WELCOME to the
Chicago Contact Improvisation Jam web page!

Chicago Jam Photo

Here you can find information about our contact improvisation jam in Chicago, as well as links to information about upcoming events in Chicago and the Great Lakes area.

If you want to learn about contact improvisation, click on this link: Resources for Students of Contact Improvisation

If you are a teacher of contact improvisation and are interested in teaching materials used in a beginning level college course (class syllabus, assignments, handouts), click on this link: Resources for Teachers of Contact Improvisation

If you are looking for info about other jams, click on this link: Links for finding Contact Improvisation Jams or

If you have already been to the jam and want to join the Yahoo e-mail groups to keep up with what is going on in Chicago and the Great Lakes area, click here or scroll to the bottom of this webpage.

Chicago Contact Improv Sunday Jam 11:30am-1:30pm

At the Links Hall Dance Studio, 3435 N Sheffield Ave (1 block south of Wrigley Field).

Our jam has an open format: everyone is welcome, people show up & leave when they like, participate or watch as they choose. There is a formal warm-up that usually starts at 11:45 and lasts about 15 minutes - unless the people who are present at 11:45 say they'd rather keep warming up on their own. The cost is between $3 and $5, whatever you can afford.

Beginners: Wear comfortable clothing that won't limit your movement (preferably cotton: synthetic materials don't work as well). Please try to come near the start of the jam so you can change clothes, get oriented, read the handouts on "Safety" and "Risks and Responsibilities", and participate in the warm-up.

All ages are welcome, but those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The adult is responsible for monitoring the child's safety and must be willing to intervene if the child's behavior is disruptive to others.

If you need more info, or want to confirm that the jam is happening a certain week, please call Daniel at (708) 633-1284 or e-mail dhalkin at earthlink dot net.

For a .pdf file of the Chicago jam flier, click here.

Jam News & Reminders (updated 6/26/08)

Chicago events of interest

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Regional Contact Improvisation events (outside of the Chicago area)

Upcoming events of special note:

July 25-27, 2008 Rolling on a Grassy Slope; a weekend summer intensive in Contact Improvisation with Martin Keogh in Mazomaine, WI
Join good company for dancing and discovery by the Wisconsin River. With games, some sweat, and the unique physicality of the contact body, we will savor and rock the boundaries between states of allowing and mindful intention. Our time together will find us:
-Moving from a base of sensation
-Dancing with a shared central axis
-Seeking ease in going off balance
-Finding the spontaneous acrobatics of the form
-Spending time in nuance, disorientation and extended follow-through.

This workshop is not for bare beginners. For more info go to http://www.mazomac.com/currentpage.html#martin .
To register, print the following .pdf file, fill it out and mail it in with your $25 deposit: http://www.mazomac.com/Martinreg08.pdf .
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October 3-8, 2008 The Annual "BIG" Glacier in Willard, WI
Come join us for our annual 5-day retreat at the beautiful Christine Center. Great classes, jams and whatever else we think of, plus vegetarian meals and beautiful Northern Wisconsin woods. For more info, send an e-mail to Charles Campbell at cfcdance at hotmail dot com , call 360-923-2576, or wait until more info shows up on this website.
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To find out about jams and events in other cities in the Great Lakes region, click here to check out the Great Lakes Contact Improvisation Community Event Listings.

E-mail groups you can join

There are two e-mail groups hosted by Yahoo that are used by contact improvisers in Chicago:
"chicagocontactimprov" is for Chicago jam members, and
"GLACIER" connects contact improvisers throughout the Great Lakes area.

By joining the e-mail groups you can get announcements of upcoming events and communicate with the rest of each group.

To join the e-mail group used by Chicago jam members, use the link below to go to the "chicagocontactimprov" Yahoo group webpage.
Click on the "Join this group" box, and be sure to mention your experience with contact improvisation and the Chicago jam when you request to join!

Click here to go to the "chicagocontactimprov" Yahoo group webpage.

(Please note that part of the process of joining is signing up to Yahoo groups, if you aren't a member already.)

To join the e-mail group for the Great Lakes area at large, use the link below to go to the "GLACIER" Yahoo group webpage.
Click on the "Join this group" box, and be sure to mention your experience with contact improvisation and the city and state where you live when you request to join!

Click here to go to the "GLACIER" Yahoo group webpage.

(The group is called GLACIER because it stands for "Great Lakes area Contact Improvisation Enthusiasts Retreat")