Solo emerging
This picture is not a particularly good screen shot from a video I took of a little improv wiggle during the times of lockdown but it captures a moment of truth. I often went to Spring Fall, a little dance studio in Berkeley. I danced, stared at walls, smelled the wooden floor, felt intense feelings, napped, made faces at the mirrors before I drew the curtains. I wasn't writing or crying much or wishing things were different. I walked in and tried to move. In retrospect, I cultivated and practiced dancing solo. This was the first time I dedicated a good year to just find my solo, the real one that is continuously evolving over time –A creative investigation of what wants to emerge and how I relate to that. It was personal but also universal, not stuck in ideas or a plan. It wasn't about anything except a desire to move forward into the world and into what I am and what I am becoming. The longer I practiced that kind of soloing, the more I could feel my perception change. I noticed that I wasn't just part of space anymore, I simply became space too. Sometimes I could feel my body moving unobstructed in and out of streams of consciousness – a marvelous experience.
When at a jam or other spaces that invite improvisation, I search for people whose solo comes from a well of seemingly infinite possibilities. No matter how the dance makes me feel, I always have appreciation for someone that allows themself to feel what is happening in the moment. I enjoy the feeling of how I perceive their presence, attention and communication with the smaller and wider world. I curiously watch their relationship to what makes this emerging solo possible. I find it rare and radical to see someone dancing like that – Involved in oneself and simultaneously responding incessantly and truthfully to their relationship to space.
When I see two or more dancers collide into a Contact Improvisation dance with an ability to keep their solo spirit alive, it reminds me of a wild and truly beautiful place of existence. I think improvising alone and developing one's own solo belongs into the pot of the most important ingredients for being a fabulous Contact Improviser.
January 2024
January 12-14
The Winter Jam in Bellingham is a Contact Improvisation weekend hosted by Carmen and Rajendra Serber, featuring a special workshop with Karen Nelson and music by Serge Gubelman, YamSweets, Shamsi Bluesky and Ira Echo. We are lucky to have Spring Cheng and Anne Cooper as additional facilitator.
Carmen Serber
February 2024
February 15- Feb 18
Single Moment 2024 ~ Module 1
1 year Contact Improvisation Immersion with Carmen Serber in Berkeley, CA.
Guest Faculty: Keith Hennessy
Only a couple more spots available.
Carmen Serber
February 20 + 21
I am available for BCST and Somatic Process Work modalities in Albany, CA.
Felek Acupuncture is hosting me! Thank you, Özben!
Sessions can be booked here
February 22 + 24
I am available for one on one Movement Sessions in Berkeley, CA.
Please send me an email or text if you are interested.
COMING INTO BEING in Spring 2024
April 2024
After a potential longer trip in March, I am planning to offer another Be Body series in Bellingham. I am thrilled that this community if full of younger and older dancers that really want to learn, explore, investigate, experiment and expand their movement capacity!
It will be a continuation to the series that is presently happening but new people can join as well. The info below is from the current series. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Carmen Serber
April or May 2024
Spring Jam in Bellingham!