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Jam » Description

16th Annual Moab Jam

The Moab Jam features rich dancing, creative friends, beautiful surroundings, and opportunities to explore both on and off the dance floor. Being under the wide-open desert sky surrounded by colorful landscape fills one with the spirit to move and create. We invite you to come join us and experience the magic of dancing in the desert.

We create a friendly and supportive environment where you can enjoy the Jam that you want -- whether it's dancing non-stop, spending time with new and old friends, or taking lots of time to nourish yourself with the solitude of nature.

Jam hosts lend their inspiring presence to the jam, and part of their role is to circulate and "juice-up" the dancing spaces. They lead warm-ups, facilitate mixers, guide afternoon classes or labs, provide feedback/coaching, and offer one-to-one sessions.

Jam hosts for 2012:

    Alicia Grayson (CO)
    Brad Stoller (VA)
    Brando Brandes (MA) - to be confirmed
    Moti Mark Zemelman (MA)
    Neige Christenson (MA)
    Steve Homsher (CO)
    Karen Nelson (WA)
We are thrilled to have these fun and very experienced dancers in Moab this year.

The Jam's primary dance space is the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (the MARC), which has two hardwood floor dance studios, two kitchens, and a big foyer to hang out in. When you're not dancing, there are great places nearby for hiking, outdoor dancing, swimming, and other adventures. Visit the Gallery pages to see pictures and video of the beautiful places in and around Moab, Utah.

    majestic snow-capped mountains and red-rock vistas
    canyons with clear cool streams and waterfalls
    trails next to streams under shady cottonwood trees
    giant red rocks (as far as you can see) with hidden alcoves
    clear starry nights lit by a campfire with plenty of friends

Experience Level

New to CI? Meet with a jam host for a one-on-one dance or a small group beginners' class. You're welcome to either watch or participate according to your own comfort level. This jam is beginner-friendly and our jam hosts will welcome you. Over the years we have had lots of people in Moab for their first ever CI experience.

Beginner/Intermediate dancer? Jam hosts will offer classes, and lead warmups and mixers to get you going. You can ask jam hosts for feedback/coaching if you desire. There is plenty of jam time to explore using what you're learning and just have fun.

Advanced dancer? You'll relish abundant time to dance with other very experienced dancers. Hone your improvisational or choreographic skills, engage in spirited discussions about art (and life), and follow your desires to go deep in your process and practice. You are welcome to volunteer to lead an activity.

Jam » Cost & Registration Details

We will have information on the Jam costs and registration soon!

Jam » Hosts

(alphabetical order by first name)

Alicia Grayson has been passionately involved with dancing, teaching and performing CI for the past 23 years. Her long time practices of authentic movement, yoga and meditation are important influences on her dancing and teaching. She has taught contact improvisation as an adjunct faculty at George Washington University, University of Denver, Naropa University and Shenandoah University. She teaches CI., yoga and pilates classes in Boulder and regularly travels to Europe and around the US to teach at festivals and workshops. She continues to delight in exploring and discovering new depths to the form and is particularly interested in the intersection of physics and expression. Dances with Tumblebones CI Collective.

Alicia Grayson

Brad Stoller has been practicing Contact Improv for over 30 years. He currently teaches Contact and various other disciplines of Improvisation at the University of Richmond and Hampden Sydney College. He is an award winning playwright and is a certified Alexander Technique teacher and black belt in Aikido.

Brad Stoller

Brando Brandes graduated Smith College with a Masters in Education and is a teaching artist/performer with Enchanted Circle Theater. Brando has been teaching movement practices for over 10 years. He has taught and performed CI throughout the USA, Europe, Israel, Guatemala and teaches master classes at Springfield College and Smith College. He has been published in CQ and was a curator for CI36. Brando has facilitated several major festivals, jams, symposiums, and events at Earthdance Dance Retreat Center.

Brando Brandes

Karen Nelson has been dancing Contact Improvisation since 1976 although she says it feels like now in 2012 she is ready to train seriously as a dancer. She has toured, teaching and performing, in many places worldwide and has collaborated with many wonderful artists. Her work with Steve Paxton and his system "Material for the Spine" has a tremendous influence in her Contact teaching and dancing. Along with Alito Alessi in the 1980's, she started the Breitenbush Jam and DanceAbility in Oregon; and with others later in the 90's, Diverse Dance Research Retreat held on Vashon Island, WA. For the last 2 decades or so, composition within improvisation has been a passion; working with Lisa Nelson and her approach of Tuning Scores is a constant source of inspiration and investigation.

Karen Nelson

Moti Mark Zemelman, MFA, began practicing Contact Improv 24 years ago. Over the past 17 years he has taught and performed across USA, Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Europe and Israel. In 2008-09 he taught as Dance Professor at the Instituto Naciónal de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Moti has been a regular teacher and a board member at Earthdance Retreat Center in Plainfield, MA. Other recent teaching engagements include DanceBase (Edinburgh), Circuit-Est (Montreal), Z in Motion Festival (Helsinki), and Lila Lopez Contemporary Dance Festival (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) He was an original member of Wire Monkey Dance Co., (Holyoke, MA, USA). As a musician Moti plays vocal-electronic music for Contact Jams and in 2007 released his debut CD, Doorwaves. He also designs and moderates the international Contact Improv resource website www.contactimprov.com. In addition Moti is a professional photographer. His latest project "The Dancer's Tarot" is a photographic tarot deck, using dancers as models to embody the traditional Tarot archetypes.

Moti Mark Zemelman

Neige Christenson has been an enthusiastic improviser since discovering CI in1981. At her home-dance in Boston, MA, she's a loyal jam facilitator, teacher and performer. She's taught CI in school settings, residential jams and festivals as well as taking her workshops on the road. She loves the way CI can be a metaphor for human relationship and also an abstract expression of life-force energy. Her teaching encourages opening the improvisational mind and body to full presence and connection with self and other. She holds a Master's degree in Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University and her writings on CI have appeared in Contact Quarterly and <Proximity> magazines. Her home-dance is in Boston, MA.

Neige Christenson
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The Moab Jam and Workshop are organized in 2012 by Gretchen Spiro with support from Alicia Grayson and J. Akiyama.
Email: / Gretchen: (303) 545-9956