This week’s Dance First Member Spotlight is from Moti Zemelman, host of the world-renowned Contact Improv Retreat in Costa Rica!
As I’m sure most dancers can attest, keeping our dance practices alive during the pandemic has been a challenge. This has been especially true for an intimate partner dance form like Contact Improvisation, which is based on touch! I’ve personally been put to the test working creatively to find safe ways to lead dances over these last two years.
I started the pandemic with virtual classes, but after a few months, Zoom fatigue set in, and I started a weekly in-person outdoor masked dance I call “Curbside Contact.” Using long bamboo sticks, bungee cords, rope, and even a parachute, we created ways to feel resistance and counterbalance with partners while keeping a 6 foot distance.
We’ve slowly transitioned back to physical contact as folx got vaccinated and conditions have improved. * For more info on “Curbside Contact,” go to my local FB page here: https://www.facebook.
My local group of intrepid dancers (in western Massachusetts) have continued to meet at Curbside Contact throughout the pandemic every week, rain, snow, or shine. There have been many silver linings – No sweeping or mopping the “floor” before class (although I do do a doo-doo scan before we start)! The major blessing has been integrating my practice of Contact Improv to nature in a more consistently integrated way.
My beloved teacher and pioneer of CI, Nancy Stark Smith, who sadly passed away in 2020, would always say, “The earth is your first dance partner.” Since the “studio” we use each week now is made of earth and trees and sky, we can discover an even deeper connection to that sentiment.
Some weeks the wind is our partner; others, we jump into the cold river together. On icy days we slide down the snow-covered sand mounds toppling over each other and laughing. Other times we end up dancing kid-like onto the playground equipment in the park – climbing, bouncing, balancing, and weight-sharing on the elaborate Buckminster Fuller-esque tensegrity jungle gym of braided wire.
Every year I always look forward to taking this practice and play to the beaches and jungles of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, where I’ve been teaching now for ten years. I’m so happy to be able to finally offer my weeklong retreat again after a two-year hiatus! With vaccination rates in Costa Rica even higher than in the USA and so much centered around outdoor activities, it’s a bit easier to plan safe ways to dance there this winter.
At the Goddess Garden, the retreat center that I have now taught at for eight years, the studios and dining area are all gorgeous open-air spaces. The surrounding jungle is filled with monkeys, sloths, toucans, tree frogs, and blue morpho butterflies. The primal sounds of animals permeate our dances, whether we are in the wood-floor palapa studio or dancing on the roots of the “Goddess Tree,” the oldest and most amazing tree in Cahuita. Its roots are taller than me, and its trunk takes more than 20 people holding outstretched hands to surround; it will leave you breathless.
When I started teaching Contact Improv in Costa Rica ten years ago, there were no Contact jams, and practically nobody trained in Contact Improv in the country. Now there is a thriving weekly jam and community started by students of mine.
Six years ago, I started an initiative to make my retreat more accessible to Costa Ricans and other Central American dancers who wished to participate but were financially unable to. Thanks to the generosity of our community of worldwide dancers committed to inclusion and accessibility, we’ve been able to raise enough for 2-4 dancers every year of the scholarship! If you’d like to contribute, go here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/
This year’s retreat at Goddess Garden is happening from February 12-19, 2022, and is already filling up with amazing participants. During this weeklong intensive, we’ll be exploring Contact Improvisation as a way of connecting with self, nature, spirit, and community. * PARTICIPANTS MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED FOR COVID-19
Here’s the link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.
and the registration page on my website: http://www.
I’m offering an additional $100 off of my Early-bird prices for anyone who registers by Nov 28th and mentions “Conscious Dancer.”
Pura Vida!
Moti Zemelman
