Contact Improvisation California Campout | Oct 9-18, 2026

🌟 Contact Improvisation California Campout
📅 Friday, Oct 9 to Sunday, Oct 18, 2026

10 days of dancing, classes, jamming, relaxing in nature, swimming, kayaking, and community @ Cedar Springs in North Fork, CA (Sierra Nevada Foothills)
🎟 Tickets (includes camping + 3 meals a day):

• 10 Days: $1,500–$1,700
• 5 Days: $820-$950
• Day Pass: $235-275
  • Day pass is for 24 hours, arriving at 3-5pm and departing 3-5pm the next day
  • Buy multiple day passes to stack as many days as you'd like
  • Note that on the last day of the festival (Sunday, Oct 18), departure is 1pm for everyone and only breakfast is served
  • Kids have different rates: $0 for ages 0-4.  $50/day for ages 4-12.  Age 13+ need to have a regular adult ticket.

Tickets are live now and will continue to go up in price as we get closer to the event. 

Next ticket prices increase Oct 2

For partial work-exchange (up to $250 off), you can fill up this application form: forms.gle/w9a21mWLDBbxxM7EA

✨ Optional Intensive for advanced dancers:

• Ray Chung (Advanced dancers, Morning 3 hour session, Afternoon 2 hour session) +$300

For the general admission option (no intensives), this is for people of all levels that want a more relaxed schedule vs. daily intensives. There will be morning CDP (contemplative dance practice), community-led classes during the day, and pre-jam evening classes + special offerings to choose from. Each day we will have a whiteboard with the community-led offerings posted and pre-curated classes. As a participant, you will be able to sign up to share your offerings if you wish. There will also always be a dance floor open for unstructured jamming and/or labbing.

What's a typical day at the campout like? Here's a sample schedule:

• Morning CDP (Contemplative Dance Practice)
• Breakfast
• Morning slot options:
  • Intensive with Ray
  • Morning jam with opening warmup class
  • Open free time (nature, swim, hike, relax)
• Lunch
• Afternoon slot options:
  • Intensive with Ray
  • Community offerings (classes or experiences that participants want to offer)
  • Open free time (nature, swim, hike, relax)
• Dinner
• Evening pre-jam class into jam

Ray Chung Intensive: Ready

What does it mean, and what is necessary to be ready to engage in CI
physically, mentally, emotionally, and creatively? What level of
mobility, agility, and flexibility can widen the spectrum of
possibilities in one’s practice? Which cognitive faculties, both
conscious and unconscious, facilitate a wider range of choice making?
Could one’s level of experience be a deciding factor on how and what one
wants out of their practice? How do we inform our practice via our
experience?  These and related subjects will be the focus of this
intensive. We will delve into various practices to activate and enable
new ways of engaging in habitudes.  The act of practicing can tend to
form habits and patterns of movement that repeat themselves. Such habits
or patterns may be undesirable, but by totally embracing these movements
that arise from such improvisations, one is embracing the unconscious
and trusting in it.

With CI as a foundation, we can focus on ways to improvise dancing in
duo, trio, and ensemble, employing a detailed survey of CI essentials,
with emphasis on efficient, effortless use of technical skills, to
develop a facility for, and availability to, changing physical states
and levels of touch and weight. We will work with strategies for
improvising or how we improvise the way we improvise.

Each day time will be devoted to facilitated practice and research as
integral to the guided learning. Come prepared for focused playfulness
within committed practice.

This intensive will include a 3 hour morning class and 2 hour afternoon facilitated lab. There will be some mornings, afternoons, and full days off for rest during the duration of the 10 days.

About Ray Chung

Ray Chung has a passion for dancing which he likes to share with other people. His main focus is improvisation and he has worked with Contact Improvisation since 1979 as part of improvisational performance practice. He integrates other movement forms into his work, including martial arts, bodywork and Authentic Movement. Ray has worked with the leading proponents of Contact Improvisation and has also been influenced by collaborations with others such as Chris Aiken, Peter Bingham, Martin Keogh, Lisa Nelson, Nancy Stark Smith, Karen Nelson, and Katarina Eriksson. He has also trained as a shiatsu therapist and instructor with Ryuho Yamada, and Wataru Ohashi at the Shiatsu Education Center of America. Ray also has experience as an engineer at Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. His work has been featured at numerous national and international festivals and venues.

