Dorothée Däster & the dance.

Dorothée's Path into Contact Improvisation

Dorothée's investigation of Contact Improvisation began in 1993 — first in Bern and later across Europe and the USA. Over the years, she immersed herself in a wide range of movement practices and research. Through countless classes, workshops, jams, and exchanges, her understanding of the form continued to deepen. After returning to Switzerland in 2012, she became deeply involved in the vibrant CI community here. She teaches, performce and shares the harvest of this ongoing journey while remaining endlessly curious and eager to explore further.

Teachers she studied with: Alito Alessi, Robin Feld, Andrew Harwood, Frances Becker, Rusty Lester, Nina Martin, Howard Sonenklar, Dieter Heidkamp, Danny Lepkoff, Nancy Stark Smith, Sara Shelton Man, Ray Chung, Martin Koegh, Steve Paxton, Karen Nelson, K.J. Holmes — and others.

How a class runs

How a Class Unfolds

We begin by arriving. From this starting point, through a warm-up, our awareness expands beyond the familiar edges of ourselves — into space, movement, and connection. Within that field of attention, we enter a score — a question, a shape, or something to notice. As awareness deepens and attention softens, the dance responds, unfolding in its own way, opening into exploration, play, and discovery. Eventually, the improvisation finds its own ending.

Contact Improvisation — the practice--quote by Daniel Lepkoff 2008

My understanding of the original intention of Contact Improvisation as an art event was to display to the public the body's innate ability to respond physically to its environment. Implied is an interest in the diversity of people's survival strategies and an indication that this spontaneous physical material can be viewed as danced composition.

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