Dance Techniques 2010

Working Somatically
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Movement, he leads us through rolling, crawling, creeping, and on all fours, through
the jungle of movement development on the trail of unusual variants—always searching
for pleasure and ease, for inner order in the chaos of diversity, and also for that which
disturbs, the ‘parasitic’ 22 movements.
For Feldenkrais, dealing creatively with mistakes went so far as to consider wrong
and right as simply two of many possibilities. The more of these possibilities we have, the
better. Freedom of choice is key to deciding whether we get into trouble or not. Learning
means understanding the unknown. He believed that novelty in every lesson—as opposed
to always practicing the same thing—was key to the formation of new synapses.
Preparing movement in the mind or imagining entire classes are part of the toolbox
for learning. The strategy is unique: Feldenkrais deconstructs the elements of each movement
into small puzzle pieces and then reorganizes them so that the goal, which might
engender ambition and stress, is invisible to students. The finished puzzle only appears as
the main event at the end, and often in significantly improved ways of moving.
Feldenkrais developed the lessons from his own work to create the hands–on work
called Functional Integration. A student’s potential is discovered by using precise and accurate
contact, and movement. Instead of looking at what does not work, one looks at
what is working. When searching for alternatives, Feldenkrais applies technical tricks and
chooses detours from the usual strategies in at least thirty positions, from lying, kneeling,
squatting, and sitting up to standing, walking, or even to balancing on wooden rollers.
Feldenkrais owes his fame to his background as a natural scientist and to the
renowned students from politics, music, acting, and dance—including David Ben Gurion,
Yehudi Menuhin, and even Peter Brook.
Laban / Bartenieff Movement Studies Irmgard Bartenieff
Based upon laws of motion that enable analyzing and understanding of movement,
Irmgard Bartenieff (1900–1981) developed concepts that, for example, include grounding
oneself, the intention of voluntary actions, and ideas regarding the relationship body
parts have to one another. She was inspired by Rudolf von Laban, with whom she had
studied in the 1920s; both had a dance background but were wholly interested in movement
processes. When Bartenieff left Germany for New York in 1936, she used Laban’s
ideas of space, effort, shape, phrasing, and a person’s ability to be spontaneous in order
to research (as a dance therapist and physiotherapist) a corrective exercise system that
would become known as the Bartenieff Fundamentals. Her neurophysiological and anatomical
knowledge, along with her interest in the developmental motor skills of babies,
helped her clarify not only the dynamic but also the emotional aspects of posture—ranging
from the transport of weight when changing levels to movement initiation. She discovered
that improving neuromuscular facilitation, sequential courses of movement, and
connecting individual body parts to each other, and to the body as a whole, produced an
amended self–image. Function and expression, stability, mobility, and grounding come
together. Laban / Bartenieff Movement Studies, when expanded through theme–based
improvisation, help a person to experience, observe, shape, and essentially understand
movement.
Das sind logische Prinzipien. Wenn das die
Tänzer verstehen, stehen sie am Ende anders
da. Sie begreifen, dass sie selbst Einfluss nehmen
können. [...] Je flexibler der Tonus, desto
differenzierter die Ausdrucksqualität.”: Regina
Baumgart in Melanie Suchy: “Die Lehrerin
Regina Baumgart.” In: tanz, 4 / 2010, p. 72.
21 “Gerda Alexander setzte mit der
Tonusregulierung und Tonusadaption
intuitiv Phänomene ein, die heute durch
die Spiegelneuronen erklärbar sind.”: Karin
Schaefer / Wolfgang Steinmüller: “Somatopsychische
Lernmethoden im Dialog.” FeldenkraisForum,
Nr. 67, 4 / 2009, p. 7.
22 Moshé Feldenkrais: The Potent Self: A
Study of Compulsion and Spontaneity. San
Francisco: Harper&Row, 1985.