Nancy Stark Smith

[2] Initially she trained as an athlete and gymnast[3] and had little interest in dance, “I’d see the dancers standing in front of a wall of mirrors looking at themselves and making little movements.

I didn’t understand what was exciting about that.”[4] Stark Smith’s interest in dance was sparked in her first year at Oberlin College, where she participated in a residence with the Twyla Tharp company.

[2] In 1972, she participated in a performance project led by Paxton in which they practiced various improvisation techniques, including rolling and falling, throwing and catching one another, identifying flows of energy in the body, and generally exploring contact in duets.

[2] Paxton later praised Stark Smith's dance abilities: “She was athletic, she was responsive, she would take initiative… she was very daring.”[2] After graduating from Oberlin College with a degree in dance and writing, Stark Smith participated in a Reunion Tour with Paxton and other dancers, and showed work at a venue known as the “Kitchen”[2] in downtown Manhattan, which helped to grow the popularity of contact improvisation.

About learning improvisation, she stated, “Once you get a clear feel for the basic premise, develop a few safety skills, and get your reflexes primed and ready, then you're off.

[10] Originally created by Stark Smith as spontaneous drawings, the shapes and lines of such 'hieroglyphs'[11] are intended to communicate the internal sensations of a moving body and elicit free interpretation by dancers.