is an evolving system of movement initiated in 1972 by American choreographer Steve Paxton. The improvised dance form is based on the communication between two moving bodies that are in physical contact and their combined relationship to the physical laws that govern their motion—gravity, momentum, inertia. The body, in order to open to these sensations, learns to release excess muscular tension and abandon a certain quality of willfulness to experience the natural flow of movement. Practice includes rolling, falling, being upside down, following a physical point of contact, supporting and giving weight to a partner.
Contact improvisations are spontaneous physical dialogues that range from stillness to highly energetic exchanges. Alertness is developed in order to work in an energetic state of physical disorientation, trusting in one's basic survival instincts. It is a free play with balance, self-correcting the wrong moves and reinforcing the right ones, bringing forth a physical/emotional truth about a shared moment of movement that leaves the participants informed, centered, and enlivened."
—early definition by Steve Paxton and others, 1970s,
from CQ Vol. 5:1, Fall 1979
Community Guidelines
Thank you for taking a moment to read through these guidelines. We crafted this document out of our desire to build a dance community based in mutual respect, care, and consent. Your feedback matters and is welcome!
Why Community Guidelines?
Coming to a CI jam for the first time can be liberating. You have permission to play, dance, explore, touch, and be touched. This can be a big shift from how we are expected to move and interact in our daily lives and can sometimes feel overwhelming - just as we long to feel freedom and connection with others, we also need healthy boundaries to feel safe. The following guidelines help create a container for the expectations we have of each other at our jams. If these guidelines are not honored Asheville Jam organizers may ask an individual to leave or not attend future events.
Why we’re here
Contact Improvisation is a dance form. It is a rich and diverse practice of improvisation, exploration and movement that can be an avenue to many things ranging from performance to personal growth.
The CI space is not:
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A space for dating or meeting new romantic or sexual partners (though this may happen outside the jam container)
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A space for general socializing and conversation (though this may happen before or after or outside of the jam)
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A place where the goal is meeting our needs for physical intimacy (touch, cuddling, etc)
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A place to seek and pursue sexual connection - this type of behavior contributes to an unsafe jam culture and is not acceptable
Other Guidelines
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Come to the jam clean and wearing appropriate clothing - natural fiber clothing that covers your legs and shoulders is recommended for contact improvisation.
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Refrain from sexual touch - be conscious of sensitive areas both in your own body and your partner's
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Be a responsible dancer: don’t grab, confine, or restrict another dancers’ movements. Go to class to learn techniques for dancing safely, especially when weight sharing.
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Dancers may start and end dances at any time for a wide variety of reasons. Don’t take it personally (unless you get direct feedback about the dance indicating you should.)
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The jam is a screen-free space. Please silence your phones and take calls, texts, etc outside.
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Avoid wearing strong or chemical scents to keep the space inclusive for those with chemical sensitivities.
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Take conversations (that aren’t in-the-moment and about-the-dancing) outside.
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Well-tended youngsters who can safely and respectfully engage in the space – including the opening and closing circles – are welcome.
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We love our furry friends, but no pets allowed at the jam.
The Rules... in a nutshell
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Take care of yourself
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Take care of each other
Asheville Jam Schedule & Special Events
Saturday CI Skills Class & Open Practice
The main event... join us every Saturday from 4 to 6pm at Haw Creek Commons in Asheville. This is an inquiry-based, all levels contact improvisation skills class followed by an open practice/jam session (unless otherwise noted on the calendar.) Teachers rotate weekly and classes focus on both foundational and intermediate skill development. Bring your questions, predicaments, successes and curiosities and join us in the dance!
Skills Class & Open Practice session $10
Last hour just jamming $5
Cash preferred, Venmo/PayPal ok
Live Music
Don't miss our dreamy live music jams! These are some of our favorite and most sensorially rich dancing experiences as we dance through and to soundscapes created in the moment and in response to the dancing by a live musician. Check the calendar or follow our Facebook page for updates on our next live music event.
Live Music Jam $5-15
Cash preferred, Venmo/PayPal ok, NOTAFLOF
Consider bringing extra cash to support our musician
The Underscore
We occasionally shift from offering class to hosting the Underscore on Saturdays. If you don't know about the Underscore you can learn more here. If you've never done an Underscore (or if you would like the review) come at 3:30 for the talk-through in the library (required for first timers). Drop-in to this essential element of the CI tradition. Check the calendar or follow our Facebook page for updates on our next Underscore.
Underscore $5-15
Cash preferred, Venmo/PayPal ok, NOTAFLOF
Community
Events
Here you will find information about other community Contact Improvisation related events not hosted by the Asheville Jam
Monday Jam
Stephen's Lee Community Center
30 George Washington Carver Ave
Asheville, NC 28801
Mondays 6-8pm.
FREE.
Learn more about community CI events at the
Newsletter
Drop us a line with your contact information in order to be added to our mailing list. We look forward to dancing with you!
