Authentic Movement (AM) is a method originated from dance therapy used in holistic dance pedagogy and psychotherapy as well as in artistic processes. It offers insights and experiences into deep layers of the inner body (Soma) and psyche, new expressions and abilities for the physical body (Physis) and the explorations and integration of its interconnections.
Authentic Movement (AM) is a practice of listening and moving from inner impulses, images and stories, of developing a non-judgemental view of Self and others and attending to a language, which is mindful and experienced based. We also honour spiritual aspects of ourselves through movement
There are two roles: the mover and the witness. The mover has a set amount of time where he/she moves, dances, listens, voices and interacts with closed eyes. He/she can freely choose where his/her sensations and movements take her/him into the dance. The mover is seen by a single person or a group of witnesses, who in turn are tuning in into their own inner sensations, impulses, feelings, stories and images.
In the sharing, both the mover and the witness exchange these inner sensations verbally free of interpretation. There are simple, but specific guidelines how to use language in the sharing.
Authentic Movement Plus is an extended form of Authentic Movement developed over the last ten years by Sabine Parzer and Martina Mückler.
AM plus includes the practices of:
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Bodywork, Somatics, Applied Anatom
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Contemporary Dance Improvisation
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Elements of Dance Therapy
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Dance in Nature
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Non- Violent Communication
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Painting & Crafts
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Creative Writing
Authentic Movement Plus as used in a healing and self-exploration settings can:
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Develop a link between the unconscious and conscious body
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Further a person’s ability to embody and express their life experiences
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Help to grow people fully into their creative and professional potential
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Establish forms of nonverbal communication
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Clarify and sharpen verbal communication skills
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Develop an attitude of non-judgment towards Self and others
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Learn to trust one’s body
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Develop new bodyimagery, selfawareness and selfacceptance
© NADJA MEISTER
Integrative Contact Improvisation is a mindful form of contact improvisation that focuses on the healing, emotionally connecting elements in dancing. We play, research and test our physical and emotional boundaries in a setting where vulnerability, connection and encounter have as much room as physicality, wildness and artistic expression. Kinesthetic empathy, self-responsibility, touch qualities and principles of movement are core elements of Integrative Contact Improvisation.
In the last 10 years, an approach has emerged in the research of healing spaces in Holistic Dance, which Sabine Parzer calls Integrative Contact Improvisation. Playful encounter and communication, the interaction between inside and outside, deep relaxation and physical connectivity are in focus. Acrobatics and technique are part of this approach, but the emphasis is on secure emotional connections and openness to "what is".
Contact Improvisation (CI) is a self-defined, fluently changing dance form, shaped by the focus, intention and training of the dancers, instructor or the setting (i.e. jam). Originally used as a means to investigate performance it was founded 1972 through an initiative of Steve Paxton. Its development needs to be credited to many pioneers of the postmodern era, such as Nita Little, Nancy Stark Smith, Danny Lepkov, Trisha Brown, Sara Shelton Mann and many others.
Influences that have helped shape the formation of CI were: modern and postmodern dance, acrobatics and martial arts. Further developments of CI include somatic methods, meditation practices, Tantra and the research in communication and community living practices.
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The starting point for Contact Improvisation is the meeting of two people who share touch in improvisational movements. Three dimensional movements are being created through the interplay of the elements of dance, such as weight, force, speed and momentum.
During the contact of two bodies, it can happen that:
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Different surfaces of the body touch: i.e. hand to hand, hand to back, head to foot
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Bodyweight is being transferred onto a partner in different degrees: from sharing weight of a single finger to partial or full bodyweight
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Levels of movement shift: standing, lying down, in the air
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Dance partners stay stationary or locomote through the space
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Speed varies
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Individual dances occur even though dancers are in contact
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Any of these elements become the focus of the dance and/or are interchangeable/ variable
© CHRIS WAIKIKI
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The elements of dance are:
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Space: space, movement (running, walking, jumping, etc.), direction, levels, inner / outer space, public / private, near / distance, paths
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Time: measured / unmeasured time, rhythm (2/4, ¾ etc.), felt time, tempo, crescendo / descrescendo, music live / recorded, silence, voice
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Body: body parts, inner / kines / outer sphere, body systems (joints, muscles, bones, organs etc.), touch qualities, open / closed eyes / peripheral vision
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Force: percussive, swinging, stopped, vibrating
These elements can be combined with each other at will and form the basis for a differentiated movement vocabulary.
