Dance Techniques 2010

204 Introduction
Gill Clarke, Franz Anton Cramer, Gisela Müller
Introduction
When the Inter–University Center for Dance in Berlin (HZT) 1 was invited
to conduct a research project on contemporary dance teaching methods, it
was rather clear that Gill Clarke would be the person whose specific conversational
approach to physical work should be at the center. She has taught
within the Bachelor of Arts pilot project, she was involved in an extended
research unit in preparation for HZT’s set–up, and she has been an informal
advisor to the BA program on several occasions.
The goal of the intended four–week research and analysis project was
to reconsider certain aims of dance–artist education and the role of mindful
movement practice and embodied learning within it. This was to be achieved
through an in–depth investigation of Gill Clarke’s teaching and the underlying
assumptions, processes, questions, reflections. Reflective practice would
be an important aspect, and theory and practice would not be seen as separate
entities.
In preparing and discussing possible perspectives and directions to take
in such an endeavour, in an email exchange with the HZT team, Gill Clarke
wrote the following in response to the original proposition 2 :
“1. Although I’m not interested in making a pretence to teaching a fixed
method which could be documented / represented, I think I left out my tacit
assumption that the project would be grounded, as my own questioning is,
in my practice. So rather than being an abstract research project into, for example,
what is technique, this would actually be quite focused in and around,
and out from, and into, our practice in the studio. That for me is not general
or objective, but strongly, passionately value–laden, situated!!!
1 This project was launched in 2006 and
aimed at developing new study programs
in contemporary dance and choreography.
Funded by Tanzplan Deutschland, an initiative
of the German Cultural Foundation, and the
Federal State of Berlin, one bachelor program
and two master programs were successfully
conducted in what was called the pilot phase,
ending in March 2010. The programs have
since continued on a regular basis.
2 ‘Before being able to establish or analyze
a specific method of physical teaching, some
basic questions need to be addressed. Such
as: What is a technique? What is needed
in order to facilitate learning? What can be
learned, physically speaking? And what are
the relevant bodies / agents, both physically
and socially? In order to conduct this kind
of research, dance and physical exploration
would need to be observed from different angles
than just the aesthetic or ‘dancerly’ ones.
The input / participation of e.g. a geographer
(spatial / volume aspect), of an anthropologist
(contextual setting), of social science
would be necessary so as to enlarge the field
of vision and exploration. […] However, the
investigation would always start from the
concrete learning situation with students in
a studio. This investigative process might
then be the object of a video documentation