exercise · all tools
Janus Dance
Also known as: Back to Back
Depth · what it can open●●○○2 — reflective
Holding · facilitation1 — host
Trust · group readiness★★some
Disclosure · what is sharednone
Two players dance slowly with each head resting on the other's shoulder, so neither can see the other's face, and play a two- or three-minute scene while dancing. The source recommends it for listening and for getting past physical awkwardness between players who don't know each other.
Hold with care
- Head-on-shoulder contact for several minutes with one partner — closer and longer than most exercises in this batch, and the source's stated purpose includes getting past awkwardness rather than respecting it
- The back-to-back seated variation gives the same listening practice with much less contact, and is worth offering as the default rather than the fallback
Practical
- Time
- — min
- Group
- ?–∞ · pairs
- Settings
- in-person
- Mechanisms
- somatic-awareness, dialogic-encounter, creative-expression
- Change scope
- state · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- improvencyclopedia.org/games/Janus_Dance.html — Improv Encyclopedia, open
- Availability
- Open online — published at the link, free to read
Source link checked 1 Sep 2026 — reachable
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Unattributed; compiled by Improv Encyclopedia — Improvisational theatre
In this directory via Improv Encyclopedia
Related: Back Dancing (alternative-to)
status: checked · added 2026-08-31