Underscore

Bring your curiosity, presence, and deep listening. Grounded in the practice of contact improvisation, the Underscore is a constantly shifting movement journey that welcomes all bodies of all experience levels into the dance. We'll start with outlining the structure - a general map - for the evening. Within that frame, we'll explore our own movements, dynamics, and relationships—with ourselves, each other, the group, and the environment. Over the course of the night, we'll move through a spectrum of energetic states together, from internal exploration to dynamic interactive dancing.

At Youtopia DreamSpace, we hold this practice with deep reverence for the body's innate intelligence and capacity for movement. Developed by renowned movement artist Nancy Stark Smith and practiced globally since 1990, the Underscore creates a container where you can explore solitude and connection, stillness and expression, groundedness and flight—all within the same practice. This isn't just dance; it's a practice of coming home to yourself through movement, in a space that honors the full spectrum of human expression and experience.

This underscore is open to seasoned contact improvisation practitioners, as well as those with no experience in the form. We're excited to see what might be co-created in this alchemy.

About Frances Idlebrook:

Frances (any pronoun) has spent over 20 years researching the body and spirit through movement and Contact Improvisation with a never-ending fascination of embodied connection and the human experience. She is consistently delighted and awed by the underscore and the co-creation it allows. Frances loves to create safe spaces for profound healing and discovery through presence, embodiment, and connection with the unknown. Frances is a Certified Somatic Life Coach, a Certified Watsu provider, a Certified Reiki Master Teacher, holds a B.A. in Women’s Wellness from UMass Amherst, and spends a great deal of time dancing with trees and owls in the woods of maine.

The Flow of the evening:

6:30 pm - Arrival

6:45 pm - Doors Close - Intro begins

7:50 pm - If you've been to many Underscores, you're welcome to join for the intro, or arrive at 7:50 for the start of the Underscore at 8 pm.

9:30 pm Communal Harvest

10 pm Conclusion

Dress: Please wear comfortable clothes to move in.

Directions to find YDS:

To find Youtopia DreamSpace, you are going to enter through the street level front gate of 128 Jefferson Ave, go down the stairs and you will see a candle lit, we are behind that door.

Please reach out with any questions!