(re)Learning to Fall

a 3-hour workshop on Contact Improvisation fundamentals

Saturday January 3rd 1-4pm

at the Murray Hill Galleries, 2026 Murray Hill Road, Cleveland OH

The body knows how to fall. Each step we take is a little fall, from one foot to the next, momentarily suspended, landing and propelling the body forward.

In contact improvisation, falling is a part of the dance. We (re)learn how to trust the body’s capacity to fall - sometimes in the subtlest of ways. We don’t have to think our way through it or plan it out. We practice traversing different pathways into and out of the ground. We notice movement patterns that are familiar and protective. We invite different choices in the moment and let go of control. We work with gravity, momentum, and moments of suspension.

In this 3-hour workshop, we will cultivate trust in the body’s capacity to fall through CI fundamentals including practices like bonding with the earth (Underscore/Nancy Stark Smith), the small dance (Steve Paxton), pathways into and out of the ground, and weight sharing.

The workshop will include solo movement as well as partner and group explorations. Rooted in a culture of consent, we will practice verbal and non-verbal ways of navigating consent with fellow dancers.

Workshop will be followed by a Community Jam 4pm-6pm. Opening circle 4:30pm. Take a breather and stick around for more dancing :)

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is Open Level. Some experience with dance or other types of movement is recommended. The nature of this class will involve moving into and out of the ground. Adaptations will be offered and witnessing is always welcome.

Queer, BIPOC, & trans friends are welcome here.

Reach out with any questions or access needs.

Cost

Sliding scale: $30 / $50 / $70

supported / sustaining / generous

Community Jam is by donation (suggested $5-$10)

If your current funds prohibit you from attending, send a message.

Location & Parking

The workshop takes place in Murray Hill Galleries in Little Italy at 2026 Murray Hill Road, Cleveland OH. The studio we will be dancing in is located on the second floor in Room 208, up one flight of stairs. Parking available in the lot next to the building and on the street.

About your facilitator

emily liptow (she/they) is a dancer, performing artist, and movement facilitator born and raised on the watershed of Lake Erie and currently based between Durham NC and Cleveland OH. They recently completed an MFA in Dance/Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis at Duke where they dove deep into the felt sense of being held at the edge of the thresholds of change and grief. Working with a community of Threshold Singers, they developed practices and a performance rooted in care aesthetics, ritual, and intergenerational relationship.

emily has been dancing just about their whole life, starting with training in ballet. Following a feeling, they meandered their way into contact improvisation by way of jams and workshops in communities on the East Coast, in Oberlin Ohio, Costa Rica, Italy, British Columbia and Germany. For em, CI has become a container for study and play, nurturing intimacy with the body, gravity, and neurodivergent ways of being.

Alongside CI, their practice is shaped by training in vinyasa yoga, capoeira, Tai Chi, and physical theatre. Moving with other bodies is one of their most favorite things to do, though dancing with trees and rocks comes in as a very close second!

1:1 CI sessions / deepen your practice

I will be offering private single or double contact improvisation sessions in Cleveland on Sunday January 4th. This is a great option if you would like a focused 60 or 90 minute container to workshop specific CI technique. These sessions will be designed to support your practice and cultivate curiosity and confidence in your dancing.