Global Underscore: A Contact Improvisation Journey

Inspired by the work of Nancy Stark Smith

Join a worldwide field of movers as we enter the living practice of the Underscore—a deep, meditative score within Contact Improvisation that invites us to listen, sense, and unfold in relationship with self, others, and the space around us.

The Underscore, developed by Nancy Stark Smith, is a framework of phases that guide us through an inner and outer landscape of movement. Beginning with arriving and attuning to the body, we move through states of solo awareness, relational curiosity, shared weight, and expansive group improvisation—before gently integrating and closing.

This is not a performance.

This is a practice of presence.

Through subtle listening, we explore:

* Sensation before shape

* Yielding, rolling, and receiving weight

* The space between doing and being done

* The intelligence of touch and gravity

* Collective awareness in a shared field

Whether you are new to Contact Improvisation or a seasoned dancer, the Underscore offers a profound opportunity to slow down, deepen perception, and trust the unfolding of the dance.

What to expect:

* Guided entry into the Underscore phases

* Silent, self-directed movement exploration

* Opportunities for contact, duet, trio, and group play

* A closing circle to reflect and integrate

Come as you are. Move at your own pace.

Let the dance reveal itself from the inside out.

Participation Options:

On-site at Soul Studios
1100 N Tuttle Ave, Sarasota, FL 34237-3011, United States

Global Online Connection via Online Zoom Access

Meeting ID: 870 4998 7601
Passcode: DANCE

Global Underscore with Nancy Smith

We join dancers around the world in a shared timing of the Underscore, creating an invisible web of embodied awareness across continents.

“In in the small sanctuary of my body, I find comfort in the simple sensation of release as I lie down on the studio floor and let gravity have my weight. I notice the sensation of surrender as I let go of holding myself up, hear and feel the sigh that comes out of my mouth, the sharp reflexive inhalation that follows, filling the lungs quickly and fully, then slowly emptying, the luscious stretching of limbs, the resting in the stretch, the breathing…and the moment of peace that comes.

I know that this small, personal peace alone is not enough to change the world, to put the [World Trade] towers back up, to make America’s relations with the rest of the world sane and enlightened, to make “the terrorists” go away, and return us to a sense of safety, freedom, and prosperity, however illusory. But it feels important now to touch peace wherever I can find it—whether in the studio moving, sitting still and listening, or taking an extra second to absorb the joy shining out at me from a small child’s face. Important to give up the struggle for a moment, the struggle to be OK, to help, to figure it out, to do the right thing—or do anything.

But it also feels important not to stay too small and self-centered in my peace, or my discomfort. To keep the lines open, moving both ways, in and out, small and large, between my body and the towers, between my personal sensation and the world; to keep the lens open, telescoping out and in, to both be able to feel myself and be ready to move out and take action in a larger context.”

~Nancy Stark Smith, Editor Note, CQ Winter/Spring 2002

Investment:

Donation suggestion $15

Any amount welcome

In Person & Online Access

Donation suggestion $15
Any amount welcome

Led by DJ Kat (Kelly Atkins)