Purpose
Trains the three non-verbal states every improviser toggles between — following, leading, and co-creating — and, crucially, the fluid unspoken negotiation of who's doing which. This is the meta-skill of CI improvisation, rehearsed without the complication of weight.
Setup
Pairs, moving through space, no contact (or fingertip contact).
Play
- "Round one — one of you leads the movement, the other follows exactly. Feel what leading and following each ask of you."
- "Round two — switch, without stopping."
- "Round three — nobody leads. Co-create: propose and yield moment to moment, so an observer couldn't tell who's driving. This is 'uniting.'"
- "Now let all three states flow freely — lead, follow, unite — trading silently, by feel alone."
Cues
"Lead clearly; follow completely; unite by feel." · "Trade without a signal." · "Can an outsider tell who's leading? Aim for no."
Variations
- Easier: stay in clear lead/follow rounds; add fingertip contact for clarity.
- Deeper: small groups of 3–4 finding collective lead/follow/unite; eyes softer.
Debrief
"Which state was most comfortable — leading, following, or uniting? Could you feel the hand-offs happen without words?"
Watch For
'Uniting' is the hard one; groups often collapse it back into subtle leading. Name it and let them keep finding the genuine shared state.
Pairs With
The heart of Rolling Point Duets (#12) and Give and Take (#14); the non-verbal grammar of the whole form.