About the Teacher
David Lim
I have been studying, practicing, and teaching contact improvisation (CI) since 2005, having begun in Sydney, Australia.
Among the CI workshops and festivals that I have attended include the Water and Land CI Festival in Thailand (seven times, six of which I was a teacher), The Australian Contact Improvisation Convergence, Contact Festival Freiburg (four times, once as teacher, and twice as former teacher), CI36 in Pennsylvania, and Nancy Stark Smith’s January Workshop at Earthdance, Massachusetts. I love being immersed in events where I get to meet like-minded folks and where one is reminded that learning never truly stops.
Besides Nancy, the teachers that have made the most impact on me are Scott Wells, Ray Chung, Daniel Lepkoff, Martin Keogh, Tim O’Donnell, Leilani Weis, Neige Christenson, Joerg Hassman, Alejandro Rolandi, and Jonathan Sinatra. They have collectively broadened my physical repertoire and softened my dance.
My investigation into CI is also informed by my brief studies in other movement approaches, such as the Alexander Technique (Shelley Senter), Body-Mind Centering® (Lani Nahele, Gale Turner), and Axis Syllabus (Kira Kirsh, Daniel Bear Davis). Through them, I have found safer and more efficient ways of moving.
I briefly studied other improvisation modalities as well, such as the Forsythe Technique (Nathalie Thomas, Brock Labrenz), Action Theater (Ruth Zaporah), Tuning Scores (Karen Nelson), Ensemble Thinking (Lower Left), and Poetic Movement (Steve Batts). I have also taken partnering classes with Curt Haworth and Amanda Loulaki, with Jason Dietz-Marchant and Lindsey Dietz-Marchant, and with Laura Aris. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to study briefly with LAVA, an award-winning acrobatic dance troupe based in Brooklyn. All these skills, though adjacent to CI, have expanded my horizons in dancemaking.
In 2011, I founded the first contact improvisation festival in Southeast Asia, the annual international Contact Festival Kuala Lumpur, which still goes on till today. Nothing gives me greater joy than bringing locals from around the region together.
I love teaching CI. I have taught workshops in Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. I also love collaborating with other teachers and have co-taught multiple workshops each with Maria Grudskaya (Russia) and Sze Chan (Singapore). Some of my students have gone on to either teach CI themselves or organize their own CI events.
I also love performing and creating dance works, which have been shown in over 30 locations spanning seven countries thus far (Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Romania, Germany). Notable locations include The Substation (Singapore), Seoul Art Space Mullae (South Korea), and The National Visual Arts Gallery (Malaysia).
My CI and dance endeavors have received funding from organizations such as Arts Network Asia, The Japan Foundation (three times), the National Department for Culture and Arts (Malaysia), and the Cultural Association for Theater and Books (Romania). I have also received in-kind support from Rimbun Dahan (Malaysia) for almost a decade.
In 2021, I was on one of the discussion panels at Future of CI, an international online conference that was organized by Earthdance.
Outside of dance, my contributions to the stage have also been as an actor and a director, where my critically acclaimed shows have been featured in major newspapers in Malaysia. Besides teaching CI, I have taught acting, with my studies at the Atlantic Acting School in New York City being a key influence on how I approach the art form. My love for visual composition is also reflected in the field of photography, where my photos have been seen online and even used as profile pictures for more than a few dancers. I have also done web design for a few websites and dabbled in filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. I enjoy cooking and have catered for more than a few CI festivals. I also like reading and thinking about things, which had led to me taking up the mantle of editor-in-chief of Langkah, an online dance periodical, and completing a degree in Philosophy and Linguistics.
Background image © Patrick Beelaert
What Students Say
BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY
Hundreds have taken David’s workshops throughout the years, from all levels of experience, and from all walks of life. Come learn new skills, break barriers for personal growth, and have something to look forward to each and every week!
Background image © Dasha Lukina