The DC Sunday Contact Improv Jam
What, When, and Where
The Washington, DC Sunday jam is a gathering to practice Contact Improvisation (CI). It happens every Sunday at Dance Institute of Washington in Columbia Heights, from 2 to 5 pm. The jam has been happening almost every Sunday (barring special exceptions, like the pandemic) since around 1982, at various locations around DC.
Until prevailing recommendations change we are requiring that all attending are fully vaccinated, and ask that you bring a mask for traveling through the building to get to our studio.
Everyone with a genuine interest in CI is welcome, regardless of prior experience.
Jam attendance costs $10, to cover dance space fees and other operating costs. (Bring cash or use the PayPal box in the page header, above.) Our event insurance requires that all participants sign a liability waiver.
To make it easy for everyone to have whatever time they need to return to partnering, we maintain this structure – an improvisation-organizing "score". Please be familiar with it, so we can support each other's choices, and see Respecting Boundaries for general etiquette.
See What Happens at a Jam and Our Monthly Underscore for a glimpse of what we do, and Contact Improvisation for a bit about the practice.
No jam on Jan 16, 2022. Due to COVID surge and particularly the hospital system strain.
No jam on Jan 23, 2022. Our studio, Dance Institute of Washington, needs the entire building for an event.
We will decide about Jan 30, 2022 at least a week before the jam.
Otherwise, the jam continues at the regular time and place
As the pandemic continues we require all who attend to be fully vaccinated.
Our studio, DIW, requires completing a COVID screening survey each day that you enter the building, and also sign a COVID liability waiver one time, and wear a mask at all times while in the building. Please see COVID-19 and the Sunday Jam for instructions!
Pay for jam attendance in cash at the jam or online using the above page header PayPal box. (Accepts credit cards and PayPal.)
See Sunday Jam Past for a little more background.
See our Related Activities list for local CI-related activities
Location
The jam happens in Studio D of Dance Institute of Washington (DIW):
3400 14th Street NW, Washington DC 20010. Studio D is at the far end of the hall from the top of the stairs.
DIW is a four minute walk from the Columbia Heights Metro station.
Bikes:
There's plenty of spaces around the building to lock your bike.
There's a Capitol Bikeshare dock directly across 14th street from the studio entrance.
Cars:
Car parking can be found in the residential neighborhoods around the studio. Sometimes it takes a bit of hunting to find a space.
Alternatively there's public parking garages nearby, including a large parking garage under the BestBuy/Target/etc complex, and other parking almost directly across 14th street – here's a Google search to use.
See our Contact Us page for a map and repeat of the above information.
Time
On every Sunday we meet between 2 and 5 pm. See the jam status page for current status.
(We hope to resume the Underscore soon.) On the first Sunday of each month we share an Underscore at the regular time. If you're new to the Underscore, please be there at 2:00 pm to attend the talk-through. If you're familiar with the talk-through, please be there by 2:20 for the opening circle. See Our Monthly Underscore. Being on-time helps the session work well.
On non-Underscore Sundays being there at the start helps the jam work well, but it's up to you - people continue to arrive between 2:00 and 3:00 (and 4 and, well, 5).
Jam Logistics
Checking the Current Jam Status: the Status Note
We keep the Status Note on the home page up-to-date with the status of the upcoming jam. We post time or venue exceptions there, as soon as we know about them.
Keeping Tuned In: the DC-CI Mailing List
We use the dc-ci mailing list to share notifications about contact improv in the DC metropolitan area. Subscribe to receive emails about venue changes and special events. All members can post, but conversation is held to jam and local CI-related dance topics. See that page for details and posting guidelines, as well as self-service subscription instructions. Membership is by moderator approval, but nobody is turned away if they're genuinely interested in contact improvisation and are respectful of others.
Jam Etiquette
Contact Improvisation is based on mutual cooperation rather than control. Good dances as well as general jam wellness and safety depend on respecting each other's boundaries - please read.
To make it easy for everyone to have whatever time they need to return to partnering, we maintain this structure – an improvisation-organizing "score". Please be familiar with it, so we can all support each other's choices.
The regular Sunday jam is open to all and loosely organized. It is not a class, but you can become acquainted with the practice by dancing with us and asking questions. See What Happens at Our Jam for info.
The first Sunday of each month is special - a good opportunity to get acquainted with the jam. We conduct a more organized session, called the Underscore. For the Underscore sessions it's important that people previously unfamiliar with it attend an orientation talk, just after 2:00. In general, the score depends on everyone arriving and ready by 2:20 for the opening circle. For more details, see Our Monthly Underscore.
While the first Sunday Underscore is a good opportunity to get acquainted with the jam, anyone interested in practicing CI, or just seeking a glimpse of it in practice, is welcome to all sessions. You don't need previous experience to join us, just considerateness and curiosity to explore contact improvisation.