Winter can’t cant stop us from fixing and reinvigorating Earthdance this season. Come help us beautify the interiors and exteriors (if the weather permits) of Earthdance. Make your mark by lending a hand to strengthen this unique place we all call home and then dance together in the evenings!
EARTHDANCE WISHLIST
If can’t help us physically for the work weekend, we do have a wishlist of things we need below. We ask that the items do not have stains or chips, they are functional, you would use them in your own home, clean and lightly used. If you have specific or questionable donations, please email programming@earthdance.net.
If you have a chainsaw we can use while you’re here, bring it!
Good Blankets
Good Sleeping and Decorative Pillows
Cushions (to sit on the floor)
Twin and Full Mattresses
Twin, full and queen sheets/pillow cases
Mugs (no chips, no corporate/anniversary/words, maybe a set?)
Soup Bowls
Small to medium cooking pots with matching lids
Any size clean area rugs
Nice Art
String lights
Metal Shelving
SUGGESTED DONATION – This will help pay for food that we will feed you
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
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.
In this Workshop, Erica and Daniel will explore some of the overlapping commonalities and distinctive differences of the two forms. They hope to encourage dancers to widen their improvisational vocabularies and overcome any confusions about how these two divergent forms of improvisational dance can inform each other.
We invite you to join us, both new and experienced dancers from either form, in a structure that honors all and different abilities. If you are worried about steps we specialize in dancers with two left feet. We will have fun doing it!
THE JAM
We want to build something new from the familiar. Contact has the Jam, Tango has the Practica. They are both spaces where dancers can build the dance skills they have been learning in class, build social awareness of the forms, experience social codes and boundary keeping, all in the context of safe, conscious, and joyful interaction.
We will seed these experiential spaces with structured warmups, one where the different social codes and rituals can inform each other. Contact is often danced in silence, tango mostly to music. We will have some of each. Contact encourages spontaneous movement in and out of partnership, tango has a set of codes for beginning and ending dances together. We will endeavor to find common ground for our dance and play. We will begin and end with sharing circles, because we acknowledge that we are evolving something new and we want your feedback.
Wear comfortable clothes.
*** Please ONLY bring leather or rubber soled shoes or socks, no heels or shoes worn outside to dance in.
$15 when you register. $20 if you choose dinner when you arrive.
SAUNA
$10 with towel rental
STAY OVERNIGHT
If you wish to extend your visit and stay overnight in our Gratitude Lodge dorm bed is $40. (Rental of sheets and towel is $15) Or, camping which is $30. * Includes access to the sauna and kitchen use but does not provide food.
***If you find that you are struggling financially or there are other circumstances that are making it difficult to join this special workshop, please email programming@earthdance.net with your situation so that we can create a way to have you join us.***
Refund available up to 10 days before the event less a $20 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 10 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
Daniel’s first introduction to Improv and Contemporary Dance was with Bill T Jones, at the American Dance Asylum in 1975. He began his own Jazz Improv group in 1978 whilst dancing with Brenda Bufalino, and has been involved with Contact Improv since 1980, first with Steve and Nancy’s cohort on the East Coast, and then with the men of Mangrove on the West Coast.
He traveled widely in the 1980s teaching Contact, BMC, Tap, and Contemporary Dance. His travels led him to Argentina in 1987, where he taught at the State School of Contemporary Dance for the next 7 years, and began his Tango obsession, one which eventually redirected his career.
He has become one of the prime movers in Tango’s modern revival, touring widely in North America, helping create the Tango tourism industry in Buenos Aires, and the first Tango store in the US. He is one of the founding cohort of Earthdance, senior faculty at DNE, and a co-owner of CTT. He taught Tango and Salsa at the Five Colleges for 14 years before the pandemic.
He resides in Florence, MA, where he is the owner of a co-living experimental dance house, and his in residence/ online Tango Archive.
Erica Skye Roper
Erica’s first memory is learning folk dances with their grandparents. Erica began performing folk dances at ten and began learning Argentine Tango at nineteen. Erica played at the edges of Contact improv and tango fusion for more than fifteen years before diving in and studying Contact Improv in 2019.
Erica began teaching dance around 2007 and is available to teach or co-teach Tango Fusion, ConTango Fusion, Salsa Rueda, and Taking-Back-Boundaries workshops. Erica brings a devotion to life long learning through a continuing study of dance and movement as well as the desire to strengthen and build community into the center of all of her teaching.
“The body is a mystery moved by tangible and intangible forces”
These forces can originate in interaction with other people, the relationship with space and also from the memory of our tissues and cells.
During these sessions, we will initiate explorations that allow us to make contact with the information received from the skin inwards. In this way, it will generate a sensitive record of the internal universes that can be decoded through the “sensations”, which in some way, could be the gateway to physicality.
Through different somatic dynamics and Contact Improvisation we will seek to sensitize our state of presence and attention in the body. This, in order to awaken a record of the different impulses which can originate from the inherent vitality of the organism, cellular memory, or the interrelationship that appears when inhabiting space and linking with other dancing bodies. These registers and connections could allow us to find a better state of presence and to see what is happening in our dance.
We will try weight exchanges with different qualities, dancing off the axis without losing connection with our bodies and our weight, exchanges of strength in connection to the earth, and we will explore how to take advantage of the momentum to fall in multiple directions.
Is it possible to fall upwards?
We will search how we can allow the creative power that inhabits each participant to unfold freely to improvise, play, and dance collectively. During the weekend, information from somatic disciplines, craniosacral therapy and other movement arts will be integrated.
Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence for participants on Friday, October 27th from 1:00pm-4:00pm.
Friday CI Workshop: Friday, October 27th from 4-6pm, Dinner is at 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Saturday, October 28th at 10am
Saturday, October 28th Drop-In Day: Arrive/Check-In between 8am-10am, Breakfast is at 8am-9am, Opening Circle 10am and Departure at 11pm day of.
Weekend Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, October 29th.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for weekend and drop-in days. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 3 Discounted Tickets to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized groups. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the event offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the event as a whole.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, event offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base event cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, event offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the event including food.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other participants.
