Contact Improv Dance

SnuggleBugleBugSnuggleBugleBug
in General

Hello Cuddle Enthusiasts-

Wondering if anyone else out there has experience with Contact Improv Dance? (for those who don't know it, here is a sample: https://youtube.com/watch?v=H8JiB2Nv5Qo

I ask because getting back into cuddling, I realized how many of my cuddle needs are met by it.... and also wanted to share it with fellow cuddlers to encourage them to check it out.

I introduced it to my last cuddle partner and they loved it. :)

As I think of it- Contact Improv Dance is like Cuddle-Dancing.

May the Cuddles Be With you,

Comments

  • calmcontactcalmcontact

    I have some friends that do contact improv, but I haven’t had the chance to try it yet! It looks like something I’d really enjoy and I’ve been wanting to do it for years.

    If they have it in a place as small as Charlottesville, I’m guessing there are groups that do it pretty much everywhere! What a great suggestion to help more people get their human contact needs. :)

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod

    It all looks a bit too much like manual labour to me ...... 🙄

    But yes, brilliant for meeting some people's touch needs, and perhaps easier for those who would find cuddling too intimate. And fun, if it's your kind of thing.

  • theHugAlchemisttheHugAlchemist

    I love contact improv! Very visceral, unstructured dancing. I also just like rolling around on the floor and am lucky to know people who will indulge me in other partner dancing scenes I'm in too.

    Other dances I do: Capoeira, tango, Brazilian zouk, salsa, bachata, kizomba...

    I think Brazilian zouk and kizomba have the potential to put pro cuddlers out of business. So. Much. Hugging. The contact improv I've done has felt less intimate, but maybe that's just our particular scene here.

  • calmcontactcalmcontact

    @vivalalife How long have you been dancing zouk!?! I saw some videos last month and am totally enamored with the style. I'm going to check out some local classes soon. Do you have any suggestions for someone still fairly new to partner dancing?

  • BabichevBabichev

    I’ve done a little bit of improv dance. With the right partner, it is really lovely.

    @calmcontact - I think the easiest partner dancing that is also very satisfying is waltz. What is your dance experience so far? I’ve been dancing steadily since 1999, erratically before that. Contra dancing, which is also very easy to learn, swing (mostly East Coast but some Lindy Hop and West Coast), blues dancing, fusion (my two favorites), Cajun, international folk, polka, Hambo, waltz, Balkan . . . I think that’s about it. A little tango, both American and Argentine.

  • [Deleted User]ernesto_2 (deleted user)

    My ultimate (platonic) fantasy has been to learn how to waltz. I've always swooned over it (even as a kid... oh to be an olde soul)!

    Bachata, and then tango, being my 2 and 3 spots.

  • theHugAlchemisttheHugAlchemist

    @calmcontact gosh its probably been 5 years by now... that dance helped me survive 4 years in a long distance relationship! Pm me and I'll let you know if there's teachers I know in your area!

  • sillysassysillysassy
    edited November 2021

    Oh @CuddleDuncan that comment made me wonder. Are you rolling your eyes with that emoji????

    It all looks a bit too much like manual labour to me ...... 🙄

    @SnuggleBugleBug I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!! It is so so so cool! It seems like they are creating this lovely conversation between each other. With or without music. With or without other people. What I thought was so cool about the video and the idea of this specifically is how they convey as "lead or follow" with body parts other than hands. The way they were "leading" the other to move with their toes or arms, back or neck. So intertwined and constantly connected. I can imagine the benefits of doing that with each other would reach a deeper internal connection like when you are doing yoga and stuff. Still moving and twisting, bending and stretching, LIKE CUDDLING!!!!! Just not on a flat surface like a bed or couch. It opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities. I am sure after all of that it would be enjoyable to rest next to each other with a big glass of water.

