Historical Events That Impacted Contact ImprovisationDance has evolved significantly over the centuries. It started with ballet and led to contact improvisation. This dance form began in the early 1970s and was pioneered by a man named Steve Paxton and a group of postmodern dancers from New York. Contact improvisation is a form of partnered dance known as the art of moving spontaneously with a group or another person. This dance form does not require the exact set of traditional skills of another dance form, it does not have technique that could be studied, and it is practiced in order to achieve the highest potential. Contact improvisation came at a great time, which was of course the 70s. The main historical events taking place then were the Watergate scandal, the end of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. The Watergate scandal was a very important and defining event in our nation's history. The Watergate scandal occurred during a presidential campaign when Washington, D.C. police arrested five men caught trying to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at a Watergate housing complex. Eventually the scandal got back to Nixon and they realized he was behind it. Next, the House Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment, which constituted an abuse of Nixon's power, an obstruction of justice, and a defiance of the Judiciary Committee's subpoenas. Before Nixon was impeached, he resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974. After that, people had less confidence in the nation and Americans became distrustful of government. I think this scandal had little effect on contact improvisation. They may have started this because they were showing their anger or until middle of paper...best way for people to express their emotions. First of all, improvisation involves dancing what you are feeling or thinking at that moment in order to express your emotions, and therefore contact improvisation would be more effective in expressing your feelings about war. In conclusion, contact improvisation was a very great development, especially for its time period. It is a form of partnership known as the art of moving spontaneously with another person. Steve Paxton began contact improvisation in the early 1970s. Events that took place in the United States in the 1970s had a great impact on contact improvisation. The main historical events of the 1970s were the Watergate scandal, the end of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Contact improvisation has been a source of many new understandings of dance and has affected many contemporary choreographies..