Breitenbush Jam and Conference

The Breitenbush Jam is a nine-day Contact Improvisation event produced every year in March by Joint Forces Dance Company. The Jam is held at the lovely Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat center in Detroit Oregon and features much open dancing as well as workshops with leaders in the contemporary dance world. www.breitenbush.com ».

Contact Improvisation is a dance form of communicating, experiencing and relating through physical contact between two or more people. Basic skills such as falling, rolling, sharing weight and moving with momentum encourage a freedom of expression and communication unique to the form. Dancing ranges from simple to complex, depending on experience. It is an accessible form in which people of all physical abilities can meet on equal ground and explore the movement possibilities that exist between them. An international gathering, the Jam is open to all experience levels and includes facilitated warm-ups, open dancing, conference sessions and performance evenings. Jam tradition generally includes some limited live music in the space, and an ‘all-nighter’ halfway through the jam.

MARCH 1 to 9, 2012. Spaces are limited so register early. Workshop, investigation, or lab sessions will be held on about 4 or 5 afternoons. Topics and facilitators to be announced.

Be sure to send your deposit early to ensure registration. $125 non-refundable deposit is due Jan. 19th but we recommend doing it before January 6th (balance due Feb. 17th, 2012). Checks payable to Joint Forces can be mailed to Joint Forces, PO Box 51257, Eugene, OR 97405. (Payments by PayPal and credit card through PayPal are only available if you pay their 3% additional fee.)

The event is nine days (eight nights). The cost for the whole jam is $688 for a standard cabin (no bathroom), $800 for a cabin with a bathroom, $591 for a lodge room, and $575 for a dorm room (cabins with four beds instead of 2 or 3). A limited number of half-time spots are available, please inquire for details.

Click on the link below to learn more about the Breitenbush Jam by reading some intriguing excerpts from a conversation among key participants at the 25th Anniversary of the Breitenbush Jam.

PDF: Reflections at the 25th Anniversary of the Breitenbush Jam »