I had early experience with the  Underscore  a few times while  Nancy Stark Smith  was developing it, before she found a name for it. Since those early days it has gotten a name and continued to grow, and it has become a practice for many, many groups around the world. I have been leading Underscores for the DC Sunday jam almost every month since the December 2013. I love how the Underscore works, love the sharing situation that it tends to foster. In recent days of the Coronavirus quarantine, a group exploring sharing of movement online has started to explore adapting the Underscore for online sharing. I've had the opportunity to try what others are doing, and an opportunity to adapt it for an online session myself. I wonder, can we arrive online at the often open and receptive shared presence if can foster? I'm not sure, but believe that something is possible. Whatever we discover, I know it will be different from an in-person Underscore. Online meetings are diffe...

Barbara Dilley developed a shared dance/meditation practice called Contemplative Dance Practice – CDP, a "dancer's meditation hall". I've been exploring adaptation of this score for online sharing. The aim is to share meditation and movement across the gap of social distancing. (See below the score description for online meeting logistics and further info about the practices.) (The framing of this score is a work in progress, continuing to change. Revision information is at the bottom.) Score Description The score is divided into sections. At the beginning of each timed section the facilitator says which section it is and arranges for a bell to sound at the beginning and the end of that section. Opening Circle : Time for brief introductions / check-ins and to review the outline of the score (essentially, the bold headers below). Meditation: 15 minutes for stillness . In the original score the participants share sitting meditation. We invite whatever meditat...

A buddy and I have been thrilled with artists - in our current discussions, musicians - who specifically bring juice to their art, as well as virtuosity, rather than losing it in the quest for virtuosity. (Brian Eno is one example of this who stands out the most for me, in the realm of music. As essentially a synthesist, and one who came to music without any rigorous training at all, he managed to develop and propagate new sensibilities, and his virtuosity seems to be the art of composition, itself. Some other examples in the progressive rock vein are David Byrne, King Crimson, even Paul Simon...) In a Guitar World interview with the guitarist from one of my favorite groups, Adam Jones of the progressive metal band Tool, he touched on this issue in what seems to me to be an exquisitely distilled rendering: "For a guitar player - regardless of what your level is - it’s about doing what you can do and trying to do it well instead of worrying about how someone else does it. I ...

The framing of any  Contact Improv  jam influences what happens at the jam. At the DC Sunday jam we share a monthly Underscore because it can help newcomers find their way into the practice while also providing experienced jammers with opportunities for rich exploration. I've been involved in another kind of jam, one which is specifically framed with less guidance. That self-selects for people who know they like the practice. Such a group can together arrive in situations that might not otherwise be available in a group with more tentative participants. I don't think this second kind of jam needs to be exclusive to work well, however. Instead, I feel that by clearly articulating some elusive criteria, people deciding whether or not to participate can know what is expected and whether or not that fits for them. Here is my first draft of an attempt at such a framing. Suggestions are welcome! Jam for people who know they like CI This is a jam for people who can handle ...

In Google Calendar's (current) default configuration there's an opening for unlimited spamming, with an opportunity for dangerous phishing links. There's a Google Calendar setting that closes that opening, but in a way that also closes some information flow in legitimate collaboration with known colleagues. The details are a good example of the intricacy and difficulty in adequate requirements analysis. The problem is in what happens when someone creates a calendar event that include you as a guest. The person including you can elect to send out notifications to the event guests via email. Your calendar has a setting which regulates when a calendar entry is automatically created for events of which you are a guest: "Automatically add invitations" (in General > Event settings) Here are the options: Yes Yes, but don't send event notifications unless I have responded "Yes" or "Maybe" No, only show invitations to which I have ...