Dance Techniques 2010

Barbara Passow — Jooss–Leeder Technique
95
How is your work influenced by different
experiences? One teaches what one has learned in the
course of one’s life—one’s dancing life, that is— and
what one considers valuable. There have been many
influences, and what was important to me has become a
building block in my work. My experiences with
yoga and Feldenkrais certainly flowed into my work. I
often start with yoga exercises or with dynamic yoga
positions in order to open up the body. The Feldenkrais
Method influence references a different awareness
and respect for the body. All this, along with the dance
techniques I learned, are building blocks that influence
my work, and upon which something new and very
individual emerges.
What should training not be? I don’t necessarily
use ideals, but instead try to lead students to the place
where they recognize their limits, respect them, and
maybe push them back. I don’t think one can ask any
person to go further than his or her own limits. It is
problematic if you hold a picture in front of a student
and say, ‘you must be like that,’ as it is important
that students have a positive image of their own bodies
and don’t think, ‘everything about me is wrong.’
Respect for the body, for what each one has been given,
is important. And then work with it, see what is possible.
What is the basis for your teaching the
Jooss–Leeder Technique? First, I don’t teach the
Jooss–Leeder Technique, but my classes are based
on the principles and themes that were important in that
work—for example, labile turns, tilts, pelvis circles,
impulses, and step phrases. My work is a creative process
in which these themes are always processed in
new combinations. Then there are Jooss’s two major areas,
namely eukinetics and choreutics. Eukinetics queries
the how of a movement—the dynamics—and choreutics
asks where, namely the spatial reference. This analytical
approach trains the eye enormously and opens up
infinite possibilities to invent movement. I think this is
what is really special about this work.
The Jooss–Leeder work was never a fixed technique,
it is about awareness. I know that my husband and
former Folkwang students arranged a meeting with Kurt
Jooss in order to work on an inventory, a catalogue
as it were; the meeting was due to take place the summer
Jooss died. I don’t think he wanted the meeting. When
you look at Jooss’s choreographies, one is immediately
struck by the incredibly differentiated rhythmic structures.
Musicality and rhythm are very important for me
too.
The artistic aspect of the work is also important for
me. In classes, I point out that the stage is the goal—it is
the step beyond technique that brings one to the dance.
I use a lot of images because I have myself experienced
how many problems can be solved with an image. It is
important for me that one handles the body carefully,
respect it, but at the same time always take risks.
What forms the relationship between teacher
and students, in your view? It is wonderful if there is
an open and trusting relationship between students
and teacher, when one can pass on one’s knowledge and
experience and have it land on fertile ground. The
teacher must be strict to a certain extent, draw clear limits
but deal affectionately with the students. You definitely
have to create a climate that is free from fear, in which it
is okay to make mistakes. But there is obviously a
difference if I am teaching a class of fifteen-year-old students
or adult dancers. In the first case, I am more the authority
figure, and intentionally so. But generally speaking,
I am very close to my students.
What relationship do you see between the
Limón Technique and the Jooss–Leeder work?
I think, above all, it is the play between weight and the
moment of weightlessness, giving into and resisting
it, which is present in both styles. It is certainly more
central in the Limón Technique with all these swings;
swinging means giving in to gravity, falling, and getting
up again, i.e., fall and recovery. I find both techniques
dramatic, both want to nurture dancing people rather than
dance technicians. Both techniques are influenced
by great musicality and have an awareness of movement
quality that I have not found in other techniques.
How do you prepare your classes? It varies a
great deal. My husband went into a class with three exercises…the
starting exercises. I can’t do that. I prepare
myself relatively well, a whole class more or less
through to the end. But when I see that someone doesn’t
understand something at all, I go into it and, in the
best case, make an exercise out of the mistake. I go with
it. When you absorb the energy of a class, it often
goes in a completely different direction, but I often come
back to what I wanted at the beginning.
Has your teaching changed over time, and how?
My teaching has become much richer over time; there
are many more facets to it. I can now play with the
individual elements; I have more of an overview. And if
I discover something that is new to me, it will naturally
be reflected in my classes.
And how has class preparation changed over
the years? I no longer prepare totally different classes
for different levels, (amateur work and professional
work), but create a class that I can vary, make easier or
more complicated. I used to develop a different class
for each level, now I simply modify it, take something
away or add to it. The classes develop in totally different
directions over time, however.