The 13th Annual
(2009)
Moab Jam

Dancing,
Inspiration,
Joy,
Friendship,
Nourishment,
Support,
Nature,
Space

Facilitated by [we're not sure who, but Nancy Stark Smith and Mike Vargas will be there!]

* * * The Moab Jam * * *

Thursday (evening) May 21st to Monday (afternoon) May 25th, 2009 (ends Memorial Day)

Click to view larger image in new window
 
OLD - Jam - LAST YEAR - 2008 (2009 info coming soon)
   
" Welcome to the Moab Jam. The jam is a place to bring “the soft animal of your body”, your wonder, your questions, your heart. Sweat, take risks, be safe, have excellent dances, engage in deep conversation, create, investigate, and be inspired by the beauty of the desert. I look forward to sharing the dance with you. "
~Gretchen Spiro
Description:

(3/8/2008) JAM IS FULL!!! -- and WAITING LIST IS FULL!!! We are very sorry that we cannot accomodate everyone who wants to come to the Jam, but we have to close registration in order to have enough room for everyone in the space.

Please click here to sign up for EARLY EMAIL NOTIFICATION for next year!!!

REVISION:(3/30/2008) Since the workshop filled so fast, we asked Kirstie to teach at the Jam and she's agreed to teach two (2), two hour classes on Friday of the Jam!!! The schedule below shows Kirstie's class times on Friday.

Join us at the 12th Annual Moab Jam in Moab, Utah. The Moab Jam is open to dancers of all experience levels. Whether you are a long-time dancer or you have never danced Contact Improvisation (CI) before are Welcome! Lots of people have made the Moab Jam their first big CI Jam experience and they keep coming back!

This year we will have a bunch of very experienced teachers as Hosts/Facilitators for this Jam. Keep checking back for others to be added to the list. We are in touch with several people from Europe who might join us as Facilitators:


Alicia Grayson (Colorado)
Steve Homsher (Colorado)
Aaron Jessup (California)
Malcolm Manning (Finland)
Tim O'Donnell (New York)
Ingo Rosencranz (Germany)
Kirstie Simson (U.K.) - see Workshop for picture and bio
Gretchen Spiro (Colorado)

These teachers will be available to help you become acquainted with skills and navigating a jam, and share their passion for the form. You can sign up for private coaching/feedback sessions with any of these teachers to expand your technical and creative possibilities. The resident teachers/hosts will take turns guiding mixers, skills labs, and lead a warm-up each morning. (All guided activities are OPTIONAL—there will always be space for open jamming.)

There will also be a studio for participants to lead events that they are interested in facilitating. Past events included (boogie music jam, didgeridoo healing, authentic movement, theater games, etc.)

There will a fairly informal performance/dinner theater on Saturday evening at the Jam. We invite you to share your dance creativity with the rest of the community!

Friday May 23 Sunset Dance Adventure
On Friday, May 23, we are going to venture to Arches National Park to delight in the beauty of the afternoon light and amazing desert sunset. We will dance, picnic, take photographs, and generally frolic and commune with nature. We will gather at the MARC at approx. 4pm, and carpool for the drive (about a half-hour) to an agreed spot in Arches. We’ll post the exact details of the adventure on the wall of the MARC. We have been up at Arches during the Jam before, and it is an experience you will not forget; it is truly breathtaking.

   
Facilitators:
Alicia Grayson Picture coming soon! Alicia Grayson has had a love affair with CI for the past 20 years and has taught for the past 15. Her long time practices of authentic movement, yoga, pilates and meditation are important influences on her dancing and teaching. She lives in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado where she is a member of Tumblebones Contact Collective. She teaches weekly CI., yoga and pilates classes in Boulder and travels around the US and Europe to teach workshops.
 
 
Click to view larger image in new window Steve Homsher - is an avid CI teacher and performer, and dances with Tumblebones Contact Improvisation Collective. Steve studied martial arts (Kendo) for 10 years, gymnastics, mime, ballet, and performed aerial dance with Frequent Flyers for 6 years. In addition to a day job as a carpenter, Steve is a professional visual artist. Steve teaches CI with clarity, precision, and a passion for cultivating efficient strength and effortless release. He has a particular passion for supporting dancers with personal feedback/coaching. He's busy being a dad now, too!
 
 
Click to view larger image in new window Aaron Jessup - Originally coming from a circus and street performing background, Aaron has been a student of Contact Improvisation since 1990. He has taught classes and workshops since 1997, including a year at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy. His current passion involves leading wilderness expeditions with an awareness focus for his company, the Institute for the Study of Awareness in Nature (www.isantrips.com).
 
 
Alicia Grayson Picture coming soon!

Malcolm Manning is a somatic movement researcher, educator and performing artist who lives in Finland. Check out his website at www.movetolearn.com.

"Movement is life and just about any situation can be analysed in terms of what moves, how, where, when and with what quality. I am fascinated by how people move and by how I move, both alone and in relation to others." Malcolm Manning

 
 
Click to view larger image in new window Tim O'Donnell - Tim O'Donnell has been dancing CI for than 10 years His exploration in the form is strongly rooted in a deep physical listening and a sense of adventure. His classes range from the gentle and subtle to the acrobatic and fluidly athletic. He holds an MFA in Dance and has been
a bodyworker since 1991. Currently he is teaching and performing in NYC where he resides.
 
