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Improvisational Imprints

Vaughn Barclay

Published: 2010-10-22

This article explores the definition of improvisation, the language of improvisation, as well as how and when improvisatory practices emerge. By using biographical accounts of experiences in contact improvisation, voice work, and women's theater processes (in Vancouver in the 1980's), and by tracing connections to current cultural sites in Guelph and within the aims of the ICASP initiative, this highly reflective piece draws on personal experience in its exploration of improvisational practices.

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Improvisation implies a deep connection between the personal and the communal, self and world. A “good” improviser successfully navigates musical and institutional boundaries and the desire for self-expression, pleasing not only herself but the listener as well.

– Rob Wallace