Contact Improvisation Guides
Contact Improvisation is easier to do than to look up. There is no governing body, no official curriculum, and most of what a newcomer needs to know gets passed on in person. These guides write some of it down: what the practice is, what the words mean, what happens at a jam, and how to find one.
7 guides so far, with more on the way.
What Is Contact Improvisation? A Beginner's Guide
Contact Improvisation explained: the core idea, what a first jam looks like, and whether you need dance experience. A clear guide for complete beginners.
Read the guide →7 minContact Improvisation Glossary: Terms & Definitions
A reference for Contact Improvisation terminology: weight-sharing, counterbalance, point of contact, jam, underscore, and more, explained clearly.
Read the guide →11 minContact Improvisation vs. 5Rhythms, AcroYoga & More
How Contact Improvisation differs from 5Rhythms, Ecstatic Dance, AcroYoga, Tango, and Zouk, compared side by side so you can find the right practice.
Read the guide →11 minContact Improvisation Jam Etiquette: A First-Timer's Guide
What to expect at your first Contact Improvisation jam: consent, safety norms, and etiquette, sourced from published community guidelines.
Read the guide →10 minHow to Find Contact Improvisation Near You
No CI community nearby? How to check properly, join a local scene, and what to do when the nearest jam is a city away or doesn't exist yet.
Read the guide →5 minHow to Find Contact Improvisation While Traveling
Find Contact Improvisation abroad: which messaging app each country uses, what to pack, and how to time a trip around the festival seasons.
Read the guide →7 minPreparing for Your First Contact Improvisation Festival
What to pack, what a festival day looks like, and how to pace yourself across several days, a practical guide to your first CI festival.
Read the guide →9 minLooking for somewhere to dance?
The rest of the site is the directory these guides point at: jams, festivals, teachers, venues and local communities, country by country.