CLASSES

 

If you are brand new to Contact, we suggest attending our Fundamentals Workshop, held three times a year in September, January and April. Our next Fundamentals Workshop will take place in April 2025. Please email us if you would like to be notified when registration opens. Our Thursday evening classes — Foundations in Contact — are also a good place for beginners to start!

Before coming to class, please review the Important Info below, including what to wear/bring, FAQ’s, and accessibility info.

Building Entry: Buzz ‘02’ ONLY for entry. Please arrive 5 to 10 min before class to change and settle. Entry to the building is only granted 15 min before and 15 min after class starts.

For more information about our classes, please contact us at info@edamdance.org.


photo: EDAM by Luciana Photography, 2024

CLASS CARD

$75 for 5 Classes

Class Cards may be used for all drop-in classes at EDAM.

We also accept cash (in-person at the studio) and e-transfers. Please email us to arrange.


Class format: After arrival, participants begin with a self-directed warm up to settle, tune to the space and their individual needs. The teacher offers prompts to guide attention and practice with an emphasis on expanding awareness and skill development. Warm-up organically leads into open contact duets or more structured explorations. Class usually concludes with an ensemble score. Facilitated opportunities for conversation and questions occur halfway and/or at the end of class.

MONDAY TO FRIDAY
10AM - 12PM

  • Mondays: Peter Bingham

  • Tuesdays: Peter Bingham

  • Wednesdays: Olivia Shaffer

  • Thursdays: Peter Bingham

  • Fridays: Anne Cooper

Morning class is for professional dancers and experienced Contact Improvisation practitioners. Permission of the instructor is required. If you are new to this class and curious about joining us, please email us at info@edamdance.org.

Drop-ins and Class Cards welcome.

Drop-in: $20 - cash or e-transfer


photo: Olivia, Francesca, Anne, Hayley, Arash by Luciana Photography, 2024

THURSDAYS
6 - 7:30PM
with Francesca Frewer | Jan 30 - Mar 6
with Hayley Gawthrop | Mar 13 - Apr 24

This class is beginner-friendly and will focus on Contact basics. All levels of experience are welcome to join supporting our ongoing research of CI skills.


photo: Anne and Arash by Luciana Photography, 2024

SUNDAYS
12:30 - 2:30PM
with Anne Cooper

Open level. All welcome.


photo: Natalie and Kay by Sierra, 2024

SUNDAYS
with Natalie Tin Yin Gan (顏婷妍)
> Fri, Feb 21st, 6:30 - 8PM (Make-Up Class)
> Sun, Feb 23rd, 3:30 - 5:30PM
> Sun, Mar 2nd, 3:30 - 5:30PM *JAM

For BIPOC dancers and movers. This class is beginner-friendly and will focus on Contact basics. All levels of experience are welcome to join supporting our ongoing research of CI skills.


 

TEACHERS

Peter Bingham by Chris Randle

Peter Bingham is one of the pioneers of Contact Improvisation. The "touch and tumble" of Contact is a hallmark of much of Peter’s choreography, lending both athleticism and graceful elegance to his partnering and ensemble work. Bingham has created over 50 choreographed works and performed in hundreds of improvised performances in theatres, dance festivals and universities across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.

Anne Cooper by Jane Ellison

Anne Cooper has danced with EDAM since 1994, studying Contact Improvisation with Peter Bingham and performing in EDAM's work, both structured improvisations and choreography. She has researched and performed with Nancy Stark Smith through Nancy's 'Glimpse Performance Installations' in the U.S.A. Anne has taught/facillitated CI since 2001 in Vancouver and other locales through classes, Jams and workshops. She has created and performed her own work and has danced with many Canadian companies/choreographers. Anne has trained in contemporary dance and CI; her CI teachers include Peter Bingham, Nancy Stark Smith, Jaci Metivier, Andrew Harwood, Chris Aiken, Ray Chung and others and some study with Steve Paxton (Material For the Spine) and recently, Nora Hajos (Material For the Spine). Anne is grateful to live and work in Vancouver, BC, on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsliel-Waututh First Nations.

Francesca Frewer by Chris Randle

Francesca Frewer is a contemporary dance artist who has been studying Contact Improvisation for 12 years. Her teaching is heavily influenced by training and dancing with Peter Bingham and the EDAM company, and her classes also draw on principles of the Feldenkrais Method, a somatic movement practice she teaches and of which she is an ongoing student. With a particular interest in efficiency, precision, and refined awareness, Francesca offers technical skill-building towards the end goal of finding ever more options within the moment to moment choice-making that is improvisation.


Francesca creates and performs in her own work, frequently in collaboration with Erika Mitsuhashi. She has also worked with Company 605, Emmalena Fredriksson, Company Saint Genet, Future Leisure, and Evann Siebens, among others. She is a co-producer and organizer of the interdisciplinary art series Here For Now, and the DIY performance space Boombox.

Hayley Gawthrop by Chris Randle

Born and reared in Semiahmoo territory (South Surrey) Hayley Gawthrop is an independent, artist residing in the unceded ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (so-called Vancouver). Hayley leapt into the world of dance from a young age. After following through with extensive training in Ballet, Jazz and Contemporary dance, their love of movement, virtuosity and rigour found conflict with the hegemonic rigidity of these “classical” dance forms.

