Output details

Author/Practitioner. Moving into the Body: Movement and Somatic Training for Performance

This work captures the first of five parts of the somatic work the researcher has been developing with its underpinning in the principles of the Alexander Technique. The somatic work has five segments:. a) head and neck; b) spine; c) pelvis; d) arms; and e) knees and legs. Within each segment the researcher has developed a process which allows the work to be taught as if each direction existed in isolation. The process for each segment has five stages. In this particular session the focus is on head and neck and the introduction of an experiential understanding of primary control through movement.

The process starts with an anatomical introduction to the body area in question; here the participants are reminded of the skull and muscles of the head and face.

Participants are guided through hands-on procedures based on specific muscles, with a partner lying semi supine. This is also a moment where conscious thinking in order to effect change in the body is identified through hands-on and through images. The hands-on procedures develop into movement with a partner maintaining the conditions in action through pair work. The learning of Alexander’s concept of primary control through movement is a fundamental example of the overall process. This is then applied to solo singing because it makes an exaggerated demand on the voice and an ideal place to notice the impact of applying primary control to the technical demands of singing. The final stage identified in the workshop is the point at which the technical work releases the imagination and the images and pictures are seen within the song.

The work proposes in practice a framework for teaching somatic work in a group context.