— Words, histories, and dancers roll around a studio, but this is not a jam.

A 'Jam,' as it is fondly known in the Contact Improvisation community, can be a social gathering. A Jam can be a research lab. A Jam can be a training ground. A Jam can be a rich space of learning, or a place to decompress.

In the Upstairs Studio at Dancehouse, the Contact Improvisation Melbourne Jam gathers every Monday night. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Melbourne Jam. Many of the dancers at the Jam have been dancing together since before Aimee and Ned were even born.

This show is Not a Jam. It is a performance that questions the performability of Contact Improvisation.

As the dance form's name suggests, the dancers must stay true to both the elements of remaining in Contact and Improvisation. They may discover new things about each other throughout the show. They might giggle or fall clunkily. They will surely breathe a little deeper, and negotiate each other’s weight. Audiences might feel their body a little more grounded.

Through other bodies they have danced with, the performers trace their lineage back to the founders of Contact Improvisation, Steve Paxton and Nancy Stark-Smith.

This show explores the lineages and histories of Contact Improvisation in a playful, experimental, and spontaneous manner. Audiences witness an unfolding as the two dancers learn more about each other, trace the constellations of their dance histories, and interrogate the performability of an improvised practice, live, each performance.

Choreographer & Performer Aimee Raitman

Performer Ned Nicholson

Sound Design Callum Cheah

This work has been supported by The Space Dance and Arts Centre, and Hobsons Bay City Council. First development created in collaboration with Martin Hughes, presented at Out of Bounds 2026 supported by Dancehouse and Lucy Guerin Inc.

Contact the host of Not a Jam — Aimee Raitman