Contact Improvisation
Earthdance
is an arts, dance, & movement organization and retreat center in Western Massachusetts, on unceded, ancestral Nipmuck, Pocumtuc and Wabanaki Confederacy Land. Earthdance welcomes guests from around the world to engage in events that center movement and embodied practice, Contact Improvisation, and collaborative art making.
The staff and board of directors are committed to an organizational culture that values interdisciplinary collaboration, improvisational community building, and ongoing devotion to equity, access and direct response to the realities of a greater socio-cultural landscape.
Earthdance is dedicated to building awareness of sustainable living and community building; in addition to arts-focused programming, the facility is available for partnerships with other organizations, institutions, festivals, and rentals that align with Earthdance’s values and culture.
Classes & Workshops
Contact Improvisation
Artist Residencies & Retreats
Community
Earthdance Events
For more events see the full calendar >
Being With: Axis Syllabus Weekend hosted by Kerwin Barrington and Claire Turner Reid
May 16th - 20th, 2024
In this workshop we will explore Being With our bodies through dance. Our movement investigations will bring us through varied terrain of inquiry: bridging instinctive, intuitive, and intellectual ways of being with. How can we orient towards intimacy and interconnectivity for the long-game of our moving lives?
Introduction to Mask Weekend with Akil Apollo Davis – Register Now!
May 24th - 26th, 2024
Whether you’re stepping onto this path for the first time or you’re a seasoned traveler in the realm of masks, this will be a unique and immersive experience on your quest for knowledge, creative self-discovery, and transformation. This is an opportunity for a journey of Self. Open new doors to unexplored dimensions and experiences. Revel and reflect on new inspiration and knowledge.
Summer Jam! with hosts Radmila Olshansky and Anya Smolnikova – Registration Coming Soon!
June 28 - July 5th
Dive into full bloom at the Summer Contact Improvisation Jam at Earthdance! We will gather to share in focused movement, grounded exploration, and workshops designed to deepen your CI practice. The Summer Jam is our family jam of the year where participants are welcome to bring their children and to...
EarthSing! hosted by Emmett deBeer Charno, Leela Kelley, and Marie Ebacher – Register Now!
August 15th - 18th, 2024
Join us for EarthSing, a co-creative gathering of song, ritual, and embodiment. Our workshops and shared practices include improvisational singing, somatic practices, folk songs, song circles, invocations, and musical embodiment. Singing together in this way can open the heart, the voice, and get the creative channels flowing!
Second Sunday Jam
2nd Sunday of the Month: Class at 5pm, Potluck at 6:30pm, Jam at 7:30pm
Bring your movement gifts to share along with a yummy dish to nom on after class. Let's commune and practice during our sweet jam. And, relax together in the sauna while we rest our bones. Registration not required.
Monthly Contact Tango Fusion with Daniel Trenner and Erica Roper – March 31st class postponed to April 26th!
Friday, April 26th, 2024, 6-8pm, Dessert Potluck 8-8:30pm, Jam 8:30-10pm
Contact Improvisation and the Argentine Tango are two improvisational forms and emerging dance vocabularies gaining worldwide popularity. They have vastly different roots, and yet have many interesting intersections which offer opportunities for dancers of each form to expand their social consciousness and movement skill sets. They are both forms which have performing arts and social trajectories, offering their dancers a wide range of explorations in which to build dance as both an art form and a social container.
Layers of Presence: Skin| Flesh| Bone| Floor – A Contact Improv Basics Workshop with Olive Frank and Tal Shibi
Saturday, April 27th, 2024 Workshop 3-6pm, Dinner 6:30-7:30, Jam 8-10pm
This workshop is designed to introduce participants to some of the basics of this captivating movement art-sport that is Contact Improvisation. We will research some of the underlying principles which lead dancers to move with more nuance and listening so they can enhance the possibilities within their dance.
Earthdance Community Work Day!
Saturday, May 25th, 2024
Earthdance needs a fresh coat of paint and we need your help! Bring your painting clothes and we will supply all you need to make your home away from home sparkle again! If gardening is more your vibe, we will have a few projects for you to get your hands dirty with ED's gardener, Neal. Come for one Community Collaboration or join us ALL day into dancing!
For more events see the full calendar >
Independent Events
Touch&Play: Discovery Weekend
May 9th - 12th, 2024
It’s time to play! An intimate space to Dance & Play for the new and old alike. This is a gathering about play, vulnerability and building community rich in emotional, sensorial and erotic intelligence.
Touch&Play: Lucidity
July 8-13th, 2024
This a call to radical lovers, magical creatures & imaginative dreamers! We invite you to join this journey of collectively awakening our sensuous awareness through intimate & emergent discoveries.
For more events see the full calendar >
More Ways to be Here
Host Your Event
With a unique combination of mixed-used indoor & outdoor facilities, Earthdance provides an ideal setting for workshops, conferences, weddings, and special events that seek a combination of focus, celebration, and intimate connection.
Private Retreats: Earthdance is a beautiful and inspiring place to rest & retreat.
Mineral Collecting: Visit the old Betts Mine site to look for minerals.
Experiences
The Value of Earthdance
A relaxing and rigorous environment, that values the pace of the body and the richness of the soul.
Lila H.
What I Learned
Inspired by a community of teachers dedicated to seeking the moving and sublime truths of existence I learned to call on my name as Artist and Dancer.
Michelle L.
Why I Donate
Earthdance is a gem in the firmament! It holds space for deep exploration of one’s current investigation and supports our light spirit as well.
Ted J.
I Love
Part of my joy is just knowing that it’s here, even if I don’t use it as much as I would like. It’s like a local home of the larger dance community. A place to meet and re-meet friends. A place to get physical contact in times when that’s missing from my life – a connection. A place to express emotion. A place I’m proud to introduce people to as a physical center for my community of people. It allows people to have a place for the stream of community members that come and go through out lives. A place of nurturing – be it food, touch, talk, dance.
Anonymous.