Refund available up to 14 days (October 13th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. However, ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Friday, October 27th at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Dancer and Teacher of Contact Improvisation. Dedicated to the transmission of the C.I since 2013. I have learned from different somatic approaches such as: B.M.C, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique and Topf Technique. Craniosacral Therapist and teacher. Practitioner of Butoh and Kinomichi (Japanese martial art), languages that are part of his experience and that also cross the way of teaching and sharing the practice.
I was manager and co-creator of various projects and festivals in relation to Contact improvisation and somatic disciplines, to name a few; Mueves: platform for the production of festivals and workshops in relation to the practice of C.I. (Year 2013-2018 Chile). Matriz: International Contact Improvisation Festival, Chile between 2014-2017. Cuerpo inteligencia: Dance Training Program (year 2016-2019 Chile). Movere: International Dance Festival (year 2020-2022 Mexico). Mazunte Contact festival: International Contact Improvisation Festival to be held in February 2022, México. Immersion: International Contact Improvisation Festival to be held in January 2023, México.
I shared my work in festivals, universities and independent spaces in the following countries: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and the United States.
The Winter Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams. It often has around 100-140 participants, is open to all movement levels and backgrounds.
Ticket Options: We offer full jam, commuter, camping and drop-in day options.
Drop-In Days: We are offering 2 drop-in days (no overnight) on Saturday, December 30th and Sunday, December 31st Drop-Ins (15 ticket limit per day). This option is only available for folks who have been to Earthdance before. We ask that you check-in with ED staff when you arrive between 9-10am.
Nine Mountain retreat center is just across the field and is available once you purchase a Commuter Ticket with Earthdance. You will need to contact robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed at an additional cost per night.***ALL participants staying at Nine Mountain MUST check-in at the Earthdance Farmhouse during registration times BEFORE settling into Nine Mountain. Thank you for understanding.***
Children: We are encouraging children to stay home for this jam. We are not providing child care, children’s programming, or kids pricing. Join us for the Summer Jam, which offers many children focused offerings!
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle, Departures and COVID Testing
Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence for Full Jam participants on Wednesday, December 27th from 4:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Thursday, December 28th at 10am. We recommend that all Newcomers to attend this.
Mid-Jam Full House Clean: Saturday, December 30th from 12-1pm. All Participants join the Clean.
Drop-Ins: Arrive to check-in at the front of the farmhouse Saturday, December 30th and Sunday, December 31st between 9-10am. Only availablefor folks who have been to Earthdance before. If you arrive late, find Olive.
Closing Circle and Final Clean: Closing Circle is at 12pm, Lunch from 1-2pm and Final clean from 2-3 pm. All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Tuesday, January 2nd.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for Full Jam and Drop-In days. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Equity & Access Tickets
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 14 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
Application deadline is Closed.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, this jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
Affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the Jam offerings including food for the event.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Jam participants.
Nine Mountain (the retreat center next door to Earthdance)
You will need to contact Robyn at robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed AFTER you’ve registered for a Commuter Ticket with Earthdance.
Dorm bed (first come, first serve – includes sheets with kitchen and hot tub access at Nine Mountain)
$60 per person, per night
NOPrivate Rooms Available
***ALL participants staying at Nine Mountain MUST check-in at the Earthdance Farmhouse during registration times BEFORE settling into Nine Mountain. Thank you for understanding.***
$100 – Drop-in (Includes 3 meals and entrance to the Jam. Only 15 tickets available per day due to capacity limitations and only for those who have been at Earthdance before. Thank you for understanding.)
Refund available up to 14 days (December 13th) before the event less a $75 (full jam) & $30 (drop-in) processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days (After December 13th) from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, December 27th (Full Jam), Saturday, December 30th (Drop-In), and Sunday, December 31st (Drop-In) at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each. No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Born & raised in Greece, first fell in love with Contact Improvisation in Argentina 8yrs ago – their desire to deepen in this practice, in nature & community, led them to Earthdance for a summer as a work exchanger 6yrs ago, and the 5 cold long winters that came after that have not yet managed to make them go away.
Katerina has been exploring movement and touch on land and water for the last 8yrs, is currently running a practice of therapeutic bodywork & somatic coaching in Boston,MA, and is part of the Contact Improvisation Jamaica Plain team.
Katerina loves researching what’s accessible when we come together in our bodies, while cultivating awareness of self & relationship, and often dreams that these practices might be part of what one day lead us to world peace. Some of their background: Esalen & Thai massage, Aquatic Dance, Aguahara aquatic bodywork, Authentic Movement, Feldenkrais, Somatic Self Compassion.
Kiori Kawai
Kiori Kawai (Japanese, b. 1978) is a dance performer/choreographer, interactive installation artist and an educator. As a dance performance artist/choreographer, she started her career in New York, she has worked with Carman Moore/Skymusic Inc., Elaine Summers Dance and Film, Lincoln Center, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn Museum, Serraves Contemporary Museum (Portugal), Mesa Arts Center (AZ), Transformation Festival (Denmark/U.S), Megaron (Athens, Greece), Sharjah Biennial (U.A.E), New York University Abu Dhabi Arts Center (U.A.E), touring nationally and internationally. She’s built up her own improvisatory movement vocabulary based on the techniques of meditation, Kinetic Awareness, Contact Improv, yoga, and various dance/movement trainings. This led her to designing interactive installations that include human body movement within kinetic sculptures.
In 2011, she founded Purring Tiger with Aaron Sherwood. Purring Tiger is a multi- cultural, multimedia, interactive installation/performance group dedicated to bringing people together in the context of Art, in a subtext of Wonder. Their pieces have been commissioned and appeared at Burning Man Arts Festival, Brooklyn Museum, Federation Square (AUS), Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Telfair Museum, Cameron Arts Museum, Scottsdale Public Art and many more. Ignite.me magazine said “Not only does their art challenge us…, but it’s also beautiful.” She teaches performance workshops, Improvisation/Contact Improvisation based classes in US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Her approach of Improvisation/Contact Improvisation is as a Meditative Movement Practice. It is based on observing breath and bodily sensations, placing the awareness to every part of the body, and integrating this awareness with movement. A practitioner of meditation and improvisational movement, Kiori Kawai’s approach employs observation of conscious and unconscious choices through stillness and movement, using kinesthetic awareness as a conversation to explore connection between self and environment. Her workshops focus on various thematic movement methods, such as “Body Climate”, “Arriving Score”, and “Sleep Dance Lab.”. Workshops often culminate in a site-specific performance as sharing and exchanging ideas with each participants’ view point.
