Inquiring into the Somatic

Here at WCCI we are excited to be bringing Cyrus Khambatta back for the fifth time to the Annual Contact Improvisation Festival at SFU School of Contemporary Arts. Convergence 2020 is offering a two day “workshop within” for $275. Class Info: Curiosity is the beginning of every dance. In working with my Fitting Technique for over 15 years, I've discovered that our bodies (every single person) are full of millions of contours - convex and concave - divots large and small and as we move incrementally or with great speed, this vast terrain shifts in an endless kaleidoscope of possibility. If we get ourselves (our dances) on the right track, we can have dances in which every choice is fulfilling, and deepens curiosity and endless possibility. Possibility and Curiosity are interconnected through an engaged dance that begins with connection, grounding and listening. But what are we listening for? In this workshop we will give time, listening to authenticates our curiosity, and developing curiosity into fulfilling and complex, beautiful patterns in duets/trios/quartets etc. This same body-to-body contouring elaborated in the Fitting Technique can map outwards, extending the inter-body "fitting" out to extended space to include the contours around bodies in space, using negative space in a manner that is as tangible and engaging as when the body is in contact with another body. Teacher Bio Cyrus Khambatta is based in Seattle, WA. He graduated from New York University and founded Khambatta Dance Company with which he tours internationally. He seeks to reach out and communicate with his audience/students through his work/teaching for over 30 years. His Contact-inspired works have won awards and been presented at venues throughout the USA, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and in Mexico and Canada including VIDF. As an improviser, he has performed and/or taught at The Dartington (UK), Washington, D.C., NYC, Freiburg, Nordtanz (Germany), and 1001 (France) Improv festivals and with other improvisers such as Chris Aiken, Nina Martin, Katie Duck and many others. He founded the Seattle International Dance Festival (SeattleIDF.org) in 2006, the Port Townsend Jam (PortTownsendJam.org) in 2009 and was the co-facilitator for the first extended Earthdance 4th of July Jam in 2015.