Hayley’s dance practice has mutated and adapted to celebrate the things they love about dance/(the world) and to challenge the things they question or want to change. 
Hayley is privileged to have worked and danced for many people they admire, including: Emmalena Fredriksson, Arash Khakpour (Biting School), Antonio Somera Jr, Fight With a Stick, Dumb Instrument Dance, Omer Keinan, Kelly McInnes, The Response, MACHiNENOiSEY Dance Society, and has worked as a dramaturg/outside eye for Emmalena Fredriksson, Kelly McInnes and Marissa Wong.

Hayley has been studying Contact Improv under the tutelage of Peter Bingham since 2015 and has been dancing professionally with EDAM since 2021. Contact Improv has provided Hayley with a score to follow their questions about dance/(the world) down as many rabbit holes as necessary. Some of their most pressing questions are: how to take care, how to listen when to disrupt, how to hold, how to float, and how to fly. Hayley is passionate about gentleness, bodily autonomy and deep listening. Their class balances practical skill-building with time to explore one’s own questions and desires. They hope their classes will help you feel thoughtful, brave and confident in the unknown.

Arash Khakpour by Sheng Ho

Arash Khakpour (آرش خاکپور) is a dancer and choreographer from Tehran and is privileged to be a dance artist based in the Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver). Arash has been practicing dance and performance for the past 15 years and has been a company member of the EDAM Contact Improvisation ensemble since 2017. He tends to invest in the nuances of prejudices in the body as a way of inviting the unconscious to the conscious, and as a doorway to confront unknown emotions. He sees dance as a process of physical, emotional and spiritual discovery and a mode of transformation. He works with dance as a language that researches the human condition through mythical, historical, social, political and existential interpretations. As a first-generation immigrant, he continuously considers what healing he can bring to the land and communities he works with. He is building a culture of relationality and reciprocity that celebrates the multiplicity of presences and approaches. Arash is the co-founder and artistic director of the dance-theatre-film company The Biting School (alongside his brother Aryo Khakpour).

Olivia Shaffer by Yvonne Chew

Olivia Shaffer is EDAM's Associate Artistic Director, company dancer, and resident teacher of Contact Improvisation (CI). Following a BFA in contemporary dance from SFU, she dove into extensive training in CI, dance improvisation, performance practices, and somatic movement frameworks. Her pedagogy is upheld through long standing mentorships with local improvisation experts, Peter Bingham and Helen Walkley, while also influenced by many global CI leaders with whom she has pursued training: Alicia Grayson, Andrew Harwood, Chris Aiken, Angelika Doniy, Karen Nelson, among others. Olivia is an Adjunct Professor teaching movement for UBC's Theatre Department. She has taught and performed in Europe, the US, and Asia, and is a certified teacher of the Feldenkrais Method®. // oliviashaffer.ca

Natalie Tin YIn Gan by Dayna Szyndrowski

Natalie Tin Yin Gan (顏婷妍) is an independent dance artist, writer, and teacher based in so-called Vancouver, on the unceded ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Her practice squats (120 lb) at the intersection of spirit, somatics, and technology-induced melancholy. Natalie is the Co-Artistic Director of company Hong Kong Exile that explores the historical and contemporary politic of the Chinese diaspora. She is also the smaller half of vulva clown duo, Pulsive Party. She is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio and a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®. Natalie is a late sleeper, a late riser, a late bloomer, a latecomer, and a late-night snacker. nataliegan.com


 

IMPORTANT INFO

Membership

  • To participate in classes at EDAM, you must be a member.

  • If you are new to EDAM, please purchase a membership when you register for class.

  • EDAM Membership is a lifetime membership (one-time $5 membership fee).

Waivers

Refund & Cancellation Policy

  • Class Cards are non-refundable and non-transferable. Class Card cannot be shared. Class Cards expire July 2025.

  • Drop-in purchases are non-refundable.

  • For drop-in purchases, we offer class date exchanges when contacted in advance. Please email us at info@edamdance.org and allow at least 24 hours to request a class date exchange.

  • EDAM reserves the right to cancel classes for any reason. Refunds will be issued and the registered participants will be contacted.

  • EDAM reserves the right to change the teacher if the scheduled teacher can no longer attend.

What to Bring/Wear

  • Wear comfortable clothes that you can move and slide in (we recommend long sleeves and full-length pants, as they are helpful for sliding on the floor), wear minimal jewellery, and bring knee-pads (optional/personal preference).

  • We sell knee-pads for CI practice ($35) at the studio. Ask your teacher or email us at: info@edamdance.org.

  • Bring a bottle of water.

  • EDAM is a scent-reduced space, please help us keep our studio odour-free.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a difference between a class and a workshop? A class is a short focused session. A workshop is a longer session (with small breaks at the teacher’s discretion). Both are facilitated around the teacher’s interests and knowledge.

  • What is a Contact Jam? Jams are leaderless practice environments in which dancers practice CI with whoever gathers — friends, strangers, experienced dancers, newcomers. In our Open Jams, an EDAM teacher will hold the space, however, there is no instruction.

  • I have never done Contact Improvisation. Can I join any class or workshop? If you have never done Contact Improvisation, please sign up to a Thursday evening class our our Fundamentals Workshop, to acquire some skills and tools. Depending on your experience and previous training, you may request to join our advanced Morning Classes. Our teachers can support you in this journey.

Accessibility Info

  • Read our accessibility info here.


EDAM respectfully acknowledges that our activities and events take place on the ancestral and unceded Indigenous territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.