Breitenbush Jam and Conference

The Breitenbush Jam is a nine-day Contact Improvisation event produced every year in March by Joint Forces Dance Company. The Jam is held at the lovely Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat center in Detroit Oregon and features much open dancing as well as workshops with leaders in the contemporary dance world. www.breitenbush.com ».

Contact Improvisation is a dance form of communicating, experiencing and relating through physical contact between two or more people. Basic skills such as falling, rolling, sharing weight and moving with momentum encourage a freedom of expression and communication unique to the form. Dancing ranges from simple to complex, depending on experience. It is an accessible form in which people of all physical abilities can meet on equal ground and explore the movement possibilities that exist between them. An international gathering, the Jam is open to all experience levels and includes facilitated warm-ups, open dancing, conference sessions and performance evenings. Some Jams feature live music and ‘all-nighters’.

MARCH 3 TO 11, 2011 WE WANT TO CELEBRATE THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BY RENTING THE ENTIRE BREITENBUSH CAMP. We need about 80 or 100 people to do that so we need to hear from you if you are interested in attending. We will have facilitated bodywork sessions outside the main studio, but for the 30th anniversary we may leave the main studio just for dancing, with no workshops.

Be sure to send your deposit early to ensure registration. $125 non-refundable deposit is due Jan. 21st but we recommend doing it before Sept. 1st (balance due Feb. 25th, 2011). Checks payable to Joint Forces can be mailed to Joint Forces, PO Box 51257, Eugene, OR 97405. (Payments by PayPal and credit card through PayPal are only available if you pay their 3% additional fee.

For many years now, the event has been nine days (eight nights). The cost for the whole jam is $670 for a standard cabin (no bathroom), $780 for a cabin with a bathroom, and $555 for a dorm room (cabins with four beds instead of 2 or 3, and this time only available if attending full time).

FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN HALF TIME ATTENDANCE: only the first half is available, March 3-7, Thursday to Monday. Attending just the second half is unavailable. Cost is $340 for a regular cabin or $395 for a cabin with a bathroom.

Click on the link below to learn more about the Breitenbush Jam by reading some intriguing excerpts from a conversation among key participants at the 25th Anniversary of the Breitenbush Jam.

PDF: Reflections at the 25th Anniversary of the Breitenbush Jam »