Rahul Madanahalli
Class Description: Water Jam (in a warm water pool offsite)
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I’ll be facilitating a gentle introduction into the world of aquatic movement where we can explore contact improvisation principles in a warm water pool. This will be a beginner-friendly space, so no prior experience is needed. When we practice contact improvisation on land, we dance with various partners: the floor, gravity, other people, etc. In this experience, we’ll introduce a new partner: the water. We’ll be exploring how to dance with the water & let it move us - to be like kelp - to relax into different structures & shapes so that we can be moved by the light tug of gravity, the gentle support of buoyancy, & the structures of other bodies. We’ll start by exploring various individual & group exercises and end with a jam. I’ll be facilitating the jam & providing jam guidelines to support safety & autonomy in the water. This event will take place at a private warm water pool (~4ft deep & heated to 95°F) in Oakland, and the address will be shared with those who sign up. There are only 12 spots due to the size of the pool and will require preregistration
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Rahul Madanahalli (he/they) is a movement artist in the East Bay (Huichin Ohlone land). His contact improvisation practice is rooted in a love for deep listening, playfulness, and not-knowing. He’s grateful to have learned from many great teachers, including Mihyun Lee, Scott Wells, Chris Aiken, & KJ Holmes. Beyond the CI classes & workshops, Rahul's movement practice is influenced by a spiritual support group, hypnotic techno, & aquatic bodywork / dance. He has also performed in various dance improvisation pieces by Kyle Filley and Nkechi Njaka at venues such as the De Young Museum, Sawtooth Building, and Safehouse Arts. Within the local CI community, Rahul volunteers as a jam host, teaches contact improv classes, & facilitates a monthly warm water contact improvisation dance lab.