Global Underscore 2021

The GLOBAL UNDERSCORE (GUS) is an annual event in which the Underscore is practiced simultaneously for a 4-hour period by people all over world near the summer solstice (northern hemisphere). The Underscore is a long-form dance improvisation structure developed by Nancy Stark Smith. It has been evolving since 1990 and is practiced on multiple continents. The Underscore is a vehicle for incorporating Contact Improvisation into a broader arena of improvisational dance practice; for developing greater ease dancing in spherical space—alone and with others; and for integrating kinesthetic and compositional concerns while improvising. It allows for a full spectrum of energetic and physical expressions, embodying a range of forms and changing states. Its practice is familiar yet unpredictable. The practice progresses through a broad range of dynamic states, including long periods of very small, private, and quiet internal activity and other times of higher energy and interactive dancing. There are 20+ phases, 12+ connections, and 7 aspects of the score—each with a name and a graphic symbol (glyph)—which create a general map for the dancers. Within that frame, dancers are free to create their own movements, dynamics, and relationships—with themselves, each other, the group, the music if any, and the environment. Visit www.globalunderscore.com to learn more. For the sites that do the entire 4 hours and are dancing in the 4-hour time frame prescribed, they will face a site to their East near the beginning and at the end - doing a STAND, a small dance. Other sites may choose to do a nonsynchronous practice. To Register or Find a Site: https://globalunderscore.com/register-a-gus-site/ In conjunction, there will be an In-Depth Talk-Through online this Saturday, 12 June: https://fb.me/e/5fQodVSne And a Meta-Sharing following GUS on Saturday, 26 June: https://fb.me/e/2dG1c776g Contributions from Sites and individuals are what financially sustains the Global Underscore: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/globalunderscore