Dance Techniques 2010

Barbara Passow — Jooss–Leeder Technique
107
Claudia Fleischle–Braun
Concept and Ideology
Imagining the Body
The body is viewed as a sensitive and expressive instrument
whose articulation and transformative abilities must
be developed. This notion derives from Jooss’s basic understanding,
expressed thusly, that “the language of formed
and inspired movement” is what raises dance to a theater
art. 13 Passow identifies with Jooss and Leeder in that expression,
for her, is less a matter of feeling than one of a
harmonious movement. All three want(ed) to train dancers
comprehensively; an all–around training should help
dancers employ differentiated reactions. Dancers should
master a complete scale of movement if they are to create
art that reflects the human soul, which is why they should
learn to play their bodies like an instrument—experiencing
all tonal qualities and possibilities for expression, and
“achieve a unity between movement and themselves” 14
while doing so. Jooss and Leeder varied between using
dancerly–tools that were unconscious and conscious so
as to avoid the danger of becoming too intellectual. Passow
is also dedicated to such thinking: It is important for
her that the dancers are able to resonate in class, which
she describes as, “seeking the movement’s essence within
themselves, perceiving and being open to the experience,
to experience joy, passion, feeling, and to remain aware of
the unconscious in dancing.”
The ideal dancer is therefore able to perceive and resonate,
to find fulfillment in dancing, is endowed with a
body that is harmoniously balanced, has well–trained coordination,
is willing to take risks, and is present. This
body is prepared for all the technical demands made upon
it, and can bring expressive nuance into movement.
Passow’s training aims to provide dancers with an opportunity
to grow beyond their bodies’ capabilities and to
exude presence beyond their kinesphere. Dancers should
give the impression their bodies are able to reach into the
space and, in a certain sense, are able configure the space
using the principle of ‘counter–tension’.
When assessing a person’s potential for a career in
dance, one of Passow’s criteria is an aesthetic physique
combined with the learned skills of coordination, musicality,
and versatility.
Because Jooss–Leeder Technique takes movement across
the spectrum of human expression, and wants as much
variety as possible in movement dynamics and qualities
along bipolar scales, Passow’s training offers a multitude
of nuances for movement execution without masculine or
feminine connotations. Her movement sequences’ aesthetic
radiates elegance and lightness, despite the permanent
interplay of body weight and body tension. In terms of
gender, this focus on the entire body, on all–around physical
coordination, on the play with directionalities and spatial
levels, on big movement combinations and powerful
stops that radiate out into the space—all in combination
with rhythmic changes—make this technique equally interesting
for both genders. Nonetheless, the movement
vocabulary includes smooth arm gestures, swings, and
flowing movements with differentiated torso articulation
that are typically characterized as feminine—an assessment
that both male and female students shared in the
final discussion.
The relationship to space is based on Rudolf von
Laban’s detailed teachings about space and form. In all of
Passow’s exercises, the body has clear spatial alignment;
the exercises often accentuate an expansive physicality
through stretching, and participants aspire to a maximal
movement range with proper alignment throughout.
Shapes that open and close often provide clear contrasts
in the range of the movement (narrow–wide). The body
is pliable in its three–dimensionality, and movements are
identifiable by clear lines of alignment and directionality.
There is full use of all spatial axes and directions, as well
as various levels both in the movement and in the dancer’s
immediate environment, i.e., the kinesphere. 15 This
also includes systematic diagonals in the spatial and body
alignment.
Kurt Jooss defined the relationship between dance and
music in a several ways. While he understood music primarily
as dance’s catalyst, he also understood dance as
being equally independent from music. The correlation between
movement and music plays a large role in Passow’s
training: A particular emphasis during the London project
13 From ‘Credo der Folkwang–Tanzbühne’,
quoted from Stöckemann 2001, p. 171.
14 Sigurd Leeder: ‘Über Prinzipien der technischen
Erziehung.’ In: Müller 2001, p. 17.
15 For spatial references see also the corresponding
explanations in the following section
Understanding the Body / Movement /
Movement Characteristics and Physicality,
under keyword ‘space’.