Dance Techniques 2010

274 Historical Context
Gabriele Wittmann
Historical Context
Time, Place, and
Socio-political Context
The early roots of various Release Techniques are found
in the emergence of postmodern dance in the U.S. after
the end of the Second World War, and mark a new beginning
in art as well as in dance. In order to distance
themselves from modern dance and to orient their bodies
anew, dancers needed an open platform accessible to as
many people as possible, and yet specific enough to serve
their needs as performers. It was then subsequently necessary
to re-examine the balance between general accessibility
and the specific needs of professionals in various
dance techniques. The greatest common denominator was
a biologically 1 grounded understanding of the body and
its possibilities for movement and experience—especially
the anatomical construction of the skeleton, the bones,
and joints. Somatic investigation of the bones and muscles
proved to be groundbreaking for future experiments in the
Judson Dance Theater.
Starting in the 1960s, the primary social concern was
strengthening the individual: Individuals should have freedom,
and take on responsibility for themselves and societal
relationships. Concerns were proceeding along similar
lines in the developing Release Technique: Release means
‘letting go’ in the sense of opening oneself to other possibilities—as
well as being open about the ways to utilize
these new possibilities. Central concepts are freedom, taking
responsibility, and making choices. So this is not just
about letting go of, but particularly letting go for, i.e., allowing
energy that was blocked to flow so that it can be
used in new ways. These new ways can serve a variety of
purposes, but, essentially, the point is to understand how
each body part connects with other body parts, and to
work on clearly aligning the whole body, along with the
intention and awareness, in time and space. 2
Release Technique emerged as an amalgam of these
developments in the collective environment that included
a group of researchers, primarily from New York (in the
1970s and 80s) and in a few satellite locations in Europe.
Background:
Biographies and Environment
No one person invented the term Release Technique—and
there is no clear definition of it. “If, some day, the term
‘Release Technique’ were to be defined, it would contradict
the work,” says Gries, “it would be antithetical.” 3 At
the end of the 1990s, the magazine Movement Research
devoted two consecutive issues in an attempt to historically
classify Release Technique. They concluded that
there are a variety of approaches and definitions that cannot
be reduced to one common denominator. Some, like
Joan Skinner, see themselves as pioneers or inventors of
the method; others, who are at least as important for its
development, had no desire to be tied down to the classification
of the technique at all. 4
The work of Mabel E. Todd, the founder of ideokinesis,
is often viewed as the root and core to Release. Her
work, which began early in the last century, uses visual
and kinesthetic internal images of the body to investigate
and change physical movement functions. 5 Assisted by
anatomic visualizations and movement exercises, Todd
investigated the impact that thought processes (imagination)
and feelings leave on the structure of the body, and
how patterns of movement are informed by such. She thus
created a holistic, psychophysical theory about the interaction
between anatomical and psychological threads of
action and experience. Sections of her book, The Thinking
Body had already been published in 1929 and influenced
many dance teachers: Lulu Sweigard and Barbara Clark
also contributed to the development of the ideokinetic
school of thought, as did André Bernard, Irene Dowd,
Erick Hawkins, and Pamela Matt.
Joan Skinner is understood by some to be one of Release
Technique’s creators. She did not, however, name
her technique ‘Release Technique’, but ‘Releasing Technique’—
more precisely, Skinner Releasing Technique.
Four things influenced her thinking: the teachings of her
instructor Cora Belle Hunter (who worked in Mabel E.
Todd’s tradition and used internal images of the body,
along with the examination of the skeleton); the Eastern
philosophies of D. T. Suzuki from John Cage and Merce
1 Here biologically means many correlations
of living processes in the body. For Mabel
E. Todd, this included not only anatomical
questions, but also, for example, the chemical
balance of the lung’s contents while
breathing (p. 241), the effects of emotions
(for instance, in trying to react to feelings
of uneasiness by controlling one’s own limbs
in space by overstretching of the neck or
knee areas (p. 275)). See Mabel E. Todd, The
Thinking Body (Princeton (NJ): Princeton
Book Company, 1959).
2 Diane Torr, ‘Release, Aikido, Drag King,
Aikido, Release,’ Movement Research Performance
Journal, No. 19 / 1999, p. 5.
3 See the Editorial in Movement Research
Performance Journal, No. 18 / 1999, pp. 2–3.
4 Vgl. Editorial zu Movement Research
Performance Journal, Nr. 18 / 1999, S. 2–3.