Dance Techniques 2010

82
Understanding the Body / Movement
the floor to return to a higher level. This means the dancer
actively passes through all spatial levels while falling. Developing
awareness of all spatial possibilities will support
the student later on in the Countertechnique class.
Directing and counter–directing should be an unforced
activity. Students should not direct a body part by exerting
tension and thereby forcing it in a direction. As everything
is interconnected, this would only create tension.
Popping can help reduce unnecessary tension and enable
the weight of a specific body part to become available. A
crucial concept in Countertechnique is that the thought
of a direction will help to consciously direct a part of the
body. This ‘thought’ anticipates the actual movement; the
mental process will influence how the body is used. When
teaching, Anouk van Dijk always gives clear tasks so students
are busy with what is happening in the here–and–
now. This prevents their thoughts from jumping ahead
and anticipating a physical result or an imagined shape,
so the mind is preoccupied with the task at hand. Leaving
no room for expectations about the physical outcome,
concentrating on the task and initiating the movements
necessary to master it can influence the body in a practical
and down–to–earth way. The pressure of expectations is
reduced and the dancer can act in the moment, to what
happens right here, right now.
Breath is unimportant in this context. Countertechnique
only works on the breath when dancers breathe irregularly
and thus generate unnecessary tension. On the
other hand, using Countertechnique will help dancers to
develop a regular breathing pattern. Popping can have a
positive effect on the use of breath too. Reduced tension in
the muscles and around the joints also affects the lungs in
that breathing becomes easier. Instead of initiating movement
with the breath, the breath will follow the movement,
supporting and responding to the coordination of
the body. There is literally more space to breathe, allowing
the breath to follow a natural rhythm, again promoting
movement efficiency.
The more dancers are trained to work with their minds,
the easier it is for them to be attentive to the outer rhythm,
i.e., situations that include other dancers, the teacher,
and / or the music. They learn to consciously shift their
attention. Anouk van Dijk claims that dancers trained
in Countertechnique find it easier to stay connected with
their environment. They should be able to communicate
with each other on several levels at the same time, aware
of each other’s proximity, weight changes, rhythm, and
sounds while constantly referring back to their own physical
state—attuned to what the body and mind need in a
specific context. This double presence, as described above,
is put into practice all the time and creates the freedom
to focus on the creative process or performing. As one of
Anouk van Dijk’s dancers, Angie Müller, says, “Countertechnique
helps me to access my instincts on stage.”
Countertechnique makes use of the following movement
principle: There is a counter–direction to every
movement. If one body part is sent in one direction, then
a different body part will be directed in the opposite direction.
The counter–direction is the less obvious of the
two. To understand the implications of this, it will help
to return to the toolbox introduced in Historical Context
chapter (Individual Approach), which contains answers to
the following three questions: 1) Why do I use (counter)
directing? 2) What are the possibilities of (counter)directing?
3) How do I (counter)direct effectively?
why > Counter–directing is an alternative to gripping,
i.e., an alternative to creating stability by using over–
tensed muscles. Over–tensing muscles to create stability,
especially once the weight of a body part is outside the
central body axis, tends to block movement and results
in dancers using excessive force to continue moving. By
working without a fixed center, one can establish a shifting,
dynamic balance found in a continuously counter–directed
movement. Directing and counter–directing implies
a conscious distribution of weight in space, even on a microscopic
level. The space outside the body is always connected
to the space inside the body. Directing body parts
in space means sending energy into a designated direction.
The overall motivation for doing this is to open the dancer
to the widest spectrum of movement possibilities, enabling
a greater availability to movement.
what > The scope of directing and counter–directing
covers a spectrum that includes understanding basic spatial
directions into which dancers may send their energy, to
increasing the distance between different parts in the body,
to directing and counter–directing the bones away from
the joints (POV). Sequential thinking supports refined
movement coordination by counter–directing slightly before
directing, and thus helps to trick gravity.
how > To put the potential for counter–directing in
relation to space into practice, dancers must understand
basic anatomy. Mental parameters such as ‘fuck it’ or
‘working against false assumptions’ (i.e., working against
what dancers might believe to be their own physical limitations)
will help them to become more effective and make
optimal use of directing and counter–directing. Physical
parameters such as reducing unnecessary tension, popping,
or falling horizontally help students to direct and
counter–direct effectively. All physical and mental parameters
are also considered movement principles.
scanning > The ‘why, what, and how’ only become
functional when scanning is applied. By choosing where
to focus attention and how to solve problems, dancers and
students become proactive and nurture their own development
both mentally and physically.
Strictly speaking, there are no basic movement forms or
elements in Countertechnique. Since Countertechnique is
not about learning steps or shapes for choreographic use,