🌲 Location

• Cedar Springs Retreat Center in North Fork, CA located in the gorgeous Sierra Nevada Foothills
• ~3.5 hours driving from the SF Bay Area
• ~4 hours driving from LA
• ~40 minutes from Yosemite National Park (lower Yosemite is 40 mins and getting to the valley is about 1 hour 20 mins)
• Amenities
  • 3 outdoor dance floors (covered)
  • Cabins
  • Glamping tents
  • Tent camping
  • Manzanita Lake for swimming, lounging, kayaking
  • Dining deck with gorgeous view
  • Communal indoor dining hall

🏷️ Pricing (prices go up Oct 8)

• General Admission (No intensives. Includes all day and evening community-led classes & offerings + pre-jam evening classes)
  • 10 Day: $1,5000–$1,700
  • 5 Day: $820-$950
  • Day Pass: $235-$275
  • Next price increase is Oct 2
• Intensive Add-On (for 10 day jammers only)
  • Ray Chung (All levels, 38.5 hrs, morning & afternoon class track) +$300
• Lodging Add-Ons (same price for 5 days or full 10 days)
  • 1 Bunk Bed in Cabin Add-On: $50 (women only, men only, and all gender options)
  • Private Cube Tent with Full Size Air Mattress: $75
  • Private Large Canvas Tent (Onion Bulb Shape) with Full Size Air Mattress: $125
  • Private RV: $450
  • Full 8 Person Cabin (4 bunk beds total): $325
    • Perfect to book for a group of friends together or family
• Child Add-Ons
  • Under age 4: Free
  • Ages 4-12: 10 days - $400, 5 days - $200, Single Days: $50
  • Ages 12 and up: A regular General Admission ticket

Registration options: Full 10-day or 5-day (October 9-13 / October 14-18) or 24hr Day Pass

📷 Additional Venue Photos: View Here

WHAT TO PACK

• Water bottle
• Swimsuit (lake is public)
• Sunscreen & hat
• Plenty of dance clothes
• Mosquito repellent
• Unscented personal toiletries & healthcare items (shampoo, soap, lotion, lip balm, etc.) — the air can be dry!
• Bedding: sleeping bag, sheets, blankets, and pillow if you’re staying in a cabin
• Camping gear: tent with rain-fly and sleeping pad if you’re camping
• Towels
• Closed-toed shoes
• Sandals/flip-flops
• Flashlight

Optional:

• Cup/mug or insulated thermos for hot/cold beverages
• Notebook & pen for reflections or notes
• Shade structure, umbrella, or pop-up tent (little shade in car camping area)
• Floaties for enjoying the lake
• Off-road bike (the camp area is large)
• Layered clothing for warm days and chilly nights
• Knee pads for dancing
• Yoga mat for stretching or practice
• Musical instruments, games, frisbees, etc. for play and community time
• Earplugs, night lights, and power strips (especially useful in shared cabins)

Work Exchange

Apply to work exchange here. Filled on a first come, first served basis. We will take down the application when work exchange is full.

FAQs

• What's the typical weather in October in North Fork? Daytime ~low 70s°F and nighttime ~high 40s°F. Expect dry, crisp air, low humidity and possible a few light rain showers.
• Cabin situation/setup? The cabins accommodate 4 to 8 people in bunks and have lights and outlets.
• Closest town? The sweet town of North Fork is literally less than a 10-minute drive from Cedar Springs with some cute shops and a little organic grocery (The Gnarly Carrot and Kern Family Farm)
• Is there cell reception and wifi? Yes, but we encourage limited phone use during the festival/embrace the digital detox. Keep phones out of sight when possible
• Will there be a place to store personal food? Yes, both for dry foods and refridgerated 
• Can I sign up for less days? At the moment we only have an option for the first 5 days, the second 5 days, or the full 10 days
• Can I bring my own camping stove? No, because of fire safety, cooking can only happen in the kitchen
• Can I camp in my own van? Yes, there is plenty of flat space for van or car camping at no extra cost
• How does the day pass work? Day pass is for 24 hours, arriving at 3-5pm and departing 3-5pm the next day. Buy multiple day passes to stack as many days as you'd like in a row. This is a great option if you just want to come for the weekend. Buy a Friday and Saturday day pass.

Refund Policy

Refunds: 90+ days: refund minus 10% fee. 60–89 days: 25% fee. 30–59 days: 50% fee. 15–29 days: 75% fee. 0–14 days or no-show: none.
Transfers: Allowed with $50 admin fee

Camp Agreements

• Read here in full. Purchasing a ticket indicates you have read and agree to these camp agreements

This event is being organized by Merrick Jacob and Shira Yaziv
📩 Reach out to us with questions: cicampout@gmail.com

We're so excited to dive into this immersive CI experience together!