Thinking Touch in Partnering and Contact Improvisation

What happens when artists take touch as a starting point for embodied research? This collection of essays offers unique insights into contact in dance, by considering the importance of touch in choreography, philosophy, scientific research, social dance, and education. The performing arts have benefitted from the growth of an ever-widening spectrum of tactile explorations since the advent of contact improvisation (CI) in 1972. Building on the research proposal CI offers, partnering forms such as tango, martial arts, and somatic therapies have helped shape the landscape of embodied practices in contemporary dance. Presenting a range of practitioner and scholarly perspectives relevant to undergraduate students and researchers alike, this volume considers the significance of touch in the development of 21st century pedagogy, art-making, and performance philosophy.