Contact Dance International Film Festival

Contact Dance International Film FestivalContact Dance International Film FestivalContact Dance International Film Festival

Contact Dance International Film Festival

Contact Dance International Film FestivalContact Dance International Film FestivalContact Dance International Film Festival
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  • Box Office
  • Schedule
  • Trailers
  • About
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  • It Takes a Team
  • Jury
  • Awards
  • Photo Gallery
  • Film Archive
  • Funders
  • Blog
  • Eventive Tutorial
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About

Contact Dance International Film Festival

The Contact Dance International Film Festival (CDIFF) celebrates films featuring momentum-based dance by creators and dancers in the field of Contact Improvisation and related dance forms that are also momentum, touch, or relationally based. " It provides a unique opportunity for both film and dance lovers to experience the joy, chaos, and intimacy of human connection through physical movement. The Festival is presenting its sixth season from June 8 to 10, 2023 online Eventive Platform and in person at Beach United Church (Wheelchair accessible) and Fox Cinema (partially wheelchair accessible.. they have ramps but do not have a wheelchair-accessible washroom).

What is Contact Improvisation?

 Contact Improvisation is a style of dance that cannot always be clearly defined. Rather, its ambiguity and adaptability are often seen as one of its greatest attributes. 

This is Kathleen Rea's definition of Contact Improvisation:

  • Contact Improvisation is a social dance involving touch, in which momentum between two or more people is used to create and inspire dance movements. It is typically practiced in a jam situation in which a group of people gathers in person to improvise together. 


  • Contact Improvisation evolved from explorations of a group of dancers in the early 1970s, which included Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, Danny Lepkoff, Lisa Nelson, Karen Nelson, Nita Little, Andrew Harwood, and Ray Chung. Steve Paxton brought his former training in Aikido to the form, using the idea of "surfing" momentum to communicate, dance, and express. 


  • Dancers move with a constantly changing physical reality. In Contact Improvisation there are no set leaders and followers as in other social dance forms. Instead, there is a back-and-forth with dancers sometimes leading, sometimes following, and all variations between these two roles. 


  • Techniques include rolling point of contact, balancing over a partner's centre of gravity, and "listening" with one's skin surface. While there is technique involved in the form, the aesthetic I reach for is the quality of the relationship within a dance.


  • The form is potentially accessible to all people, including those with no previous dance training and people with physical disabilities. I say potentially because "-isms" such as racism and ableism historically have reduced or inhibited access. The -isms that are embedded in the broader cultures in which Contact Improvisation is practiced are often acted out in Contact Improvisation communities. 


  • Another limitation to access is the lack of consent culture in Contact Improvisation communities, both on the dance floor and off. Since the "me-too" movement there has been a growing understanding of the value of building and supporting consent culture in Contact Improvisation, along with some backlash against this movement.

  • This definition of Contact Improvisation is Kathleen Rea's personal feeling of what Contact Improvisation is for her. Others will describe it differently, and this variance and diversity of opinions are for her one of the strengths of Contact Improvisation.

REAson d'etre dance

REAson d'etre dance  produces CDIFF.  REAson detre dance strives to provide artistic expression through movement, inclusive of age, ability, and level background. We stage and program works based on Contact Improvisation enabling us to utilize the inclusiveness that can be a part of this dance form. Our vision is for both professional dancers and everyday people to be inspired and invigorated by Contact Improvisation. This mandate involves initiatives that work to dismantle racism and ablism and other "isms" as their existence hinders us in achieving our mandate. We are committed to examining the art form of contact improvisation and acknowledging its history of inequity, ablism, and racism. We strive to engage in a continuing process of educating ourselves and acting for change.


We believe that increasing accessibility breaks down barriers to dance, creating stunning humanity that is the heart of the artistic aesthetic we reach for. 


Our contact dance jams are the root from which all our programming grows. Our jams are a mix of performance, research, rehearsal, and incubator. A musician improvises, sweeping dancers into explorations of different themes. We believe teaming Contact Dance with exceptional live music deepens the form. The jams build community. It's about relationships, with the quality of communication being the aesthetic measure. 


Classes in functional movement help Contact Dancers move with ease and prevent injury. We see healthy movement as beautiful and reach for it as an artistic aesthetic.

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