Consent in Contact Improvisation
What communities write down, what critics say, and where the research is.
Communities that teach contact improvisation put consent in writing.12
- Philadelphia's guidelines treat consent as the dancer's own act in the moment: it can change mid-dance and stays with the one partner it was given to.1
- Earthdance's guidelines say you can leave or end a dance at any time for any reason.2
- The founding rule of taking care of yourself has been criticised for loading responsibility onto the least powerful person in the room.3
Written practice
Philadelphia's community lists five principles and the practices behind each: practise consent, respect physical, sexual and emotional boundaries, keep the jam focused, take responsibility for your own safety, and ask for help when a boundary is crossed.1 Earthdance's six short sections add that sensation is normal and pursuing it on the floor is the exception, that social talk happens off the dance space, and that you should look after newer dancers.2
The founding rule and its critics
Michelle Beaulieux argues in Contact Quarterly that the form's founding take-care-of-yourself rule can offload responsibility onto the least powerful person in the room, and describes what communities changed after #MeToo.3 Emma Bigé names in-group language that discourages dissent, dress-code academicism and beginner humiliation among the form's shadows.4 Chrys Papaioannou's recent essay challenges the advice to just relax into gravity.5
Research and testimony
Brynn Williams's UBC thesis is the only full-length study of nonverbal consent in CI in the library.6 Erin Stahmer's audit finds that communication in the form is real but conditional, and that touch can turn coercive.7 Brozas-Polo argues the jam's openness can amplify elite power and leave room for abuse.8 Contact Quarterly printed a woman's letter, signed SK, about a disturbing experience at a festival, together with the replies.9 Royona Mitra writes about her first workshop in 1998, when free touch arrived on its own, with difference left unspoken.10 The texts behind all of this are on the consent shelf.
Gender and identity
Brozas-Polo traces the gender debate across 45 years of Contact Quarterly.11 Kristin Horrigan answers the organiser who says the form is free of roles, so gender is beside the point.12 Ten teachers and organisers answer one question on identity, and their answers show how wide the disagreement runs.13
Frequently asked questions
Is contact improvisation sexual?
Earthdance's guidelines call sensation normal and treat pursuing it on the floor as the exception.2
Can I stop a dance at a jam?
Yes. Earthdance's guidelines say you can leave or end a dance at any time for any reason.2
Does consent with one partner cover other dancers?
Philadelphia's guidelines say consent stays with the one partner who gave it.1
What is the founding rule people criticise?
Taking care of yourself. Michelle Beaulieux argues it can put responsibility on the least powerful person in the room.3
| Guides in this wiki |
|---|
| What is Contact Improvisation? · The small dance · The Underscore · Jams · Steve Paxton · Nancy Stark Smith · Falling and gravity · Consent · Exercises · Glossary · How it is written · Contribute |
Sources in the library
1Safety & Boundaries Philadelphia Contact Improvisation community, version of 11 September 2019, 6 pages. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
2Earthdance CI Jam Guidelines Earthdance, Plainfield, Massachusetts, updated November 2022. In the library: Jams, scores, pedagogy.
3How the First Rule Brought #MeToo to Contact Improvisation Michelle Beaulieux, Contact Quarterly 44.1. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
4Feeling and Moving Together Emma Bigé, "Sentir et se mouvoir ensemble," 2015 · published under the name Romain Bigé, Emma Bigé’s earlier name. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
5Uneasy Breathing Chrys Papaioannou, 2024/25. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
6Nuances of Touch: Embodying and Communicating Nonverbal Consent in CI Brynn Williams, MA thesis, UBC. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
7[Dis]Connected Erin Stahmer, Barnard thesis 2011. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
8To Lead or Be Led Brozas-Polo, "Llevar o ser llevada," 2022. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
9Contact Improvisation: One Experience SK, Rythea Lee, and CQ, Contact Quarterly 39.1, Winter/Spring 2014. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
10Unmaking Contact Royona Mitra, Dance Research Journal 53(3), 2021. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
11Gender Discourses in Contact Improvisation María Paz Brozas-Polo, "Discursos de género," 2020. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
12Queering Contact Improvisation Kristin Horrigan, Contact Quarterly Winter/Spring 2017. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
13Contact Improvisation Intersections Nancy Stark Smith ("Frictions and Illuminations") with Keith Hennessy, Ann Cooper Albright, Geneviève Cron-Riger, Daniela Schwartz, Kent Alexander, Za. In the library: Consent, gender, hierarchy.
Cite this page
Alessi, Eric (curator). “Consent in Contact Improvisation.” The Wiki of Contact Improvisation. Published 30 October 2026, updated 31 October 2026. https://ci-wiki.com/concepts/consent-in-contact-improvisation/. Accessed .