Elaboration of Movement Awareness

All experience goes through the body. Everything is physical, felt in blood, bones and flesh.

To touch the members of the audience, the silent dance observer. To speak with the body without words, this language so old and human, that no word can replace or explain, but is understood immediately, needs a deep psychological comprehension of the human being in all its complexity. Needs a broad dance education which values and teaches the body movement, this subject that bonds the observer and the executer, as an artistic and communicative language.   

Everything is vibration, so everything is movement and body movement is the dancer’s language of communication.

Therefore, the dancer in an artistic profession should acquire a broad knowledge about its instrument, the body and the way how the body articulates, expresses, speaks and is perceived by movement.  

Instrument and Technique    

The instrument just serves if its tuned correctly, if the user of the instrument and the instrument are merged, are one.
In order to use an instrument, so it serves the purpose, one needs knowledge, one needs technique.
Technique provides us with learning and the understanding about the instrument.

Technique makes us aware about the potential of the instrument and the way how to develop and how to use it.  
Technique develops consciousness, shapes and polishes the body into a potential and fine instrument, but technique alone is not dance.

Dance may appear when the body technique is employed with an artistic purpose and not just for its own sake.

The painter uses its gained technique, like chromatics, central perspective or the study of proportion to mediate its ideas, to transmit a particular point of few.
In its studies and exercises over the subject he may repetitively experiment with certain details and enhance its techniques, but at the end everything will serve the artistic purpose.  

The writer uses its linguistic tools to develop and describe atmospheres, emotions, situations.  He will not boast with its knowledge of adverbs, adjectives, symbols and metaphors. He will use them in benefit of the purpose.  
In both cases the used techniques serve a creative drive.

Technique in dance should not be taught and used as a “Trick”, as a Feat.  
It kills the dance and transmits and generates a wrong idea about the art of dance.

The “absorbing” Body

It is demanded an “awakened” soul to apply, to transform the acquired Technique into dance that speaks from human to human, that triggers something in the observer.
Dance education should provide the aspiring dance artist with a wide-ranging supply of techniques, stimulations and interdisciplinary relations.
Some aspects play here, in my opinion, a fundamental roll.

A) the stimulation, encouragement and development of the proper body language.

B) the study and perfecting of given dance techniques

C) the study and practise on already existing artistic creations

D) the introduction and explanation of the fundamental theoretical aspects of body movement and dance


The own way to move   

From early age on learns the young dancer to copy movements.
An already established movement vocabulary, Movements created and introduced by someone else.
I honestly think the learning of an established technique should go hand in hand with the creative exploring of the proper way to move.
Both aspects establish and lead to a more completed consciousness.

To learn a new language, I must be able to manage my own mother tongue.
To be able to receive, learn and manage a given unknown movement vocabulary, before must be established one’s own way to manage the body.

The essence of walking, running, jumping, turning, falling, rising….

Out of this, a profound movement security is established and every new way of moving, the shape, coordination, dynamic is received as a challenge with curiosity and a profound body security.  
Some of us experienced this in childhood playing outside or in dance schools with a human-centred point of few.

Later in dance education should be given the time and tools to explore ones one relation to the movement efforts.

How do I relate to space? Do I like a certain direction more than the other?
Do I like stability more than lability?
How is my proper relation to my body weight? Do I enjoy giving in to gravity or am I rather a light dancer, pulling my weight unconsciously up.

So many aspects can be explored and thus give consciousness about oneself.
The better I know myself, the better I can use my achieved knowledge and abilities in dance.

Dance Technique

Teaching dance-technique needs a highly skilled Human being.
Even one can for technical reasons separate the execution from the movement sensation, it should be clear that just the unity of the two movement aspects, create a real artistic gesture.

Therefore, the technical movement aspect as well as the movement sensation should be taught as they belong together, nourishing each other, forming and filling thus the body action.

If the teacher neglects one of those aspects, out of personal inclinations or unconsciousness, a distorted dancer will arise.

To extensive of technical ambitions and lacking real movement sensation, produces a more superficial, mechanical execution, receiving its motivation out of technical challenges.

Lacking on technical movement skills, produces an insecurity on the bodily side,
and therefore reduces the ability to deepen and feel the movement sensation.

The dancer needs the emotional stimulation, bodily organisation and understanding of the movement execution, so that he can build a proper and comprehensive image of the movement.