    Wow. WOW!!! What a fabulously refreshing idea for PUBLIC TOUCH AND INTENSE CONNECTION!! Thank you!!!!! Thank you for being willing to put this out there for people to look at and have a different sense of something. 😊

    There was a super cool new cuddle space here in CO before the pandemic which shall not be named. The guy who started it had a cuddle space, and a chatting space, and also one room that people could dance in..... Sort of like this but a bit different. Now my mind is whirling to new ideas.

    @ernesto_2 hahahahaha THANK YOU for the clarity..... hahahhaha

    My ultimate (platonic) fantasy has been to learn how to waltz.

    I love love love dancing! There are definitely dances that are more non-platonic in nature but I definitely see dancing as a fabulous activity to move past the initial touch phase. Whether people are nervous or new to each other, dancing is a lovely activity that is PUBLIC, but also gives the ability for two peeps to get to know the question and answer technique... No matter who is leading/following. Old school stuff like waltzing is SO MUCH FUN! It is a much different connection than the fun of something like SWING and Jitterbug. OMGOSH I WANT TO DANCE NOW!!! I think, Mr. Ernesto, that you might include some dance stuff along with your request for a co-pilot on your driving excursion. 😁🌈🦋

  • biancalovecraftbiancalovecraft

    I'm a dancer, but admit Contact improv was my least favorite in my training. I do heartily agree that partner or group dancing is one of the most soul nourishing activities a person can engage in.
    Aside from meeting a challenge and building skills, You also get sweaty and eventually achieve a flow state. Moving in synchronicity to a beat with another person or a whole room of people is a deeply social, deeply satisfying, wordless, almost primitive communication, and it even happens in a ballet class with nobody touching or even facing each other, But it's a whole other level in a tap class because you're making rhythm together.
    learning, achievement, endorphins, encouragement, along with great music and maybe an embrace makes it almost impossible to be unhappy, at least in that moment. It's where I have always felt the greatest sense of community, and really encourage anyone to try it.

  • Ahmedali999Ahmedali999

    I never tried cuddle dance, it was already in my mind , i will check which pro does it 💃🕺

  • Cessna_guyCessna_guy

    I have enjoyed East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop for many years. Recommended, but took me a good while to learn.

  • Joe_ZJoe_Z

    I did improv dancing for a few years. Its a great way to feel and move energy, even more than cuddling alone. It’s a good form of play. Good idea to add it in at the beginning and then allow the touch to transition into a cuddle towards the end.

  • sillysassysillysassy

    I do love activities with cuddle peeps. I know not everyone is interested in that but it IS fun for the SillySassy sorts.

    Welcome to the site Mr. @Joe_Z 😊😊😊

  • calmcontactcalmcontact

    @Babichev I did ballet, jazz, tap, and some modern classes age 3-10 with some random classes and workshops as a teen. In my adult life I've done mostly aerial or pole and so all of that is very much strength driven and self led. The only partner activity I'd done for some time is acro yoga, and though skill and trust are involved, the movement there is typically much slower.
    I honestly have probably put off trying contact improv as well because of nervousness around adding other bodies I'm not in control of to the mix and also going from feeling like a good dancer to someone who has no idea what they're doing. I've taken a few swing, tango, and bachata workshops, but would like to invest the time to actually get decent at a couple forms of partner dancing.

    @vivalalife Thank you! I'll definitely reach out. :)

  • ILikeWarmHugsILikeWarmHugs

    That looks fun! I do east coast swing dancing and that was always a good contact dance for me as well. Not to mention super fun!

  • HollydollhugsHollydollhugs

    I’m not an enthusiast, but looking at what the contact improv dance is, my version would definitely look like a bad game of twister without the gaming mat on the floor, lol.
    @vivalalife i have always been mesmerized by the Brazilian Zouk and would love to have lessons. I didn’t know what that type of dance was called. I’ve been thinking about this for some time.
    I love all types of dance, but this one and salsa, I think are the ones I would enjoy learning the most. 🙂

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