Harbin Jam

About Harbin Jam

Harbin Jam grew out of the California Contact Improv Jam at Harbin Hot Springs. The letter below from Dharam Kaur Khalsa, tells the story of the first new jam:

January, 2005

Driving up the road to Harbin Hot Springs before the jam last May, I felt a very special excitement. Everything was as I remembered from the many times I had returned to this place: the meadow, the horses, the creek babbling beside the road, the smell of the trees and gently baking earth, the turnoff over the little bridge and up the hill to the beautiful conference center, the friends on the road and in the parking lot slowing my progress for greetings and hugs. Everything was as I remembered, but one thing was particularly new and unknown. This year, the jam was under new management and I was one of the new organizers.

I had butterflies in my stomach as I looked around the circle of gathered dancers on that first night. Some were very relaxed, already sprawling over each other and claiming space. Others were more watchful, delicately perching on the edges of their seat pillows. I saw parents, college students, long time Harbin veterans, the previous organizing team, dancers from out of state and other countries, tall, short, shaggy, lean, thick, leggy, dynamic, compact, all kinds of bodies holding the potential for myriad dances. It was our job as organizers to help those dances to unfold, to facilitate the unleashing of all the creativity lounging around me.

It didn’t take much to unleash, either. From the beginning, magic happened in the dance space. As the weekend progressed, everyone took risks, opening up to sensation, experience and the deeper knowledge of others that comes with living, sharing food, dancing, soaking, conversing, performing, laughing, playing and loving together. What worked best were the structures we inherited from past jams: the dream pool, performance night, Nancy Stark Smith’s underscore, morning group warm-ups, and lots of unstructured dance time. We listened the dancers to learn what could work better and are already discussing improvements for next year. We are working to refine that balance between structured inclusivity that draws people in and open space that allows for anything to happen.

My memory glows with the special moments of that jam: a moonlit dance score winding through a labyrinth, dancing down at the creek, a performance where shadowing harpies get their comeuppance, outdoor meals segueing naturally into music making, a hike to the medicine circle at the top of the ridge with views of green valleys undulating below, late night dancing to soft music with bodies softened by hot and cold plunges, the whirlpool in our private pool, the crazy laughter, and the fullness of my chest, rising and falling gently with my breath and the weight of another dancer.

Like the swallows to Capistrano, I will return again next spring on Memorial Day weekend. It will be a new jam, with new bodies, new chances, new ideas and new confidence. Yet it will remain as I remember, a special place with a magical alchemy of exploration, discovery, respect, regard, openness, beauty, truth and life. I am looking forward to this jam, as I do every year, for the wonder of it all. Please join me at Harbin Hot Springs on May 26-30, 2005 for the upcoming Harbin Jam and give yourself the opportunity to share in the wonder.

- Dharam Kaur Khalsa

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Harbin Jam Organizers

• Dharam Kaur Khalsa
• Gabrielle Fishman
• Katja Irvin
• Susan McKearnan
• Karin Moriarty
• Craig Schwartz

A letter from Dharam Kaur to Contact Quarterly.