Dance Techniques 2010

Working Somatically
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research. Cohen assumes that each cell has its own ‘mind’ as part of a massive hologram,
and she even talks with brain researchers about this. She is convinced the first year of
life determines the way the relationship between perception (how we see, hear, and sense
something) and motor processes (how we act in the world) is expressed, and whether we
have choices when solving problems. When she learned that the spinal motor nerves in
the fetus mature before the sensory nerves, she knew, “that one needs to move before one
can have feedback about that movement.” 24 Every experience, therefore, creates the basis
for subsequent experiences. Perception requires movement.
But there is a deeper form of knowledge lying beneath conscious knowledge, namely
the unknown. Cohen learned from the Japanese healer Haruchika Noguchi, with whom
Feldenkrais also had lively debates in Japan, how to unleash the autonomous nervous
system and thereby create involuntary self–regulating movements. This is called Kadsugen
Undo. Authentic Movement, i.e., improvisation with eyes closed and an observer,
is based on similar knowledge. Janet Adler developed this into a dance therapy practice,
Cohen into a further form of BMC that she calls ‘more fun than serious’.
Cohen’s magic attracted whole generations of dancers who integrate her valuable
knowledge into traditional training worldwide. The co-inventors of Contact Improvisation—Steve
Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, and Lisa Nelson—feel supported and inspired
by her. They have been publishing Cohen’s latest findings in the American journal Contact
Quarterly in an interview format since 1980, and also published her book entitled
Sensing, Feeling and Action.
Franklin Method Eric Franklin
The Swiss–American Eric Franklin (b.1957) studied dance and sports science. He was a
student of André Bernard and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, among others, in the 1980s and
90s. He mixes elements of ideokinesis and BMC with findings from sports science. He
takes the results around the world (to dance company training programs and universities)
with the goal of improving specific aspects such as plié, en dehors, and alignment,
and also to work on optimal rebound when jumping, higher leg work, and balance while
turning. He calls this Applied Somatics or Mental Motor Imagery.
His motto is, “Embodying the function improves the function,”—meaning one must
first think, perceive, feel, and understand, and then do—and, ultimately, do all of the
above at the same time. Anatomical models and metaphoric images play an equally important
role—as does touch and the power of Mood Words, which are short formulas
repeated in the mind that not only silence the inner critic but also allocate direction and
space in order to conserve energy. Dancers who apply Franklin’s method experience how
the body follows the mind, and vice versa.