July 10, 2022 – Oberlin College, Ohio (USA) – CI50 Critical Mass

Kėkė Søl joined Keith Hennessy and Ishmael Houston-Jones in creating sound for an improvised and unrehearsed performance exploring practices at the confluence of, and in the gaps between, CI, post/ Contact, Black contact, queer contact, non-human contact, erotic contact, and other experiments of improvised dancing in relationship. The strategy is to celebrate the practices that have emerged alongside CI, in conversation with CI, and in resistance to CI. The goal is to generate a truly unpredictable and collaborative embodiment that might open both performers and witnesses to fresh experiences of connection, solidarity, and love. Prophetic and futuristic, we will dare to dance together. Since the 1980s, Ishmael and Keith have accumulated extensive knowledge leading or collaborating in improvised group performances, both one-time-only and following lengthy rehearsal. In addition to duo performances, most recently in Dresden 2019, Amsterdam 2020, and Berlin (2021), Ishmael and Keith were in “big” projects of ensemble improvisation: Unsafe, Unsuited (with Patrick Scully 1995-2000), Turbulence (2012-2013), and TRY (2021).