Steve Paxton, who died on February 20, asked basic but foundational questions—about movement, performance, and hierarchies of all kinds.

“I was trying to understand what makes integrity in movement,” Steve Paxton told us in the June 2004 issue of Dance Magazine.

Experienced practitioners of contact improvisation appear to float through the air and move through the most daring positions with ease. Those new to the form, on the other hand, often feel awkward and impatient. Some dancers hesitate, worried they will hurt their partner by giving them too much weight. Others move too quickly, trying for […]

Choose an improv method that will challenge your weaknesses. Freedman (left) practices a phrase in the studio. Photo by Anna Maynard, Courtesy Helen Simoneau. Often, the key to growing as a dancer is getting out of a mental or physical rut. One solution? Improvisation. Its unpredictable, uncomfortable challenges can help dancers find their voices while […]