May 24-26, 2024
"A Weekend of Contact Improvisation and Community"
Venue: Masonic Hall, 1950 Mass Ave, Cambridge
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT ENDS - midnight April 30
Skip some details and get right to registration
Brando sez:
"Join locals and out-of-towners, new dancers and old friends as we come together in dance and celebration at Contact Improv Boston's 31st Annual May Jam."
"I’m really looking forward to enjoying the May Jam with y’all!"
Brando has been coming to May Jam for over 20 years and is honored and delighted to be hosting.
Returning Home To The Body
This is special time to listen deeply to our spirit of curiosity; and explore CI from a place of moment-to-moment discovery.
As an honor to the creator of the form, Steve Paxton, we will lay the foundation for our dancing through practices in deep listening and patience. From this base, we can create a collective energy; allowing for solos, duets, trios, quartets, and group composition.
SCHEDULE:
Friday - Welcome jam
Doors open ..................................7:15pm
Registration, open dancing .....7:15-10pm
Out of the space .........................10:30pm
Saturday - All day jamming
Doors open ...................................9:30am
Registration and arrivals......9:30-10:00am
Circle and group warmup.............10:00am
All day jamming ...........................11:00am-5:30pm
Lunch (approx.) ............................1:00-2:30pm
Out of the space ...........................6:00pm
Saturday Pot luck party ........6:30-10:30pm
Bring something to share (including grillables)
For full-jam participants (Location: TBA)
Sunday - All Day Jamming
Doors open ....................................10:00am
Arrivals and warmups ..........10:00-10:30am
All day................................10:30am-4:30pm
Lunch .......................................1:00-2:00pm
Closing .....................................4:30-5:00pm
Clean-up, out of the space........5:00-6:00pm
Important Food Note:
Contact Improv Boston providing delicious lunches at May Jam.
Please eat breakfast before you arrive at the venue.
Welcome Gary Shea, our new lunch coordinator!
COSTS AND REGISTRATION:
Register Early to save. Early-bird registration is best.
Early-bird Discount Pricing: (Available until midnight April 30th)
$155 - Regular rate - This should be most of us. Employed, retired, self-employed.
$125 - Reduced rate - For hard economic situations (Also see Financial Aid, below)
$175 - Well-employed rate - Please pay this if you can.
$205 - Supporting the arts rate.
On-line Pricing: (Available from May 1-22nd, at midnight)
$165 - Regular rate - This should be most of us. Employed, retired, self-employed.
$135 - Reduced rate - For hard economic situations (Also see Financial Aid, below)
$185 - Well-employed rate - Please pay this if you can.
$215 - Supporting the arts rate.
Partial jam participation for May Jam is available...
Walk-in and pay at the door for any part: Friday night, full days, even half days
We only accept pre-registration for the full 3-day event.
Partial Jam walk-in prices:
Friday night - $20 (sliding scale $10-30)
Saturday or Sunday Full Day- $90 (sliding scale, $70-110)
Morning or afternoon jamming (no lunch) - $50 (Sliding scale, $40-65)
♦♦ Link to Registration ♦♦
(But don't miss more important info, below)
Pay-it-Forward Financial Aid Fund:
To Apply: If the lowest level of our sliding scale is too expensive for you, we offer a limited number of applicants $45 off their fee on a first-come-first-served basis. Apply on the registration form.
To Contribute: CIB will match your support and enable more dancers to attend. If you have even a little extra, please contribute to the Pay-it Forward, Financial Aid Fund as you register. Contribute when you register online.
Work Exchange:
We all pitch in to help these events run smoothly, but we need some dedicated helpers who we know we can count on. Fill in the Work Exchange section on the registration form, if interested. You will be contacted by the WEX coordinator. wex@contactimprovboston.com
OUT-OF-TOWNERS:
You are welcome - come one, come all! We can help you with housing here in the homes of local dancers. Please register early and indicate you need housing; we'll work it out for you. Covid testing may be required by some of our host household. This will be worked out by the housing coordinator.
Questions about housing? Email: housing@ContactImprovBoston.com
COVID/HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS:
Contact Improv Boston does not require participants to wear masks at the event venue. Please respect each dancer's choice about this.
Do not attend May Jam if... you are feeling sick or displaying any potential Covid symptoms, or if you test positive for Covid in the 24-hrs before the event (even without symptoms).
Do not attend May Jam if... you have been in extended close contact with somebody with confirmed Covid in the 48-hrs before the event.
Your registration will be refunded. You must notify the registrar in order to receive a refund. See full cancellation policy, below.
Important: Please be mindful of your activities particularly in the week before the workshop and do a rapid test in the 24 hours before the workshop, if possible.
LOCATION:
Cambridge Masonic Hall, 1950 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, MA (Porter Square)
Public transport: Right across the street from the Porter Sq stop on the MBTA Red Line.
By car: Park on far side of the lot behind 2067 Mass Ave (across the street, north 3 blocks)
From north on Mass Av, turn left on Russel Street and enter the parking lot from there.
Map link: T stop and where to park: http://maps.google.com
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE BIO:
Aaron Brandes (aka Brando) MSW, M.ED is a founding member of the improvisational dance ensemble: Set GO and teaches and performs internationally. His dance videos have collected over a half million views and can be viewed via his website, BodyandBeing.net. Brando also hosts Rolling Point, a podcast interviewing experts in the field of CI. Since 2007, Brando has been hosting VIDAM a bi-monthly event in Northampton which explores the relationship between improvised music and dance. In 2009, Brando established CI Ground Research, an annual conference for the pedagogical and embodied research of Contact Improvisation. Brando is a licensed psychotherapist, is nationally certified in Structural Integration (SI) and is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
• If CIB finds it necessary to cancel the event for any reason, we will refund the entire registration fee of registered participants.
• If a registered participant withdraws from an event for any reason by midnight, Friday, one week before the event, we will refund their registration fee, minus a $10 processing fee.
• If a registered participant withdraws closer to the event for health (or Covid exposure) reasons and notifies the registrar, a full refund will be issued.
• If a registered participant withdraws closer to the event date than Friday, one week before the event, for non-health related reasons or does not notify us, no refund will be issued. Also applies to no-show.
• We will consider hardship situations for refunds before and during the event. Please notify the registrar.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Email the registrar: registrations@ContactImprovBoston.com