Dance Techniques 2010

Lance Gries — Release and Alignment Oriented Techniques
283
“Being able to think about the leg as
‘leading away from the body’ was revolutionary
information—and so was the
idea that this is possible for many additional
physical connections. I first
had to feel it differently and relearn.
That is why my relationship to the floor
changed daily.”
Monica Muñoz, student
The intended expenditure of strength is relaxed, but
‘not dead’, as Gries puts it—thus not completely passive.
Like Buddhism’s middle way, it is a continuous flow of
light tone, just as much or as little as is needed to keep all
body parts active and in contact with one another. The
bones should rest on top of one another and provide stability
without unnecessary effort. Which type of tension in
the body is desirable? Gries handed out several strands of
spaghetti to the students, either raw or cooked to varying
degrees of al dente. Participants feel the tension. If a strand
is too soft, then there is a tension deficit: if you place the
torso and legs and balance out the back muscles, especially
in the groin area. The psoas muscles should be neither
slack nor overly taut, rather they should be lengthened
with a gentle tonus. The diaphragm extends as a dome of
muscle below the rib cage and its tendons connect deep
into the lumbar region of the spine. If the diaphragm is
full and fluid in its breathing movement, it offers significant
support for the upright body. One can then rely on
the body’s natural breath rhythm, which will intelligently
adjust itself to the movement’s needs without consciously
controlling the diaphragm.
Spatially there is no assumed hierarchy to up and down,
and no concrete motor center in the sense of a defined
center of the body, as is the case in some concepts of modern
dance. Instead, there is a temporary, imaginary, and
energetic center that can be assigned to changing places in
the body and from which energy flows can be observed.
This is because the body is fundamentally understood as
‘suspended’ in space, like a jumping cat in flight. Any body
part can potentially become the center, depending on how
forces are acting. “We are a psychophysical system of energies,
an energy system within larger energy systems in
strand upright on a table it immediately collapses into a
heap. If it is too hard, then there is excess tension: if you
stand it vertically on the table and let go, it falls to the side
in one piece. The desired tension is thus not too little and
not too much, so the body can accept the movement and
direct it further.
Training is not aimed at strengthening musculature,
quite the opposite: unnecessary activity, especially of the
outer musculature, should be avoided. Instead, inner musculature
is strengthened particularly in the spinal region.
Only the diaphragm and the psoas group are specially
mentioned. The psoas muscles, as hip flexors, integrate the
the universe,” says Gries. The following exercise is helpful
to ‘tune’ the diaphragm’s tonus, for example, and thus
to transfer energies from above and below: a dancer lies
on her side with her partner. The partner gently puts his
hand on her lower rib cage and rocks her whole body with
a light, calming rhythm. Her diaphragm and breathing
gradually relax. Energies from her legs and arms, from
head and hips, can now make their way to the opposite
ends of her body and can flow more freely; her organs find
more space, and the torso becomes more voluminous. This
is how Gries understands the diaphragm as a potential and
tangible center: center is where two energies permeate one