Today was as lovely a day as ever to move and meet personal edges from within community. Here, Jim and I (Aly) are seen adding some Contact Improv elements to our open dancing in Soroptomist Park. Our dancing is always improvised, but generally in a more individual sense than we are showing here. I have definitely always preferred to dance solo. Part of that may be fear that dancing with another person will kill my vibe; I’ve definitely had some bad partner dancing experiences. But when you dance with people who are focused on discovery rather than technical perfection, the outcome can be remarkably encouraging. Each movement may not seamlessly flow into the next. This is okay, and Jim (who is not a contact improv expert but has more experience than me) says that pauses are actually necessary in this style of dance to be able to listen to your body, the other dancer’s body, and the whisper of inspiration from any other source. The song is “Black Sheep” by My Brightest Diamond.
We’ve started putting our “Dance With Us” sign out again to encourage downtown strollers and residents of the park to join us. We are brainstorming other ways to make it clear that what we are doing is invitational and open to all people with all abilities, styles, and backgrounds – besides those who are bigots or fascists, of course. We understand that openly dancing like this on street corners does not feel inherently safe to everyone and poses slight societal risks. That being said, we do our best to support those who enter the space. If you live in Bozeman, MT or are passing through and would like to join us, contact us.