She has taught at New York University-Abu Dhabi (UAE), Alpine Dance Academy/ Wave Festival (CO, USA), Tinkuy (Copenhagen, Denmark), Wrong Movement Studio (Athens, Greece), New England Dance Camp (New Hampshire, USA), Transformation Festival (U.S.A-Denmark), Deakin University/Federation Square (Melbourne, Australia), Savannah Arts Academy/ Telfair Museums (GA, USA), Dancing Water (TX, USA), Azule Dance Theater (NY, USA), Rinyou Temple (Japan) and more. http://kiorikawai.com/
Come together for a unique celebration, a four-day journey from Thursday, November 23th to Sunday, November 26th. During this extended weekend, we invite you to revel in the joy of feasting, dancing, and expressing gratitude, sensitivity and awareness. Expect an abundance of contact improvisation classes, jams, and an array of other delightful offerings to indulge in. On Thanksgiving Day, we’ll share a collective potluck feast!
Thanksgiving is a special time for us, a moment to purposefully nourish and cherish our gratitude, to awaken to the blessings in our lives. At Earthdance, we are especially grateful for the resurgence of life and the profound sense of connection within our vibrant community.
Thanksgiving, rooted in the harvest season, calls for gratitude for the Earth’s boundless abundance. We are sustained in countless ways by this living planet – through the air we breathe, the pull of gravity, the sustenance it provides, and the deep spiritual and relational connections it offers. It beckons us to embrace our inner completeness.
Amidst our gratitude in Earthdance, located in Nipmuc territory, we want to bring our attention to the reality that Thanksgiving day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture, therefore we also carry feelings of sorrow, perhaps for the sense of disconnection from this fact, from our Earth and the loss of biodiversity. When we would like to deeply acknowledge this grief to allow the natural flow of gratitude.
In the practice of contact improvisation, the Earth itself becomes our primary partner. We are forever held within its gravitational field, constantly returning to its reliable support. Can we extend this practice to maintain a vibrant, joyful connection to the Earth even when grief is present? Can we release our grip on the dance of life and move toward a secure attachment to our primary partner: this ever-present lover, the Earth itself?
Join us for an extended weekend filled with dance and delight, movement and serenity, fullness and release. Together, we will come alive, forging connections with ourselves, each other, and the nurturing Earth that sustains us.
*** Earthdance is happy to donate 50% of this jam’s proceeds to the Ohketeau Cultural Center. 948 Conway Road, Ashfield, MA 01330. https://www.ohketeau.org/
Community Collaborative Jams are a new and unfolding program concept at Earthdance which launched in early 2022. This new programming thread was driven by the desire for more opportunities to dance CI and to connect with the community in smaller containers. Similar to Seasonal Jams, the CoCo jam has one or more hosts that, rather than always being professional artists with strong facilitation skills, can be dedicated Earthdance community members and upcoming dancers building their leadership skills. Support staff is also more limited compared to our seasonal jams and participants are invited into a higher degree of autonomy and self care. Similarly, the workshop offerings and schedule are also more influenced by the community members themselves and created on a more adhoc basis.
In preparation for attending a CoCo jam, you may want to ask yourself: What are you currently researching or inspired to offer? Is there something you hope to lab, share, or play with?
Jam Details
An average of 40-60 people will attend this COCO jam and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
We have a single day drop-in option on Saturday, November 25th for folks who have been to Earthdance before.
If you have never been to Earthdance, we ask that you only sign up for either Thanksgiving Day or the full jam (either Thanksgiving Day through Sunday or Friday through Sunday). This will allow us to better welcome you and orient you to Earthdance.
If you are planning to attend Thanksgiving Potluck dinner, and you have registered, we will send out a shared document for folks to coordinate dishes to bring. We will start dinner at 5pm.
This will be a very self motivated jam, bring your ideas! Be ready to co-create! – We will send out a shared document for folks to fill out who would like to offer something during this co-creation weekend when you register.
Thanksgiving Potluck: Arrival/Check-In on Thursday, November 23rd from 4-7pm front of the Farmhouse. Potluck is at 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Friday, November 24th at 10am.
Friday-Sunday Jam: Arrival/Check-In on Friday, November 24th from 8-10am front of the Farmhouse.
Saturday Drop-In (Only for folks who’ve been to Earthdance before): Arrive Saturday, November starting 8am. Departure at 10pm day of.
Final Clean: Sunday, November 26th at 2-3pm.
Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, November 26th.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for both Full Jam and Saturday Drop-in. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 6 Discounted Tickets to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
Affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the Jam offerings including food for the event.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Refund available up to 14 days (November 9th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. However, ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, November 23rd, Friday November 24th or Saturday, November 25th. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Funda is an adventurous explorer of movement who has delved into various disciplines on a captivating spiritual and intellectual journey. She began her exploration in the world of Aikido in 2005, which ignited a passion that shaped her path. Along the way, she also immersed herself in Systema, where she honed her skills as an instructor-in-training. Funda’s attraction to spirituality led her to complete a transformative 500-hour teacher training program in the Krishnamacharya lineage of Yoga, where she discovered the power of personalized and adaptable practices.
Since 2016, Funda has been deeply involved in Contact Improvisation as a student, teacher, and facilitator. She collaborates with esteemed dancers to organize engaging workshops and events, including a memorable workshop by Nita Little in the heart of New York City. Drawing from her background in Yoga and Martial Arts, Funda effortlessly tailors her teachings to suit the diverse needs and abilities of her students. Her goal is to create an inclusive space for movement exploration guided by the profound philosophy that “Function Creates the Form.”
