March Asides

Although peace is here, in the very ground upon which we walk, clearly, in this world of humans, peace does not just happen, it requires a commitment, a practice.

There is a phenomenal history of art acting in resistance to war, and Contact Improvisation was one of these such actions, almost by default. Yet, it was different in a critical way than these other art actions which tended to apply their art to elucidate or explicate, or otherwise represent resistance to war. What made CI different is that it was an actual practice of the means to a fully energetic, exhilarating alternative to war, the physical practice of peace. Did we know that then? Not fully. We have grown and continue to grow. We are still incomplete in our understanding of peace and yet, it is clearly a deep unfolding that we dance.

We began working on what became CI during the Vietnam War. It was a horrible war, as all are, and there was a draft of our young men, which brought it home to families. Resistance was strong among intellectuals, artists, students and the those of the public who were aware of what we were doing to this tiny country of Vietnam and its people, wielding overarching force, and making power moves that included dropping a horrendous chemical that burned everything – people, animals, forests: napalm. 

Steve Paxton, a dancer, avant-garde choreographer, and one of my teachers at Bennington College, turned the core principle of Aikido, the Japanese marshal art he had been studying, on its head. The principle, Ai Ki (blending /harmonizing “ki” or energy), is one of harmonizing with an attacker by helping them to go where they want to go … but then redirecting that energy to disarm their intention, (thus gaining the upper hand in a conflict). Steve took that notion and turned it into something where nobody had an upper hand and everyone blended and helped one another to go and do whatever they were doing, so long as the impetus was to help, not to control. The intention was to reroute hierarchical intentions, stay in the immediate present managing whatever arose between oneself and one’s partner. There were no roles, no attacker, no defender and no repeatable “moves.” The wildness that exists in early CI comes from this score, which he never presented to us just as I have articulated it, although through it we embraced a huge unknown. This dance became a form and as a form, our answer to the hierarchy of war! Is CI political? Yes, and so much more!

There is always a rational for waging war. For being despicable. For marching our young people off to learn how to turn regular people into objects of aggression. Historically it’s mostly rich, powerful, old men who march their young off to war, mostly not their young, but someone else’s.

I love The Green Table,* a 1932 ballet by German Choreographer, Kurt Jooss who fled his home after Hitler invited him to be his regime choreographer! Jooss took his company before the war to England, situating himself for a number of years at Dartington College of the Arts in Devon, where a dance studio was built for him and his company’s use. In this work you see a depiction, a representation, of the societal means to war and its consequences. And, you understand how different CI is from this art that appeals to one’s intellect and heart, but which doesn’t have the cure. CI is a practice and study of the cure. It is a practice of full engagement in peace: playful, creative, caring, body on the line, generous, daring, balancing on an edge of danger with someone there to help, purpose full and purpose less at the same time.

*This rendition of the Green Table has a nice introduction of a contemporary ballet in rehearsal with some choreographic explanation (in English) but if you wish only the actual Green Table segment of the piece, forward-wind to half way to see the key scene with men at the table – it’s worth watching. 

Fun Fact: While visiting Dartington to give a keynote address and a workshop for an ecological conference given by art dot earth, Sentient Performativities: Thinking Alongside the Human, I taught in that gorgeous old dance studio of Jooss’. Then I stayed in a room in Dartington Hall which dates back before 1400 in the Jooss room. (I have no idea if Jooss actually ever stayed there) but I felt the history.

Another fun fact: Steve Paxton taught Contact Improvisation in this same Dartington College dance studio in the 70s, invited by Mary Fulkerson who was teaching full time.

Another fun fact: Charlie Morrissey (Wainsgate, Hebden Bridge, UK), friend of Steve Paxton, and wonderful master CI teacher was taught the practice, there in that studio at Dartington by Steve. What’s in the boards of that floor!