Contact Improvisation at the edge of democracy: improvising new steps from south to north

uesday, September 23, 2025 | 6:00 pm
Studio 2 - Walgreen Drama Center, 1226 Murfin Ave, Ann Arbor MI 48109
Free and open to the public

University of Michigan Professor of Dance, Amy Chavasse, will discuss their nine-month collaborative project, supported by the Center for World Performance Studies, exploring the evolution of Contact Improvisation (CI) in Argentina – where it arose after the dictatorship’s end in 1985 – as a lens for examining democracy, resistance, and artmaking amid social upheaval. Through workshops, lectures, and community events in Buenos Aires with Argentinian CI leaders Marina Tampini and Cristina Turdo and U-M alum Sarah Konner, the team mapped the South-North dynamics of the dance’s history, using archival video and interviews to spark reflection on democracy, authoritarianism, and cultural exchange, while highlighting how CI has become a vibrant, activist art form deeply tied to Argentina’s sociopolitical context.