Beyond the studio, Funda is dedicated to uniting the vibrant NYC Contact Improv community. Alongside fellow enthusiasts, she hosts inspiring performances enriched with live music. These events not only elevate the beauty of Contact Improvisation but also support organizations committed to combating climate change. In this realm, her spiritual practice takes flight as she strives to understand and experience the interconnectedness of nature and ourselves through the ‘Way of the Universe’ and the concept of ‘Oneness.’
In addition to her movement endeavors, Funda pursued a degree in Mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology. Today, she channels her intellect and creativity into her work at an innovative AI company, where she is revolutionizing online math education to support students who lack access to math education.
Some of Funda’s leading teachers that she has tremendous gratitude towards are: Ayhan Kaya, Edgars Cakuls, Vladimir Vasiliev, Guta Hedewig, Richard Webb, Nita Little, Tres Hofmeister, Dan Messisco, Chuck Weber.
AARON BRANDES (aka Brando)
MSW, M.ED is a founding member of the improvisational dance company: Set GO and teaches and performs internationally. His dance videos have collected over a half million views and can be viewed via his website, BodyandBeing.net. In 2009, Brando established CI Ground Research, an annual conference for the pedagogical and embodied research of Contact Improvisation.
He continues to host a bi-weekly CI event in Northampton which explores the relationship between improvised music and dance. Brando is a licensed psychotherapist, is nationally certified in Structural Integration (SI) and is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher. He has integrated aspects of SI bodywork, movement, and clinical social work in his therapeutic practice.
Join us this fall to nourish ourselves with our CI practice. As nature transitions towards its resting season, let us too find ways to release, reflect, and rejuvenate. What does it take to find ease and enjoyment at an extended contact improvisation jam? To gather in a community of people, some we know well, some who are strangers, and engage in a practice centered around physical touch? How can we create a container that can respond to potentially competing needs?
The answer is in the practice itself! At this jam we will connect the wisdom of CI to more broadly applicable skills, especially those that focus on self- and community-care. “Resourcing” is a main theme of this jam. What do you need to be well resourced? What do we need as a community in order to be well resourced?
Tune into your nervous system’s needs and wants, moving on your own body time, in an environment built for differing needs, from quiet space for rest to padded areas for high-intensity dancing. We hope this will foster a supportive space for taking care of our varying needs, following our embodiment, and nurturing ourselves, both individually and collectively.
Attendance: An average of 70-100 people will attend this jam and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
Jam Options: Full Jam, Post Jam Lab and Saturday Drop-In (Post Jam Lab and Drop-In Day is available only to folks who have been to Earthdance before).
What is a “Post Jam Lab”? After our traditional Fall Jam, and to cultivate the deepening of our shared practice, we are offering participants the opportunity to stay on for a few more days till Tuesday, October 24th for a Post-Jam Lab and Integration days. During this time participants will be able to enjoy our beautiful facilities and explore CI and other movement practices through self organized labs, workshops and jams. Food will be served as normal so you can also decide to just stay and relax giving your self time to integrate all the rich experiences from the Fall Jam itself. Those who did not attend the Fall Jam weekend are welcome to join the Post Jam Lab, however only if you have been to Earthdance before.
Newcomers: If you have never been to Earthdance, we ask that you only sign up for the Full Jam. This will allow us to better welcome and orient you to Earthdance.
Full Jam: Arrival/Check-In on Thursday, October 19th from 4:00pm-7:00pm front of the Farmhouse. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Friday, October 20th at 10am.
Saturday Drop-In (Only for folks who’ve been to Earthdance before): Arrive Saturday, October 21st at 8am. Check-In from 12-1pm in front of the Farmhouse. Departure at 10pm day of.
Final Clean: Sunday, October 22nd at 2-3pm.
Full Jam Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, October 22nd.
Post Jam Lab (Only for folks who attended the Fall Jam OR who’ve been to Earthdance before): Arrive/Check-In on Sunday, October 22nd between 4-7pm in front of the Farmhouse. Dinner 6-7pm.
Post Jam Lab: Depart on Tuesday, October 24th after Post Jam Lab ALL house clean 3pm.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for both Full, Post Jam Lab and Saturday Drop-in. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 6 Discounted Tickets to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
Affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the Jam offerings including food for the event.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Refund available up to 14 days (October 5th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. However, ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, October 19th, Saturday, October 21st and Sunday, October 22nd at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Kellyn is a dance artist, community builder, and dance/movement therapist. She attended Nancy Stark Smith’s January workshop in 2020, and has stayed fervently committed to continuing the research and practice in Chicago since. She has facilitated Underscore talk throughs and experimented with it in a variety of contexts, including how it may be a frame for the psychotherapeutic process. Kellyn is currently exploring CI in the context of performance, particularly in fostering both performer and audience agency. She is interested in cultivating the subtle and complex skills that build resilient, responsive, and poetic contact improvisers. Kellyn is curious about the dualities that emerge within the CI context, such as inclusivity/exclusivity, safety/risk-taking, process/performance, and personal responsibility/collective care. Some of her other influential teachers include Guru Suraj, Erica Kaufman, K.J. Holmes, Kathleen Rea, Kirstie Simson, Adrianna Michalska, and Margaret Paek.
Hawley Brett
Hawley Brett is a dancer and event organizer based in Cambridge, MA, where she has a coaching and bodywork practice. She was introduced to Contact Improvisation shortly before the start of the pandemic, truly learned the meaning of the having the floor as one’s first partner, and has avidly practiced the form with other souls since dancing started up again. Entering the world of CI in this way has given it particular resonance for her as a healing practice, and she is especially interested in how CI connects us somatically, socially, psychologically, and spiritually. Hawley previously worked in politics and technology, and served as the National Data Developer for the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, and is interested in how to bring the wisdom of healing arts to political organizing spaces now having worked in both.
Welcome to the 2023 Queer Jam. A gathering for queer CI community to expand in a container that holds and honors the multitudes of the magic that you are and are becoming. Marie Murry & Lex Grotesque are excited to ground into time and space as co-collaborators. They dance in collaboration in the world through queer healing arts and performance with their passion project, the Grotesque Burlesque.