 
Ingo Rosencranz - He has been performing and teaching Contact Improvisation, Movement- and Dance-Theatre, Shiatsu, Tai Chi and Qi Gong for more than 10 years. Ingo is influenced by eastern philosophies, some martial arts, authentic movement, different bodywork and healing-forms and all of the beautiful teachers he has met on the way, including many children and his daughter. An additional part of his work is to organize different Improv and Healing events in Germany, such as the EasternImprofestival (OsterImproFestival) in Göttingen, Germany, the Summer Arts Festival in Cologne and the Healing ART Festival in collaboration with artists from various fields.
 
 
Click to view larger image in new window Gretchen Spiro is a dancer, yoga teacher, Gyrotonic® trainer, and movement therapist from Boulder, CO. She received a BFA from Cal Arts and an MA in Dance Therapy from Naropa University. Gretchen began exploring CI in 1982. Primary mentors have been Nita Little, Martin Keogh, Keith Hennessy, and Touch Monkey/Carolyn Stuart. Avidly practicing and teaching for the past 15 years - Gretchen aims to offer herself wholly to the mysteries of liquid dancing. Gretchen guides Tumblebones, a spirited CI collective investigating comradeship, artistry, and CI physicality true to the principles of the form. She teaches with humor, precision, and fiery enthusiasm. Now she's a momma to her lovely daughter, Quill.
When
The Moab Jam is different and exciting every year because once you arrive YOU get to help determine what happens. Let the facilitators and others know what you'd like to experience (guided warmups, mixers, scores, discussions, etc.) and we'll see about adding it to the "schedule." Remember, this is your Jam. Workstudy will post the "happenings" for all to see during the Jam.
Please note that this is a Jam and all times in the "schedule" below are really just estimates. While the opening/closing times of the dance space and the availability of the kitchen is firm, you are free to come and go as you please. Additionally, there is almost always room for open dancing in the space even if something else is "happening." If you are new to the Jam scene, please let one of the facilitators know so we can help you become familiar with how it all works. Please try to arrive in Moab early enough to get your tent set up at the Ken's Lake Campground (show me on a map) and get to the MARC (show me on a map) before the Jam starts (SEE BELOW).

Thursday, May 22nd

7:00pm Stage Room dance space opens. The Jam Begins!!! Please register amd pay your balance due as you arrive. You probably want to set up your tent in the daylight at Ken's Lake Campground before you go to dance. (how to find Ken's Lake Campgound)
  9:00pm Opening circle
  9:30pm Stage Room dance space closes.
 
Friday May 23rd 8:30am

MARC opens

  9:00am Stage room opens
  10am-noon Kirstie Simson - Jam Class #1 - NOTE: Preference will be given to those who were not in the Workshop.
  noon-1:15pm lunch
  1:30-3:30pm Kirstie Simson - Jam Class #2 - NOTE: Preference will be given to those who were not in the Workshop.
  3:30pm - 4:00pm Gather, prepare and leave for our Sunset Adventure in Canyonlands
  4pm to ???? See Sunset Dance Adventure on this page
 
Saturday May 24th 8:30am MARC opens - WE HAVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE BUILDING!!!.
  - - - - use any room, use any space, any time - just keep it clean
  11:30pm MARC closes.
 
Sunday May 25th 8:30am MARC opens - WE HAVE THE WHOLE ENTIRE BUILDING!!!.
  - - - - use any room, use any space, any time - just keep it clean
  11:30pm MARC closes.
 
Monday May 26th 9:30am Dance space opens.
  9:00am - 10:00am The downstairs kitchen is available for use.
  12:30pm - 5:00pm The downstairs kitchen is available for use to clean up our stuff!!!
  2:00pm - 3:00pm Final dance call and closing circle
  4:00pm Dance space closes. Say your goodbye's!

Please click here to register!


If you're coming to the Jam from out of state, consider making the trip a real vacation and join us for the Workshop (before the Jam).

   
Where The Jam (and Workshop) will be held indoors at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC)(directions to the Moab Arts and Recreation Center), a beautifully renovated church with nice hardwood floors, high ceilings and tall windows that let in the bright desert sunshine. During the Jam (and also the Workshop), the group will car camp at a nearby Campground close to the city of Moab. It will be a short drive from the campground to the MARC. During the Jam, we camp together and car-pool in to town and often stop at the Lazy Lizard Hostel for a hot shower in the morning before arriving at the MARC - a nice way to start the day.
   
Food Dinner will be provided on Saturday, plus snacks and drinks at all times in the dance space. Bring your own breakfasts, lunches and camping gear. There is a very nice, reasonably priced organic grocery store just one block away and lots of sandwich and lunch spots just a few blocks away. The group will have access to a full kitchen to prepare our meals and a refrigerator or two to
store our food.
   
Cost & Rates (Please contact Gretchen if the cost of the event keeps you from attending. We will consider work-exchange for those with financial need.  Please apply early..)
   

Early Registration Discount

Register online and send in a $50 Jam deposit check (or pay in full) to Magnolia Healing Arts, Inc., and have your envelope postmarked by April 2nd for a $25 Jam discount. (You will receive the Magnolia Healing Arts, Inc. mailing address once you register on-line.)

   
Student: $180 - Economically deprived students and the unemployed
   
Regular: $195 - Employed but economically challenged
   
Professional: $215 - Actually contributing to your retirement plan
   
Workstudy: NOTE: Inquire about work exchange options with Gretchen via before registering for the event. Pre-pay $90 and you may get some back or owe more depending upon how much you work.
   
Cancellations: For those who pay in full in advance, are confirmed to attend and cancel before the event, all of your money, less the deposit amount of $50 will be returned
   
   
Remember the discount for early registration. Please click here to register!




For more information or contact Gretchen: (303) 545-9956 or Todd: (801) 467-8064


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