Just got back from the annual New Year’s Contact Improvisation Jam at Earthdance, an ecologically focused, intentional community for (transient) resident dancers that I’ve been visiting for a dozen years or so.The food is great - lots of root vegetables, leafy greens, hearty soups, and other healthy wintery fare - with much of the food coming from the organic Earthdance garden. Add a hot tub, sauna, and about 125 wooded acres with a cold, deep quarry for swimming, and of course lots of yummy people, for full effect.

Contact Improvisation is a form of dance first developed in the early 1970s, and practicing it invites you to be present in a fun and physical way. I’ve been practicing on and off, (mostly off) for about 25 years, and yet it always feels fun and new.

The whole jam is like a dance score. From arriving on the first day to leaving on the last, from entering and exiting each dance, each movement is a microcosm of the whole. To move in this way with other dancers - of different ages, shapes, sizes, and skills, not to mention of course colors, backgrounds, beliefs, and motivations, can be challenging and exhilarating.

Music is always a big part of the jam - I led a Brasilian sing-along in the living room for about 20 folks, complete with pots and pans from the kitchen for the spontaneous samba and bossa rhythms.

Earthdance is just one of the many places where folks are coming together to integrate bodies, minds, spirits, and tummies… I can’t wait to go back!

Jay Mankita sings about healthy food, rainforests, alternative energy, sustainability, politics, the power of community, and love. He drives a veggie-powered demonstration van, and loves to dance. For more info: www.jaymankita.com