Unfolding into the union of dance with the invitations to play, to love, and to grieve in tender fierceness, this jam will follow the fluid flow of the present emergence of energy into form. We will also offer Parts work via Drama Therapy & Internal Family Systems character play, Creative writing and storytelling with the body, drama and Dance Therapy group work, and Contemporary Dance for creative expression and emotional healing. Honoring uniqueness and difference with hearts centered in the call towards connection and compassion, we welcome those who feel a longing to commune in creativity together!
***This space is for creating expansive explorative space for queer dancers to support growth and safety for queer community in contact improv. Allies can support by considering attending another jam hosted at Earthdance, sharing this event and/or making a donation to help support and resource queer people to attend this event. LGBTQIA+ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. If you question if you fit into any of these identities, please take a look at the broader descriptions here.
An average of 40-60 people will attend this jam and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
We have single day drop-in options for folks who have been to Earthdance before.
If you have never been to Earthdance, we ask that you only sign up for the full jam. This will allow us to better welcome you and orient you to Earthdance.
Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence for participants on Thursday, August 31st from 4:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Friday, September 1st, at 10am.
Friday and Saturday Drop-In Days (Only for folks who’ve been to Earthdance before): Arrive at 8am, check-in with Olive during lunch, and Departure at 11pm day of.
Weekend Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Sunday, September 3rd.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for both Full and Half Jam. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
PRICING
GRATITUDE LODGE
$550 – Financially Wealthy
$475 – Financially Abundant
$400 – Financially Stable
$325 – Financially Coping
$275 – Financially Strained
CAMPING
$525 – Financially Wealthy
$450 – Financially Abundant
$375 – Financially Stable
$300 – Financially Coping
$250 – Financially Strained
COMMUTER
$500 – Financially Wealthy
$425 – Financially Abundant
$350 – Financially Stable
$275 – Financially Coping
$225 – Financially Strained
Drop-In Day Options(Only Available for those who’ve been to Earthdance before)
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 5 Discounted Tickets to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the Queer Jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
Affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, Queer Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, Queer Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the Queer Jam offerings including food for the event.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Queer Jam participants.
Refund available up to 14 days (August 17th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. However, ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, August 31st at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Summer Jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Marie Murry (fae/they/she) is a song weaver, dream druid, death doula, shapeshifter & cosmic clown creature of the northeastern forest. They love creating community ritual, mapping the mythic, and embodying the bard! Both a contact dancer & vocal improvisor, the union of movement and sound is at the core of her practice of somatic instrumentation. Passion projects include The Grotesque Burlesque, Touch & Play, and Tender Spot. Marie Murry is so delighted to play and pray with you all!
Lex Parent 35 years old, Mother, Teacher, Artist, Activist, Anarchist, Visionary, Manifesting Generator, Theater Company Director, Choreographer, Coordinator, Co-creator, Integrative Healing Arts Facilitator
This summer, Loom Ensemble is bringing together a racially diverse team of professional dancers, musicians and theatermakers, to invite you into an outdoors experience of Dance Theater for Collective Liberation. Loom’s newest piece “Tell Me How You Breathe,” brings us to a world where climate crisis has progressed slightly more than our present day, to play out the interrelationship of institutional power structures and ancestral healing practices. Playful humor, live music, and beautiful storytelling help us lean in to meet these pressing issues.
The story centers on the lungs, as the site of interconnectedness and the organ of grief. “Who gets to breathe freely, fully, with ease,” is a necessary question for our time, right at the intersection of eco-activism, social justice, and public health. With the nourishment of participatory ceremony and song, Loom grounds this political conversation in the physical body, to incite the radical act of collectively imagining a more just and beautiful world.
This is a body positive, queer, anti-racist space. The work is explicitly political, leaning into raw conversations, but centering wellbeing and respect for the artist throughout.
“Loom Ensemble can do it all–act, sing and above all dance!” –Khaleej Times
“Loom Ensemble brings fresh ideas, inspires the local community and helps showcase the community’s talent.” –Art Kentro
EVENT DETAILS
Friday and/or Saturday options include:
Performance: 6pm – 7:30pm
Dinner: 7:30 – 8: 30pm
CI Integration Jam: 8:30pm
*** These performances will be outside on the grass in our orchard. We have limited folding chairs. Please bring a blanket or camping chair to sit on and bug spray.
*** RAIN or SHINE the show will go on! We will move the show indoors to accommodate the weather.
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Performance Offerings
Friday August 4th and/or Saturday August 5th
Event Package includes – Performance, Dinner and CI Integration Jam: $50 – $150
Performance Only: $20 – $80
Dinner: $15
CI Integration Jam: $20 – $80
Sauna $10 (includes 2 towels rental)
BIPOC spots and children under 12: Pay what you can! Please reach out to programming@earthdance.net if you would like to register before the event. Otherwise, you can pay onsite.
***If you find that you are struggling financially or there are other circumstances that are making it difficult to join this special event, please email programming@earthdance.net with your situation so that we can create a way to have you join us.***
If you wish to extend your visit and stay overnight in a dorm bed in our Gratitude Lodge for $40 or camp on our land for $35. (Rental of sheets and towel is $15) * Includes access to the sauna and kitchen use but does not provide food.
Refund available up to 10 days (July 21st) before the event less a $25 processing fee for the full package, $10 for individual.
No refunds available less than 10 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to cleaning up after meals throughout the event. This is a great way to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Loom has been devising interdisciplinary theater for culture shift for 13 years from NYC blackboxes to stone monasteries in Italy, repurposed industrial warehouses in Dubai and to the fields and forests of Vermont.We use our performances to open difficult conversations, and then facilitate community discussion to unpack the emotional vulnerability and cultural taboos of each show. In that shared space, the social value of art made from a place of deep integrity becomes clear: our actions matter, new ways of living are possible, together we can build a more loving world.
As a direct response to broken patriarchy, lonely individualism, and shame-inducing capitalism, our performances call audiences home to themselves and their communities. Our work is to reconnect with the earth, with emotional integrity, and with each other.
