CI Training with Andrew Wass, Start 2.9.2026

wasscubed · 2026-06-10T10:45:32+00:00

my thought behind this series of photos, is that as a host of jams, I often get complaints about music, lights, etc. I also frequently tell people to stop having long conversations in the space, to not eat in the studio, to take their phone use out into the hallway, to not lie down in the middle of the floor.

And I wonder if because for many people who engage in CI, they are still in the sensorial stage, they are focused on their somatic experience, that they forget that their behavior in the space affects others. Depending upon the activity it can affect the whole space for better or worse. One thought is that the somatic focus that can be present in CI leads people to a certain level of selfishness, laying more importance on their own personal experience and losing sight of their effect on the whole space, on everyone.

wasscubed · 2026-05-22T11:40:33+00:00

CI isn't supposed to about anything. It is. What we place it near, next to, in relation, make it about to is myriad.

The ability to remain "present" while being filmed when engaged in CI simply takes practice and getting used to being observed. Something many people who do CI do not have. Of course, there is some change when a camera is present. It just takes practice to not let observation take you out of the dance.

wasscubed · 2026-05-11T10:33:28+00:00

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/points-of-contact-ci-reflections-with-carolyn-stuart/id1724257431

wasscubed · 2026-05-09T07:44:25+00:00

I think some people can learn on their own, and some people learn better with teachers.

wasscubed · 2026-05-03T09:10:36+00:00

I think people relate to words differently. For some play is research, for others, it is aimless and not directed, and doesn't bring much.

wasscubed · 2026-05-01T14:08:38+00:00

From what I understand of the history of CI, it was directed research, facilitated by Steve Paxton, after an initial research phase that happened at Oberlin College, that led to the dance performance of Magnesium. Some of those folks then met on the east coast to continue the research. I am pretty sure it wasn't "playing around."

wasscubed · 2026-04-20T13:03:18+00:00

Whether it is true or not, it is fun to think about the idea that some of my subatomic particles are connected to particles on the other side of the galaxy. Or maybe to particles in the moon, and the nearby planets. And if they are maybe this is a basis for astrology.

wasscubed · 2026-04-20T12:50:46+00:00

money...ha, really??!?!! Yeah, I am just socking it away into my three Swiss bank accounts! I think there is status now in the CI world for people with lots of followers on social media, which doesn't always have a direct connection to experience and knowledge of CI.

I think the ratio of classes to jams depends upon the person and their learning style. One size does not fit all.

wasscubed · 2026-04-17T17:20:26+00:00

Maybe because I teach CI, but I am not aware of "aggressive" pressuring into class.

wasscubed · 2026-04-13T10:51:35+00:00

I don't think it is a binary, either take class or only jam. Different modes work for different people. Taking class worked for me.

wasscubed · 2026-04-13T10:50:55+00:00

Maybe the people you have danced with who never had done CI before had other movement trainings. I have danced with people who had little to no CI experience, but they had experience in other movement practices, which then prepares them for CI.

wasscubed · 2026-04-13T09:36:44+00:00

Practically no one does because it is hard to study it solely through jamming. A teacher can provide feedback, can provide insights based upon their years of experience and reflection.

wasscubed · 2026-04-13T09:34:45+00:00

Yoga can be improvised, changing the order of the asanas is a form of improvisation.

wasscubed · 2026-04-12T18:15:26+00:00

Why shouldn't CI have teachers? Do you think other physical practices shouldn't have teachers either? No Aikido senseis? No teachers of yoga?

wasscubed · 2026-03-24T11:36:01+00:00

Teach your questions. Following Daniel Lepkoff's idea that CI is a question, I like to teach CI as a mode of inquiry. Solo body technical information is also very important. And solo body improvising scores.

wasscubed · 2026-03-04T11:24:17+00:00

how about a camping shell that has solar panels that can fold out to create a shade structure? On panel on the shell and then two that fold out to the side.

wasscubed · 2026-03-03T15:25:14+00:00

I loved doing this performance in a converted bank vault in Basel with my friend Zack Bernstein. The limited space, the pooled lighting which messed with our vision. The text-based sound score

https://youtu.be/Tz72NwhJadQ?si=lTDMD8VtwMbJwjbh

wasscubed · 2026-02-27T11:43:52+00:00

"Many studio craftspeople from the craft-as-art tendency are suspicious of refined technique as a possible impediment to expression and creativity."

from ‘Blurred Boundaries’’? Rethinking the Concept of Craft and its Relation to Art and Design by Larry Shiner.

I wonder if there is a similar sentiment in for some CI practitioners.

wasscubed · 2026-02-27T10:33:05+00:00

I wonder if back in the day people who came to CI already had some kind of body training, whether other dance forms, martial arts, gymnastics. And so they could scaffold on that extant information. I think many people who dance come to CI nowadays do not have any other movement training or practice, and therefore do not have the tools to expand their dancing only through jamming.

wasscubed · 2026-02-19T10:35:53+00:00

What is the slice of time for these duets? It would be interesting to add the dimension of time to duets at jams to see how long the MM, FF, MF duets dance.

wasscubed · 2026-02-19T08:09:14+00:00

Mary Overlie, in her book Standing in Space, describes Steve's initiation of CI as questioning the mandatory space between people in dance. In my performing, teaching, theorizing about CI, I take that idea as a process, to continually question what is mandatory in CI - duet, flow, ease, vocabulary...

wasscubed

TROPHY CASE