Welcome to our second episode of Points of Contact. Each month in conversation with Carolyn Stuart, we'll dive into her experience, philosophy, and teachings of Contact Improvisation. 

This episode we would like to talk about how Steve Paxton has influenced Carolyn’s practice of Contact improvisation. Known as the founder of contact improvisation Paxton, passed away February 20, 2024. As a founder of Judson Dance Theatre and later Grand Union, Paxton was instrumental in ushering in postmodern dance. While with Judson, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown, among others. Paxton began exploring what would become Contact Improvisation in 1972— through the use of the laws of physical such as friction, momentum, gravity, and inertia as a catalyst for movement. Over the following years, many times Paxton rested the call to become a leader or authority figure for contacting improvisation. Offering this voice as one of may perspectives. Leaving each person to answer what contact improvisation is for them.

Read GRAVITY by STEVE PAXTON. In this book, Paxton traces a lifetime in the company of gravity. The memory of his first flight, a meditation on walking, pondering on the conditions of life, and a dream of dancing make up pieces of a puzzle. He reveals the physical force that is affecting each of us and underpins our personal stories. Paxton muses about the limit of his consciousness and celebrates the potentiality of our senses to enter the dance.

Leave us a comment below. We are curious about what you enjoyed or found relevant in this episode. We welcome feedback, reflections, constructive criticism. You are welcome to leave a voice memo or written comment, your choice.

A devotee of Contact Improvisation since 1984, Carolyn’s research and development of the dance form spans 17 countries, hundreds of projects, and diverse populations. Her primary teachers have been commitment to the process of exploration and the use of the blindfold. Her mission is to make contact improvising accessible by distilling the vastness of possibility into the simplest of terms. The current edge of her investigation is applying the principles of the C.I. paradigm to life at large. If mutual well-being is possible on the dance floor, then what about off the dance floor too—for the generations to come!  Writings by Carolyn Stuart can be found at: ⁠www.contactgames.wordpress.com⁠

Your host, Eric Nordstrom is a dance performer, filmmaker, and teacher living in Portland, Oregon. He teaches in the Dance Program at Lewis and Clark College and has taught at contact festival Freiburg in Germany, the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, and Conduit Dance. He has performed with Karen Nelson, Keith V. Goodman, and was a core company member of Oslund + Company.  To help preserve Portland dance history, Eric created a documentary film Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present. To centralize and preserve dance history source material, Eric has partnered with Portland State University to create the Portland Dance Archives. He studied with filmmaker Mitchell Rose and choreographer Bebe Miller at The Ohio State University, where he earned his MFA in Dance. For more information about Eric Nordstrom: ⁠www.eric-nordstrom.com⁠

Photo by Gregory Bartning