Loom Ensemble devises “dance-theater” in the most literal sense, using character, story, and dialogue to ground abstract dance in emotional specificity; and using full-bodied contemporary choreography to deepen the resonance of our narrative storytelling. Mix in group songs to connect the body of the performer with the hearts of the audience, and you’ve got Loom Ensemble’s interdisciplinary approach to live theater.
Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.
Contact improv and Circling! Both are practices of presence; of simultaneous attunement to self and other; of expression and connection. Both support us in building a culture of authentic connection. Both develop in us a receptivity to each moment, and the freedom to respond creatively and authentically. With Circling, one might say, we extend the principles of CI from the physical into the verbal mode of connecting.
When authentic relating (AR) is offered at CI jams, people frequently reflect that it helps them drop more fully into the jam space—these kinds of tools support us to feel more self-connected and present! Thus the thought arises, “Why not emphasize this kind of practice: as an excellent complement to CI, and as a part of Earthdance’s motto of creative living?”
So, we’re bringing it in more fully, for Earthdance’s first Circling+CI jam!
If AR games are like contact exercises (posting/sloughing, lifts, spirals, etc.)—in the sense that they are structures for training skills and principles— then Circling is like a jam, where those tools and principles get applied freely, with much less structure.
Over the course of the weekend, we’ll have guided mixed CI/Circling activities, small breakout circles, and contact jams, exploring and playing with the parallels, overlaps, and complementarity of the two practices.
*Note* For those new to CI, we just want you to know that there will not be a formal intro to Contact Improv. That being said, you are welcome to join. The jam times are open to any kind of movement that is attuned to the space/other bodies, so you don’t necessarily need to know CI to participate.
Here’s a draft schedule, to give a rough sense of the flow of the weekend (subject to change)
Thursday night:
Arrival: 4-6pm
Dinner: 6- 7
7:30 pm: Opening gathering: Orientation to Circling & CI Jam
Friday:
7:15-8:30am Contemplative+Dance+Circling Practice (20min, 20min, 30min)
8-9:30 Breakfast
10-1 Morning session – Circling basics and movement
1-2 Lunch
3:30-6 Large group exercise into Small Group Circling
6-7 Dinner
8:00 Contact/Movement Jam
Saturday:
7:15-8:30 Contemplative+Dance+Circling Practice
8-9:30 Breakfast
10-1 Morning session(s) – Building on the Movement and Circling blend
1-2 Lunch
2:30-4 Afternoon COCO time
4:15-6 Circling
6-7 Dinner
8:00 Contact/Movement Jam
Sunday:
7:30 Contemplative+Dance+Circling Practice
8-9:30 Breakfast
10-1 Culminating Circling+CI Jam into Closing
1-2 Lunch
2-3 Final clean and leave
Arrival, Onsite Check-In, Opening Circle and COVID testing
Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence from 4:00pm-7:00pm on Thursday,June 1st at the Farmhouse of Earthdance. Please contact the Site Coordinator at site@earthdance.net if you will be late. Dinner 6-7pm.
Opening Circle: Thursday June 1st at 7:30pm. All participants are asked to attend.
Depart: Final house clean at 2pm, depart at 3pm, June 4th.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 3 highly reduced Equity & Access Tickets to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI, have a relationship with CI, and who have (ideally)not attended an Earthdance seasonal jam before. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable. “Apply” and see more details here.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the Gratitude Jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI (more info linked below)
classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people—e.g. PoGM, LGBTQIA+, differently-abled, immigrant—to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam
Housing Options
Tickets include room at the Earthdance Dormitory and full board. The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
***Nine Mountain is not available for this jam.***
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 10 days before the event less a $75 processing fee
No refunds available less than 10 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend the Spring Jam. However, all registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, June 1st at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the jam/workshop and participate in a final house clean on Sunday. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
John Adams is, among other things, a transdisciplinary academic, structural bodyworker (Rolfer), Circling facilitator, IFS-informed coach, and breath therapy practitioner. He’s taught contact improv across Texas, including for Texas A&M University’s dance program. He has a BS in ecological restoration, focusing on agroecology. His highly integrative graduate thesis shows how the quality of the relationships to our own bodies, to other humans, and to the more-than-human world, is a core determinant of human health and function; in so doing, it provides a framework for understanding whole-systems well-being. John’s been a regular at Earthdance for over 8 years; he currently lives next door, applying his thesis to his own life.
Michelle Huber
Michelle Huber is a Circling Facilitator and Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner based in Northampton MA. She originally fell in love with Circling as a place to practice expressing truth that she had habitually held inside in social interactions. She completed a Circling facilitation training with the Connection Institute in Boston in March of 2018 and assisted in the consecutive training in 2019. Over the past 5 years she has led numerous Circling groups, day-long and weekend Circling retreats. She also lived in a communal household for 4.5 years utilizing the tools of Circling to work through conflict and explore connection.
In addition to her private Circling groups, she has been honored to teach Circling tools to the staff at Windhorse Integrative Mental Health Center, the graduate Mental Health department at Westfield State and the Smith College Summer program.
She delights in the discovery of unconscious patterns of human behavior and is fascinated by the never-ending connections of body, emotions, mind and the collective. She is dedicated to increasing awareness, learning to open her heart and supporting others in softening.
She is also a dancer and has been a member of the Earthdance Community since 2014. She is very excited about bringing together Circling and movement at the Coco jam.
More information about upcoming workshops in-person and online: www.MichelleHuber.me
Paul Vidich
Paul Vidich is a person, he lives in a treehouse, he studied Circling with Peter Benjamin for a year at the connection institute and practices radical honesty in all his relationships except with his parents, where he practices moderate honesty. He has harborred many big time aspirations but not acted on them. He was an apprentice at the Monastic academy for 4 months from which he gained the exceptional capacity to perpetually feel like everything he does is a waste of time. He organized and ran a monastic inspired community house for a year – hosting retreats in circling, meditation, movement, and theater. He spends a majority of his time decapitating trees in the hopes of creating a layered canopy orchard.
