Dance Techniques 2010

70 Historical Context
Gerald Siegmund, Anouk van Dijk
Historical Context
Time, Place, and
Socio-political Context
Countertechnique emerged in the 1980s, in the context of
the independent dance scene in Holland. It was developed
by Anouk van Dijk, who was trained at the Rotterdam
Dance Academy (from which she graduated in 1985).
“Since the 1970s in Holland, cultural policy became an
increasing part of the government’s welfare policy. The
benefit and relevance of culture to society as a whole became
a priority, notably in terms of cultural participation.
The social role of culture was perceived on both the levels
of social class and geographical spread.” 1 The Dutch national
arts–funding system (which considers project–based
grants for independent artists as well as supporting large
institutions), allowed Anouk van Dijk to fully concentrate
on her artistic and choreographic work when she started
her company. In 1996, she received her first grant to create
an evening–length piece. “The funding was enough so
I could survive for a few months and hire a small group
of dancers,” she remembers. “In the mornings I would
organize a dance training for my dancers and afterwards
we would research and create.” This way of working was
different from how independent artists worked in the U.S.
There, choreographers had to teach to support themselves
and their artistic work, and used classes to generate movement
vocabulary for choreographies. Because of the funding
Anouk van Dijk was able to concentrate on class material
as such, and began to develop it according to the
dancers’ needs. “I thought, what would be the best way to
prepare our bodies and minds for rehearsal?” says Anouk
van Dijk. She and elaborated by adding questions: “What
did all other training methods teach me? What works?
What’s missing?” To understand Countertechnique, it is
important to note that it is neither a movement style nor
does it presuppose a certain aesthetic; it is a daily training
method that helps the dancer prepare for his or her professional
life, whatever style or aesthetic might be called
for. It supports dancers by encouraging them to take more
responsibility in their personal growth as an artist.
Countertechnique tools can also be applied in partnering
work, in creating choreographic material, for improvisation,
and in performance. The technique continues to
evolve with Anouk van Dijk’s ongoing analysis, and is
based on her evaluations of over twenty years of experience
as a professional dancer. Although she began teaching
in 1987, it was only in 2002 that she began considering
Countertechnique as a coherent system of interrelated
physical and theoretical principles that could be integrated
into a specific training method. From 2006 onwards, the
implications of the practice were translated back into a
theoretical framework, resulting into two workbooks: one
is for dancers, one for teachers. Both are updated annually.
Thus the knowledge is being transferred and continues to
be tested and evaluated by a growing number of teachers.
Countertechnique is a relatively new technique, and
its scope is still developing.
Background:
Biographies and Environment
As a student at Rotterdam Dance Academy, Anouk van
Dijk, like most contemporary dancers of her generation,
also trained in ballet for strength and coordination. At the
time, ballet training served the needs of many choreographers
working in Holland. In addition, the RDA curriculum
included modern techniques like Cunningham,
Graham, and Limón.
Before joining De Nieuwe Dansgroep in 1986, Anouk
van Dijk went to New York to explore the booming dance
scene in Manhattan. There she concerned herself with
contemporary techniques such as Contact Improvisation
and Release Technique (both developed in the 1970s), as
well as with tap and jazz. Returning to the Netherlands,
she met Nina Wiener, who taught classes and workshops
and strongly influenced the work of De Nieuwe Dansgroep
and its artistic director, Jacqueline Knoops. Whereas
most Release work began on the floor in order to help
discover natural alignment, Wiener worked on alignment
while moving through space and by consciously shifting
weight at the same time.
Several years later, Anouk van Dijk left De Nieuwe
Dansgroep to join De Rotterdamse Dansgroep. In 1988,
this Rotterdam–based company commissioned young choreographers
unknown at the time in Europe, like Randy
Warshaw and Stephen Petronio, both of whom had
worked with the Trisha Brown Dance Company (until
1986 and 1987 respectively). Both used Release Technique
fundamentals. Petronio was of particular importance to
the Dutch dance scene at the time because he worked with
1 www.culturalpolicies.net / web / netherlands.
php?aid=1 (access 20.01.2010)
2 See Christy Harris: “The Influence of the
Alexander Technique on Modern Dance Aesthetics”.
Movement Research 19 (Fall / Winter
1999), 18 / 19.
3 See Gerald Siegmund: William Forsythe –
Denken in Bewegung. Berlin: Henschel Verlag,
2004.
4 Cf. Alva Noë: Action in Perception.
Cambridge (MA) / London: MIT Press, 2004.