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Classical ballet cultivates weightlessness. Martha Graham, dancer, and choreographer, ushered in the era of Modern Dance and the concept of Contraction and Release. In other words, a movement range from being weighed down to letting go. One of Martha’s students returned to Israel and founded the Batsheva Dance Company in 1964, with Martha as the first artistic director. In the 1990s, Ohad Naharim assumed the directorship and developed Gaga Dance Language, a method of accessing dancers’ inner experiences for a choreographic foundation. He also developed Gaga/People, a program designed to bring Gaga techniques to the everyday person.
I explored movement ranges as a young adult. My time spent in the weight room established a precise grid of movement mechanics within consecutive stations. Boxing added reaction and response, and theater set the stage for the story, dance, and music. I developed my version of Gaga/People and named it Everyday Fitness. The manipulation of a broom became a core exercise, and manipulating an ax ushered in the massive lat fountain flare ruling the back.
I followed an exploration path, intentionally not selecting Dance Identification. Instead, I shaped my role as Family Legacy Release Worker, thus developing a Self-awareness Grid that gave me readouts for an Inner Trek Dance Language.
Inner Treks are journeys into self-reflection, opening doors to new levels of core awareness. The key to unlocking these passages is the embodiment of release. In other words, I had to learn to recognize thought patterns and expand my range of feelings. The next step was to Identify & Name Inner Treks, such as Defensiveness, Depression, Shame, and many other energy fields. Every one of these treks required movement range expansion.
But now, I’m faced with humor. How can I ignite my inner comedian? What is the comedic range from constriction to release?
To be continued…