Michael Reginato
In his twenties, Michael spent quite a bit of time sitting on the floor meditating by himself. Then, in 2018, he discovered Circling, Authentic Relating, and Contact Improvisation, and life became a lot more fun. He’s been doing a lot of this, in addition to lots of other things, ever since.
For more information, wave to him, or gently place your hand on his shoulder, and ask him, “what’s it like to be you right now?”
Rosie Jaye
Originally from San Diego, CA, Rosie holds an MA in Positive Psychology and a BA in Business Leadership. She has five years of meditation and circling experience including two years of full time monastic training. In 2018, she worked as a kitchen manager in Vermont. In 2019, she managed the Ecodharma Retreat Center in Colorado. In 2020, she trained at a soto zen monastery in Oregon and sat and supported multiple vision quests and sweat lodges. In 2021, she apprenticed with a medicine woman and certified as a circling facilitator through circling Europe. In 2022, she worked as a mental health counselor in Massachusetts and certified as a circling coach through The Relatfulness Company. She loves being 10-15 minutes late, moving multiple times a year, singing, dancing, wrestling, and screaming. She is passionate about community grief work and death care, holding people while they cry, connecting to wonder, and pursuing embodiment as a pathway to liberation.
Khemā Eernisse
Khemā recently left behind her life at a Buddhist monastic center in rural Vermont, where she trained for three years. She’s now following a call to be of service in the world through offering circling, grief ritual, coaching, and energy work. She’s been teaching, facilitating, and playing in the realm of circling for the last six years. In that time, she completed two facilitator trainings, the first with Peter Benjamin and the second with Circling Europe (SAS). She’s pretty sure circling can change the world and has personally found profound healing, growth, and aliveness through the practice. Right now, her passion is exploring the intersection between embodiment, Buddhism, and surrendered leadership.
Our Summer Jam (F.K.A July 4th) is a special and epic yearly event… family-inclusive, outdoor inviting, camping centered, and full of opportunity to dance, play, swim, and simply be within a communal setting. With the warmth of the air and the green of the fertile earth supporting us, this jam invites us to feel and expand into aspects of interdependence, intergenerational play, and interconnection. A children’s program both supports the parents as well as creates a container for children to explore together as well as with adults.
Jam Theme from Freida and Eliana
Illuminating Gratitude
Gratitude is a practice of noticing, inviting curiosity, and evoking praise. This is echoed in the high summer landscape with lush growth, long light, and celebratory birds. After years of collective tension around how we connect, we invite the practice of praise into the shared dance. “Cultures of gratitude are cultures of reciprocity”, says Robin Wall Kimmerer. Reciprocity is fundamental to the practice of Contact Improvisation, so what happens when we center our gratitude in the dance? Come find out with us!
“To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words.” – Joanna Macy
Summer Jam Details
The Summer Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams, it often has around 100-140 participants and is open to all movement levels & backgrounds.
We will have commuter, children, full and 2 half jam ticket options.
Half Jam tickets will go on sale on June 5th.
We are not offering a single day drop in for this jam.
Scroll down to the “HOST BIOS” section at the bottom to check out what Malaika is offering for the children’s programming this Summer Jam.
NEWCOMERS!!!It is highly recommended that newcomers attend the first half of the jam (Thurs-Sunday), we will be offering classes on embodied consent and CI fundamentals.
Arrival and Onsite Check-In: The welcoming will commence for Full and 1st Half Jam participants on Thursday, June 29th from 4:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm.
2nd Half Jam Check-In: Arrive to check-in on Sunday, July 2nd between 4-7pm. Dinner is at 6-7pm
Opening Circle: Friday, June 30th at 10am.
1st Half Jam Departure: Participants will depart on Sunday, July 2nd by 2pm (after lunch).
Full and 2nd Half Jam Departure: All participants will depart after the final group clean at 3pm on Wednesday, July 5th.
COVID Testing: Please make sure that you have tested for COVID on the day of arrival for both Full and Half Jam. If needed, participants may purchase tests from Earthdance for $10 each.
Our Fees Explained
Earthdance offers a sliding scale payment for participation in this event, please take a moment to reflect as you decide on where you best fit.
Your level of contribution is self selected and does not need to be advocated for. However, we invite you to remember this contribution is currency and we ask that you stretch where you are able so that those who cannot stretch as far of a financial distance may also have potential access to community events. As you choose your rate please consider the following factors:
Your access to income and wealth, as connected to family and partnership, both currently and anticipated in the future.
The historical, systemic impacts of wealth accrual based on culture, race and other intersection marginalizations for you and your family.
The regional ease of your attendance, while some community members can drive to Earthdance, others will need to consider tuition based on their ability to travel longer distances.
Earthdance is a community and rental funded organization which recently, historically and uniquely through the Covid-19 pandemic has struggled to have viable income.
Equity & Access Tickets
Although we’re not able to offer any full scholarships this year, we’re excited to offer up to 8 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts and 6 HALF JAM Discounts to individuals who feel part of an underrepresented and/or marginalized group in CI and have a relationship with CI. We know that for those who come from marginalized populations showing up to spaces filled with primarily privileged groups can be a challenge, and can feel vulnerable.
For those who do not identify as marginalized and are in a represented group of CI, we invite you to stretch in your payment to help support those who cannot stretch and create a more diverse jam experience for all.
Note: While Earthdance is making efforts to better support Equity & Access at all its events, the Summer Jam offers particularly strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion through:
Reduced pricing offered to people self-identifying as being underrepresented and/or marginalized in CI.
Classes and discussions that aim to bring up the level of awareness and inclusion at the jam as a whole
Affinity spaces (jams, discussions, etc.) for particular groups of people to connect, share CI space together, and rest from the pressures of being in a minority status at the jam.
Housing Options
Gratitude Lodge at Earthdance Tickets
Includes a bed in the Gratitude Lodge, Summer Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
The Gratitude Lodge (a.k.a. the Earthdance dorm) is the main lodging facility, connected to the Farmhouse by a short wooded trail. The lodge includes large and small rooms featuring dormitory-style bunks and beds (twin & queen size) and is included in the base Jam cost. Beds are available on a first come basis.
