Choosing the right partner is crucial in partner or group dances. For a captivating performance, your interaction must be seamless. Focus on sincerity, trust, and imagination rather than technique or appearance.
Choosing a partner is an essential part of partner or group dances. To win over your audience, your connection with your partner must be simply perfect. It's not so much about technique or sequence of moves, but how quickly your partner can catch your mood and adapt to it.
In contact improvisation, physical appearance doesn't affect the dance, so don't pick a partner based on height or gender.
Contact improvisation is a subtle and refined dance; not everyone masters it. The audience judges your performance by the image you create through your interaction with your partner. Therefore, the better you understand each other, the more successful your performance will be.
The first thing to consider when choosing a partner is their sincerity. The more sincere a person is, the easier it is for them to convey their feelings through their body. During the dance, you'll understand what they want to express with their movements and catch their vibe. The interaction will look natural and authentic.
The second factor is their personal traits and outlook on life. For various reasons, we may not like or feel comfortable with someone; with such a person, it's hard to understand each other because you simply won't want to, and the interaction won't lead to anything good.
Pay attention to the level of trust you feel on a subconscious level at first sight. Some people associate certain external features with cunning, so trust decreases.
You need a partner you want to open up to and show what you're capable of. They, sensing this, will meet you halfway, leading to harmony in the dance that the audience will feel.
Contact improvisation is primarily about creating an image in a given moment. To live "here and now," you don't need to spend much time thinking about how to do it.
Just do it. It helps to have a well-developed imagination, which will lead you to success. Your partner should also have that imagination, otherwise they won't interpret some of your moves correctly.
Perhaps one physical characteristic to consider when choosing a partner is strength. You need to know which elements you can use to convey your feelings while feeling physically supported.
Your partner should serve as a support for you. This works both ways—you should also be prepared for some physical demands, which are discussed before the dance.
In group dances, it's a bit easier. Everyone chooses a person to interact with, but during the dance, they continue to contact other dancers as well. Usually, opening up to one person is enough; then everything flows more easily.
Contact improvisation dancers are the best psychologists—they can sense a person's energy without words. Through their bodies, they can express gratitude, offer support, and simply lift your spirits.
Contact improvisation is a mini-performance involving both dancers and the audience, who in the process create an atmosphere of comfort and trust.
The GoDance team crafts articles about dance, technique and inspiring stories from dancers.
Subscribe to our newsletter and get new content delivered to your inbox
