We are dedicating the first ECITE in Austria to the art of teaching and the art of practicing Contact Improvisation.

In exchange with active contact teachers there will be time and space to focus on the methods of teaching and exploring the form. You bring your actual questions and concerns, share your discoveries and widen your repertoire. It is your very special time each year to exchange with your peers otherwise spread all over the globe.

Teaching Contact Improvisation is related to a diversified tradition of teaching art in Europe. There seems to be a general cultural distinction in Europe between the teaching of art and the making of art. We observe the tendency that teaching art is not considered an artistic process.

We want to emphasize the creative power of teaching.
We want to center teaching around an artistic practice rather than around pedagogical tools.
And we would like to cast a light on our social, cultural, economical and political environment of our teaching practice in order to develop and strenghten our ability to communicate with „the world“.

Some of our questions are
Why do you teach this form of dance nowadays?
Why does the world need Contact Improvisation nowadays?
How does your teaching relate to „the world“ - how do artistic, philosphical, political, economical and social issues interrelate with your teaching?
How do cultural identities shape the teaching? How can we identify these differences to enrich each other in this significant European meeting?
How to create an artistically encouraging environment for students to research their own artistic/creative interests?
What kind of learning do different teaching and transmission styles support?
What are the hidden scores of your teaching?
What are your challenges and your highlights in teaching?

As organizers of ECITE 2006 we hope to offer a fertile ground for investigating some of these questions and for deepening our understanding concerning all layers of teaching Contact Improvisation in our world today. We wish that dancing in the jams be delightful and that all of us are willing to confront the challenges of our calling and our profession speaking them out honestly in our community moving towards satisfying solutions.

Ingrid Hörlezeder and Sylvia Scheidl

ECITE 2006 Contact :
Sylvia Scheidl, tel +43 1 914 58 45 ort el +43 699 110 41 587, tanz.sylvia@aon.at
Ingrid Hörlezeder, tel +43 1 406 92 12, ingrid.hoerlezeder@web.de
Webmaster (for technical questions) : Tinu Hettich, webmaster@ecite.org

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