Camping Tickets
Includes a spot to camp at Earthdance, Summer Jam offerings, and food during the jam.
Commuter Tickets
You will have access to the Summer Jam offerings including food for the event.
Commuter Health Care: We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Summer Jam participants.
***If you would like to stay at Nine Mountain, you will need to contact Robyn at robyn@ninemountain.com to reserve a bed at an additional charge after registering with Earthdance.
Cancellation Policy
Refund available up to 14 days (June 18th) before the event less a $75 processing fee.
No refunds available less than 14 days from the start of the event.
Partial refunds might be given if a cancellation takes place under extenuating circumstances (e.g. a death of a 1st or 2nd degree family member, serious non-preventable illness or accident requiring hospitalization). Refunds in such cases remain at the discretion of the local organizers and will be decided on a case to case basis according to the timing of the cancellation and other factors.
COVID Precautions
No specific requirements on vaccination status are needed to attend this event. However, ALL registrants are required to take an antigen test on the day of before arriving on Thursday, June 29th (Full Jam) and July 2nd (2nd Half Jam) at Earthdance. If you need a test, Earthdance will have them available to purchase for $10 each.
Please take adequate measures to limit your exposure in the days before arriving. If you are feeling sick, or have a known close exposure to someone with COVID in the past 5 days, please sit this one out to keep the community well.
COMMUTERS:We ask that you please use caution when commuting and limit, if possible, to just commuting to and from your home and Earthdance, staying away from large crowds to maintain the health and well being of the other Summer Jam participants.
Participant Community Support
Earthdance runs as a community, thus part of the participation is that all individuals contribute to 1-2 work shifts (typically meal cleans) throughout the event and participate in a final house clean on the last day of the event. These are great ways to connect more with your fellow participants and Earthdance staff, and to feel more at home in the Earthdance buildings & grounds. Your contributions to this collective caring of this space are invaluable!
Since I was a child, dance has always meant pleasure, health and freedom. At age fifteen I began my path in movement improvisation through the Aberastury System. My training includes contemporary dance, ballet, tango as well as yoga, eutony and somatics, I also nourished my practice with theater and clown.
I like to experiment with hybrid/juxtaposed languages on scene. I have choreographed dance-theater pieces, aerial dance, dance for children and also made site specific and street performances.
I fell in love with Contact Improvisation in 1987 and I began teaching CI four years later. I have been a CI teacher at the School of Artistic Education (ESEA) since 2012. I was co-creator of Eimcila, Latin America CI Teachers Meeting in 2011, co-organizer of the Buenos Aires CI50 Celebration, as well as ongoing Jams in my city. Another passion of mine is to work in heated water and I give Aguahara sessions and facilitate @milon.gota mixing CI and tango in water.
I love simple things, like practicing yoga at the seaside, cooking or collecting grapefruit in my neighborhood and sharing time with my beloved 20 year old son.
Eliana Bonard – Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Desde pequeña concebí la danza como placer, salud y libertad. Comencé a los 15 años mi camino en la improvisación de movimiento a través del Sistema Aberastury. Me formé en danza contemporánea y ballet como en yoga, tango, eutonía y somáticas. Nutrí mi práctica con actuación y clown.
Me interesa la experimentación escénica en el cruce de lenguajes. Realicé varias obras coreográficas de danza teatro, danza aérea, danza para niños y performances en espacios no convencionales.
Me enamoré del CI en 1987 y lo comencé a enseñar cuatro años más tarde. Dí clases en varias ciudades y festivales internacionales en América y Europa. Soy profesora de CI en ESEA, profesorados oficiales de danza desde 2012. Soy co-creadora de Eimcila, Encuentro internacional de maestros de CI en Latinoamérica en 2011, co-organizadora de Celebración 50 CI Bs As, y actualmente coordino Jams en mi ciudad. Otra de mis pasiones es trabajar en agua climatizada dando sesiones de Aguahara y facilitar la @milon.gota, lab en el agua cruzando CI y tango.
Amo las cosas simples como hacer yoga en la playa, cocinar, cosechar pomelos y paltas en mi barrio y compartir tiempo con mi amado hijo de 20.
Frieda Kipar Bay has been a dancer since before she can remember. Movement is the lens that she uses to see into life, and contact improvisation is one of her fundamental practices. She’s been studying this form since 1998, worked as a professional dancer for several years in San Francisco (Scott Wells, Sara Shelton Mann, BodyCartography,etc.), and has taught CI with Melecio Estrella and as a solo teacher since 2006. She has also deeply investigated BMC, feldenkrais, compositional improvisation, bodyweather practice, and qigong. She recently transplanted from Sonoma County, Ca. to Montague, Ma. with her partner and two kids, and works as a clinical herbalist and movement teacher. Website
Malaïka Bittar-Piekutowski
Children’s Summer Jam Host – Malaïka lives in her beloved Montreal with her husband and two daughters. She is a psychotherapist, loves springtime, baking, connecting with other humans and is afraid of ticks. She discovered the summer jam at Earthdance in 2017 and has attended every one since. She’s been coordinating the children program there since 2019.
The children’s program is a childcare space held by five staff members and a coordinator. We welcome children as of 3 years old all the way up to teenagers (who can assist facilitation if they’re interested in gaining such experience). The program starts every morning at 9:15am with an opening circle for parents, kids and staff. During the circle each staff presents what activities they’ll be facilitating that morning, and at the end of the circle, the parents entrust their child to the staff of their choice. The kids are grouped based on their interests, not according to their age. The activities range from arts and crafts, to walks in the forests, role plays and dance parties, face paint, sprinkles and slip and slide. Children are invited to express their desires and creativity to help co-create the activities, obviously within the constraints of our budget, staff ratio, basic safety and gravity. The program ends at 1pm which is also the start of lunch..and don’t forget kids have priority in the lunch lineup so go get these hungry kids’ bellies full! We also offer special “off the schedule” activities like pizza-making, S’mores, afternoon dance party and whatever else we’ll come up with this year.
