the carillon | February 13 - 26, 2014
a&c
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Contact dance jam Wait, what is contact dancing? destiny kaus a&c writer
Contact Dance. What? Yep. That was my first reaction too. As it turns out, contact dance is all about spontaneous movement and connecting with other people’s energy. Sweet… but I still don’t get it. Sarah Abbott, a film professor at the University of Regina and contact dance lover, says, “Contact [dance] is improvised movement in contact with one or more people…you can also just do contact with the floor or with the wall.” Okay, so basically this improvised dance involves rhythmic, flowing bodily contact with other people or inanimate objects such as floors or walls. Why somebody would enjoy dancing with a wall is beyond me. But, it gets better. Apparently in contact dance you don’t even need to touch anybody. According to Abbott, “You can do exercises with people where you’re not in contact and you’re dancing and you’re filling the negative space around someone.” Interesting. Abbott first became involved with contact dance back when she lived in Toronto. “I got involved in Toronto in, dear God, 1995…ages ago. I was at a workshop and I saw
Chaser We couldn’t find a pic of contact dancing, so here’s one better.
some people moving in a way that I hadn’t experienced before so I just followed up and found out about a weekly jam.” No, this kind of jam does not involve getting a group of people together to eat jam or jam out to head-banging music. A contact dance jam is when people get together just for the sake of doing some sick contact dance. Sadly, not enough people in the Regina area are interested in or aware of contact dance. This, plus Abbott’s busy teaching schedule, has made her
hang up her dancing shoes for now. But she still loves the way contact dance works. “An elbow has the same weight as a vagina or crotch or someone’s armpit or someone’s breast or chest,” says Abbott. “Having that neutrality of the body was really nice.” Goodness gracious, did I just hear the word “vagina?” I sure did. Not going to lie, I do kind of understand how these body parts can appear to have the same weight since dance can be somewhat magical. Hon-
estly, this kind of freaks me out. Abbott’s next experience peaks my curiosity as well. “I was carrying a friend on my hip who was probably 170 [pounds] and then another guy suddenly just scooted up my body and was literally straddling my shoulder,” says Abbott. “And, it wasn’t an effort at all.” This freaks me out even more, but in a good way. Like, seriously, how cool is this? Heck, I wish I could lift a man and carry him on one shoulder! But in all seriousness, I believe Abbott when she states
that contact dance is “therapeutic.” Just like yoga or other forms of dance impact individuals on a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual level, contact dance does the same. Though it may seem so, contact dance really is not as creepy as it may sound. It’s not even a sexual experience, which is cool because if it was, I’m sure it’d turn a lot of people off from it…or onto it. Abbott says, “I really liked being able to be in intimate personal contact with people that wasn’t sexual, where communication was not verbal. You couldn’t always see the person [so] you really had to rely on your intuition and the energy feel.” What happens when a creepy somebody goes to a contact dance jam just for sexual pleasure? Abbott has this to say about the issue: “That person needs to learn or needs to leave.” Boom! In other words, that person needs to take the time to learn the art of contact dance or peace the heck out. Thankfully, there are workshops available to learn this art, but they’re all in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal. Abbott would love to get a contact dance group going here in Regina. So, what do you say folks? Contact dance jam?
Octowhat?
Dadliest Catch makes for good distraction koby schwab contributor
If you feel that you need to take a break from all of the serious, over-serialized action-adventure-shooter games that have been piling up in front of your television like the assignments in your “To do” bin, or you’re just feeling the midterm blues, enjoy a wonderfully silly game and jeopardize you final grade by playing Octodad: Dadliest Catch! If the title hasn’t given it away already, I will warn you ahead of time that there will be puns. Also, a well-dressed cephalopod. In Dadliest Catch, you play the titular Octodad: loving father, caring husband, secret octopus, as he attempts to do all of the things suburban fathers normally do. The problem is, these mundane tasks are made more difficult by the obvious fact that he is an octopus and nobody else can know. The story has multiple areas and scenarios for Octodad to awkwardly conquer, such as preparing for his wedding, doing odd jobs around the house, and even taking the family on a trip to the aquarium. Gameplay consists of individually controlling each of Octodad’s appendages (Sur-
Emily Wright We prefer the term, “inter-species erotica.”
geon Simulator style), quickly alternating control of his legs to make him walk, and grabbing objects and manipulating his arm to complete objectives. The controls are incredibly imprecise, even after getting used to them, which leads to crazy interactions and hilarious mishaps. As you move through environments, you must avoid the gaze of keen observers and keep from committing embarrassing actions, as failing to do
so will raise the suspicion meter, alerting others to your invertebrate nature and causing a game over. While the game is very for-
giving, there are times when the solution to a problem isn’t always clear or easy to execute, so if you think getting Octodad to walk is hard, try getting him
the Carillon: “no, Luke; I am your octo-father” since 1962
to walk with a bin on his head. The humour in Dadliest Catch is consistently spot on, with the silliness of the gameplay being supplemented by clever writing and sharp situational irony. All of the characters have individual personalities and properly translate a satirical view of suburban life, with some of the funniest writing in the game coming from conversations between Octodad and his family. They’ll say something mundane or come close to suggesting that their father isn’t quite what they think he is, and he’ll respond with an expressive series of blubs, as told by the subtitles. It’s pure absurdity where normality bends to accommodate an octopus. Genius. Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a proper mixture of originality, inoffensive humour, and genuinely entertaining gameplay. Though there are well-hidden ties for Octodad to collect and wear in each of the levels for a bit of replay value, the game is a bit short. But for $15, there are very few games that can match the fun you will have with Octodad. Check it out now on Steam, and look for it in March on the Playstation 4!