Upcoming World Premier Weekend Length Workshop

Fri April 19:  6-9pm

Sat April 20:  1:30-6:30pm (with break)

Sun April 21:  1:30-6:30pm (with break)

Exact times may be adjusted

Contact Improvisation is a collaborative dance form, harnessing gravity, momentum, and weight.  It seeks an experience of shared movement that is spontaneous, responsive and joyful.  The idea of "Falling Into Form" suggests a choreography that emerges, rather than imposes.  We are physical 'forms,' collaborating with gravity, to reveal a dance 'form.'  

Informed by the Axis Syllabus, Aaron's teaching invites lightness, ease and sustainability. In this workshop we will explore the possibilities suggested by the anatomy of our structure - the curvature of our joints, the elasticity of our fascia, and the mobility of our spine, to find pathways that nurture and harness momentum. By honing our sense of curiosity, we cultivate a connection to our joints, to our fascia, to gravity, and to each other.

For Beginner to Experienced Dancers - this workshop is for you. There will be time for high dynamic, faster coordinations, as well as space for inner research, stillness and slow connection. 

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, of natural fibers, that will cover your limbs, and slide easily on the floor. A towel and a water bottle will helpful, while jewelry and strong scents are discouraged.

Study With Me

Contact Improv is a collaborative dance form, harnessing gravity, momentum, weight, and levity to create movement that is spontaneous, responsive and joyful.

  • Month long class series

  • Weekend workshops

  • One-on-one coaching

  • Functional fitness in a studio environment

  • Tailored curriculum for all levels

  • Hire me to visit your city and teach

© John Swift Photography

  • Biomechanics

  • Kinetic architecture

  • Joint centration

  • Lead and lag - elastic rebound

  • Jumping: propulsion and reception

  • Spinal mechanics

  • Safe transitions

  • Falling softly

  • Spirals

  • Inversions

  • Duet and trio forms

  • Connection to your own structure, to the earth, to another dancer

Contact Improv emerged 51 years ago at the colleges of Oberlin and Bennington.  It tends to elude definition.  It was initiated by a small group of dancers and martial artists who wanted to uncover a quality of movement using shared weight.  They were looking for impulses and
pathways that emerged from the senses, at the intersection of physics and anatomy. 

Experience choreography that emerges rather than imposes.

It is a dance form that looks for connection, awareness, and listening. We learn to fly with ease, and to fall with softness. We train ourselves to care for the safety of those around us.

I am at your service.

I am here to support your empowerment. I create a safe space. Free to explore. Safe to explore movement at your own pace and on your terms. I value a high level of professionalism, composure, appropriateness, etiquette.

I respect the vulnerability of the teacher/student relationship and I’m interested in supporting your success.  You are already fluent and masterful in your own body, working with your own body.  Waking up to our own innate fluency as a mover. 

  • “Aaron Birk has been a dedicated and disciplined student of mine since 2017. He is a careful, thoughtful, and intelligent presence and has made steady, rapid progress in the integration of the alignment principles outlined in the Axis Syllabus ©. He is a talented visual artist, an excellent CI partner, and a creative, sensitive, impassioned and empathic teacher.”

    – Frey Faust (Dance Teacher, Author of The Axis Syllabus)

  • "I met Aaron in 2017 and since then I have had the chance to get to know him better and better during the many Axis Syllabus workshops he has attended, but above all since 2020 I have been offering Aaron regular private mentoring sessions. I appreciate his dedication and enthusiasm for the study of the body in movement and its transmission. His continuous progress is remarkable. But above all, what I appreciate and respect in Aaron is his tireless passion and curiosity for life, for his work, for the creative act and his desire to share it."

    -- Francesca Pedullà (Dance Teacher)

  • "Aaron is a generous and welcoming teacher. He has a great commitment to details and safe techniques in contact dance. A professional artist and art teacher, he is committed to understanding each person's needs and finding ways to help them understand the material. His energy is incredible and makes you appreciate Contact Improv in its essence "

    -- Zornitsa Stoyanova (Dance Collaborator)

Ensemble Research

© Kathleen Hunter Photography

I am always looking for experienced and professional dancers with whom to train, and engage in research and performance. Reach out if you are interested in connecting with me.