In Contemporay Dance Improvisation we learn, play and research with the elements of dance. In solo, duet, trio or group settings (scores) we acquire the basic tools of dance, which allow us a playful approach to expression, freedom in movement, creativity and design. We improvise with different parts of ourselves, the body, its connections to space, time and power. We pay tribute to the present moment and its stories, which find expression with abstract, artistic, archetypal, psychosomatic, personal and political content.
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Contemporay Dance Improvisation emerged as part of the movement of postmodern dance in the 1960s. Revolutionary choreographers and dancers expanded the possibilities in which dance could present itself as an art form. The theater was no longer the only place where performances could take place, but every place, whether street, garage, forest, roof, or studio became a place to express oneself. Classical gender roles were no longer used, the woman was equal to the man on stage, could also lift men and often costumes were uniform.
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In the meantime Contemporay Dance Improvisation has established itself as an independent art form and is often called "Instant Composition". The goal is to surrender to the moment, to play with the elements of dance without or with only a few guidelines, to select and create in "free fall". Improvisation scores are structures with the help of which different themes are condensed or focused on.
© NADJA MEISTER
Goals
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The art of sensing the inner body (soma) in connection to larger systems such as social- and community bodies, environmental and planetary systems
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The view of somatics is inseparable from ecological health and sustainability
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The practice of using somatic principles to facilitate and enhance sustainable work in the landscape, e.g. gardens, farms, village buildings.
Deep ecology (1972 founded by Arne Naess, continued a.o.by Joanna Macy) contains the concept of science, education and a way of life, which is based on the reciprocal conditioning and connectedness of all life on earth. As Einstein said, "We cannot solve our environmental and social problems through the same patterns of thought that created them." This is especially true for all sustainability issues. Therefore, an awareness process is needed through which we humans not only rationally understand the destruction of life on this planet but also learn to sense it again. From the point of view of my experience, this sensing is most effectively shaped through the access of movement and dance, working with the body and expressing positive, resource-oriented sustainability in our own system as well as in larger ecosystems.
We work with the Ecological Self: a Self that understands and accepts the wild parts of our psyche and that recognizes our fault in the environment without being overwhelmed by it.
EcoSomatics is an emerging interdisciplinary pioneer field in the USA and Europe, that has been growing since 2007. It connects and interweaves ecological consciousness, sustainability, dance and performing arts, body- and psychotherapy.
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The practice of ecosomatics heals the separation between mind, body, and earth by encouraging direct sensory perception of one’s body both in the natural environment and as the natural environment.
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© CONTACT FESTIVAL AUSTRIA
The soma, a Greek word, means "living body" or "the body that is perceived from within". In Somatics we work with approaches from different body-therapeutic methods to give this living body and its sensations, perceptions and experiences space to unfold and express themselves.
In the practice of Somatics and Applied Anatomy, a dialogue between inside and outside, between psyche and body, between being and doing is created. We learn to learn in a different way, to become pain-free, to experience lightness in movement and dance, to work more efficiently in everyday life and to be in the here and now with more joy of life and expressiveness.
In Holistic Dance the practice of Somatics is an invitation to dance with a soft, receptive and alert body. We need an attentive intuitive body-mind to develop subtle and playful communication. The state "released tonus - accute awareness" connects to deeper layers of the body, its systems, the environment and other dancers.
We work with
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conscious breathing and effects on movement qualities
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qualities of touch and how they relate to tonus
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injury prevention and recovery
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exploration of the body systems and their expressive qualities
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refinement of body awareness on an objective and subjective level
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development of kinesthetic sensitivity to support homeostasis and self-regulation
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recognition of common perception- and posture patterns
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improvement of the quality of life in everyday life, profession and artistic expression
