teacher
nick smith & ava maag
Nick Smith practices meditation, improvisation, dance, bodywork and cultivating collectives in this and other realms. https://www.grapes.dance/
Ava Maag (they/she) first experienced Contact Improvisation in theatre school in 2013. It sparked some interest but didn't really take until she moved to Oakland five years later. Since then, casual jamming progressed to rigorous study and then to performing and teaching. Ava has had the gift of studying with many excellent teachers, taking particular inspiration from Nita Little, Shira Yaziv, Miriam Wolodarski, Dolores Dewhurst Marks, and Sara Shelton Mann. Several other practices play into her particular flavor of CI, notably Modern dance, Theatre, Clown, and Deep Listening.
MUSICIAN
zorg
Zorg is one of the musicians who offer music for the Thursday CI jams at Berkeley's Finnish Hall. He is also a regular dancer at the Tuesday and Saturday CI jams which have no music. So he is particularly sensitive to the ways in which both sound and silence affect the quality of collective improvisational dance. When supporting CI jams with music, Zorg loves to explore a wide variety of sonic textures, from expansive soundscapes to polyrhythmic percussion. Each journey is an improvised interaction with the energetic field in the room, using a wide variety of instruments including didjeridoo, berimbau, samplers and synthesizers, and the extraordinary sounds of the 36" Wu Xing
Gong. More information at www.nadayoga.us
organizer
merrick jacob
Merrick Jacob is a lover of movement, continuously in awe of the body and its potential for delightful expression, wild creativity, & authentic connection. Influenced by her practices of contact improvisation, figure skating, acroyoga, and hand-balancing, she guides playful movement experiences as an opportunity for deep listening, research, and co-creation. Merrick teaches & hosts contact across the SF Bay Area and beyond.
