val smith - Contact Improvisation Tutor
val is a pākehā, non-binary, queer artist / dance educator / community activator / writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. They have been teaching Contact Improvisation (CI) since 2000 throughout NZ, and in Australia and the US, and hosting CI jams, workshop series and performance events through the initiative Community of Touch since 2008.
val’s performance work investigates minor genders, sexualities and modes of perception and participation through somatic and improvisational approaches. They are currently undertaking PhD research in AUT’s Art & Design department.
val’s current CI teaching/research: Attention experiments inside the dance of Contact Improvisation. Experiments with where and how we place our attention in the dance. Will this shift and change our understanding of how to do Contact Improvisation? What are the perceptual possibilities?