Asheville Jam

Thank you for taking a moment to read through these guidelines. We crafted this document out of our desire to build a dance community based in mutual respect, care, and consent. Your feedback matters and is welcome!

Why Community Guidelines?

The following guidelines create a container for the expectations we have of each other at our jams. Contact Improvisation requires a high degree of community accountability in order for everyone to participate safely. When attending a class or jam it is expected that all participants engage with these baseline agreements around safety and CI practice.

Jam Etiquette - Arriving Energetically and Physically, or what to wear/how to prepare

• Avoid wearing jewelry, belts, or clothing with buttons and zippers

• Clothing that covers shoulders, legs and midriffs and that is made of natural fiber or non-slick material works best

• No shoes on the dance floor

• Knee pads highly recommended

• Arrive to the jam with good hygiene, clean clothing, nails trimmed 

• Avoid strong or artificial scents

• Well-tended youngsters who can safely and respectfully engage in the space – including the opening and closing circles – are welcome

• We love our furry friends, but pets are not allowed at the jam

Jam Etiquette - Open Score, or what happens in the jam space

• The jam space is non-conversational and screen-free - please take conversations and phones outside.

• Come and go quietly at any time, but stay for closing circle when possible.

• Open floor space is reserved for active dancing - please move cuddle piles and body work to the sides. 

• Active witnessing from the sidelines is always welcome and a great way to learn.

• Practice consent during all phases of the dance - entering/dancing/exiting. If you ever feel unsafe, pause the dance and express your concerns. If further support is needed, speak to a facilitator and we will help.

• CI is an inherently sensuous experience, i.e. it is stimulating to the senses, but dating and sexual agendas detract from our ability to safely practice this form and should be checked at the door. AVL Jam is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive space for all those who wish to practice contact improvisation safely. Complaints or observations of disregard to this principle will be taken seriously and will lead to (in order of escalation):

1. A facilitated conversation with the individual about boundaries & consent

2. A request that the individual take one or more private, consent-focused CI lessons, at their own expense, before returning to AVL Jam 

3. Exclusion from further participation at AVL Jam

• Our jams are drug and alcohol free - any person who comes to the jam intoxicated will be asked to leave.

Class & Safety

• Contact Improvisation is a highly physical social dance where risk is involved, both to you and to your partner. For this reason, knowledge of basic skills and safety is essential. These include:

  1. Responsible partnering. This includes no grabbing or manipulating your partner.

  2. Mechanics of sharing weight, lifting, and being lifted. This includes knowing how and where to give weight and how and where to support it.

  3. Knowing how to fall and comfort with using your “landing gear”.

  4. Non-verbal listening to a partner - tracking another body in space. This is an advanced but essential element of CI that requires practice.

  5. Self-Responsibility. This involves learning your own boundaries and limits and practicing tending to and stating these in the moment.

• Attending class is HIGHLY recommended - we now offer a skills class for the first 45-60 minutes of most jams (check website calendar).  We encourage beginners, as well as long-time jammers, to join us. The jam that follows not only allows us to practice the skills just (re) learned, it also tends to promote a more connected, engaged and focused jam.