On 16.11.2013 I held a weekend workshop of contact improvisation. In two days I spend 12 hours with a group of 10 people.

From a reflective point of view I've noticed the hidden layer of this workshop:  what is the 'right' balance between technique and intuition?

I find this question the "million dollars question" regarding transmission and practice of contact improvisation. It comes often as a subtext to every occasion of learning C.I . 

I have been dancing contact improvisation for a period of 7 years. I have been teaching it for 6 years. As a dancer, I can clearly see how I became proficient in this form through technical understanding of the mechanics and physics of the dance. It is clear for me that these understanding alone cannot bring my passion, joy and playfulness into my dancing. 

A big question regarding this topic: I am setting an exploration with a certain focus. Should I interfere my students in a middle of their exploration if I see something "wrong" or should I let them discover by doing mistakes, but going to uncomfortable places?

In my teaching I have put great emphasis on anatomical alignment. One very important aspects of it is the maintenance of neutrality in the lumber region of the spine, during transitions from standing to lying or when taking weight etc.  When I see a student that lifts someone with a flexed spine, it immediately provoke a need to come and correct the student. 

When I started to dance contact improvisation I didn't have a clue about alignment principles and I often had sore back after jamming. Passing through this experience brought me the urge to understand more how my body functions. So maybe it's obvious but I still ask myself how far should I insist and protect? What are the risks? To which extend do I hold the responsibility? 

Safety is just one aspect. The more I teach this mysterious form, the more I see that in order to embody principles one needs the space to tryout rather than being guided into it/repeating a certain movement pattern. Back to the example of the lumber, on that weekend workshop, one of the participants was a true beginner. It was his first workshop of contact improvisation and he didn't have any background in any movement discipline. 

In the first day I have been guiding the whole class with the principle mentioned above (lumber neutrality) and I have noticed that this student didn't apply it and kept his spine flexed when moving towards the floor, or when taking weight of his different partners. 

The next day I led a group improvisation score of walking and stopping that evolved into a free group improvisation. At a certain moment I've seen this guy in a table position, with a beautiful neutral lumber curve, not moving from his position and one by one, most of the group shared their weight with him through different entry points. He kept his stillness and his spine neutrality. It all happened without me pointing it. I don't know why it was so clear for him suddenly. Maybe the information from the first day sinked down or maybe this abstract moments in this impro session enabled him to find his clarity. 

I don't think there are answers to my questions. For sure not clear one but maybe I can discover some clues…