although many of the principles of contact improvisation were explored throughour the 1960s in work by schneeman, halprin, and several judson choreographers and were evident in the work of companies such as sound and motion the form began to consolidate as a singular practice during a 1972 residency by the grand union at oberlin college. Working with nancy stark smith,curt siddall, danny lepkoff,david woodberry,nita little,and several other willing experimenters,steve paxton began to develop a new form of improvised partnering.Paxton credits his study of martial art,and especially aikido, with providing insights into a nonconfrontational manipulation of weight and momentum.In its orientation towards self-defense,aikido specifies that practitioners assess the energy of the body coming towards them and reroute rather than directly oppose its mass.Based o this approach,the group began to examine the responsiveness of bodies in relation to one another and to gravity-defying situations.
Premised on the extraordinarily simple yet fecund principle of exploring a changing point of physical contact between two or more bodies,contact improvisation elaborates a redically alternative style of moving and look for the body,