Dance Techniques 2010

Jennifer Muller — Muller Technique
253
a play with balance, relevé, and turns. Movements are
never executed impulsively upwards or with extraordinary
muscle strength. A measured exchange of energy, from
energetic to drained, is the goal. Energy never ‘bounces’
the dancer away from the floor because dancers have gently
released energy into the floor. Any type of bounce or
collapse, or what Muller calls a ‘forced drop’, is thereby
avoided.
Space is only indirectly referenced in the Muller Technique—through
the ‘up and down’ or when speaking
about the body’s structural alignment along horizontal
and vertical lines. A movement’s initiation and characteristics
are created by the flow of energy, and less by spatial
visualization. In the third and final part of class, the entire
space is used for across–the–floor combinations that happen
on the diagonal or on straight lines.
The technique does, however, reference space using
shapes. Straight, elongated movements that follow or create
abstract spatial lines do not determine a spatial configuration;
rather, the shapes themselves communicate,
are energized, are directional, and configure space. Subdividing
the body according to spatial levels can play a
role here, inasmuch as the energy can be directed ‘up and
out’ as well as ‘down and out’.
The flow of energy should not end at the body’s periphery:
Clearly configured shapes, sourced with energy,
will enter and fill the space. The extremities and the head,
in particular, are places where energy passes through and
out into the room, thus creating a continuum with the
environment.
For the most part, individual exercises are executed
facing forward, although dancers should always be aware
of the body’s three–dimensionality. Both the meditation
and first exercises center floor (as well as those later at the
barre) are done standing so that much attention can be
paid to vertical alignment. The hips in particular remain
over the legs, even when moving through space (except for
certain turns and choreographic decisions). Muller Technique
does not include work on the floor. Muller believes
dance is an art of energy and, for her, floorwork limits the
means by which generating and sensing energy is accessed
and trained.
Other spatial notions are employed when talking about
body sculpting; for example a flatness is desired, rather
than roundness, of the thighs. Spatial visualization is
thus also a principle with which dancers can experience
the correspondences mentioned above. When rotated forward,
the flatness of the arms correlates to the flatness of
the thighs in relevé–passé. 20
Rhythm, dynamics, and phrasing are significant reference
points in the Muller Technique, much more so than
a dimensional play with space. Muller considers rhythm
important, both in relation to music and movement phrasing.
Exercises and rhythms must match one another.
Ideally—as described the section about music—music
in 3 / 4-time is used for softer and warm–up movements,
4 / 4-time is reserved for faster movements done across the
floor.
The second aspect regarding her understanding of
rhythm is the interplay between an individual’s body
rhythm and movement phrasing—which, in Muller’s eyes,
is the key to turning dance into language. Phrasing, which
she compares to onomatopoetic structure of sentences,
makes it possible to create movement that is memorable. 21
“If I do everything at the same dynamic and level, it is
going to be very hard for the audience to remember what I
am doing, because I am not dancing in sentences. And that
means any kind of work, from Release to classical to anything
else.” Plié plays the key role in structuring a dancing
‘sentence’ as it prepares the high points.
Muller prefers a rhythmic and dynamic phrasing that is
mindful of a movement’s communicative value, as opposed
to one that seems naturally created or based on breath
rhythm. Breath facilitates the meditation and relaxation at
the beginning of class as well as the energizing needed for
the first waxing and waning exercises. Despite this, Muller
finds that breath rhythm is not detailed enough for movement
phrasing and she worries that breath flow might be
inhibited if nailed down to phrasing. For Muller, what
makes the technique organic is not relating breath and
movement, but a conscious guiding of the flow of energy.
The basic movement principles in Muller’s training
include, as stated above, movement execution based on
energy flow and structural alignment of the body—both
of which rely on the use of imagination. Cyclic flow—
the waxing and waning of energy—is the basis for every
shape. This is about polarities. Visualizing a shape serves
to generate and support movement. When combined with
a structural description of the body that encourages the
flow of energy, a basis for further movement is established.
Muller thus speaks of three support systems:
1. The polarity between energized and drained,
up and down;
2. The floor as a place from which dancers can
source energy;
3. The connection between the abdomen, spine,
and the back of the legs.
The interplay between these three factors helps the dancer
render shapes 22 with subtle awareness. The making
of shapes is found in all aspects of her technique, from
leg–work, steps, arm movements, and jumps. According
to Muller, every shape communicates in that it conveys a
message, a feeling, or an attitude. The dance is thus realized,
understood, and designed by a series of moving
shapes.