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A unique technique of guiding the body from everyday movements and into dance

Table of Contents

Credits   ix
Preface   xi
Acknowledgments   xvii

Part One: Groundwork: Dance, Alexander Technique, and Dart Procedures   1
Introduction to Part One   3
1. Assumptions and Foundations   9
2. Alexander Technique: Overview and Basic Principles   17
3. The Dart Procedures: Overview and Key Concepts   27

Part Two: From Crawling to Leaping: Dart Procedures Applied to Dance Training   41
Introduction to Part Two   43
4. Primary and Secondary Curves: Looking at Movement through a New Lens   45
5. Spirals for Connectivity and Lengthening   57
6. Discovering the Resiliency of the System   71

Part Three: The Right Thing Does Itself- Alexander Principles Applied to Dance Training   83
Introduction to Part Three   85
7. The Whole Self   87
8. Becoming Aware of Habit   95
9. Head First: Facilitating Coordination   103
10. Allowing versus Doing   111
11. Releasing the Catch: Direction   117

Part Four: Applications to Dance Movements   129
Introduction to Part Four   131
12. Applications to Ballet   133
13. Applications to Contemporary Modern Dance Technique   149
14. Applications for Teachers: Correction with Direction   165

Epilogue   177
Bibliography   181
DVD Contents   185
Index   187

About the Author

Rebecca Nettl-Fiol is a professor of dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a dance choreographer, and the coeditor of The Body Eclectic: Evolving Practices in Dance Training.Luc Vanier is an associate professor in the dance department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts and a dance choreographer.

Reviews

"So few other books offer practical guidance or outline experiential practices that help dancers understand how to apply the Alexander Technique, the art and science of embodied living. Nettl-Fiol and Vanier eloquently and clearly help readers learn how to access their bodily sensations and utilize them to organize efficient, easy, and elegant movement." Glenna Batson, associate professor of physical therapy at Winston-Salem State University "An articulate and accessible in-depth synthesis of the Alexander Technique and traditional dance training. With clear, intriguing, and insightful writing, the authors demonstrate a depth of knowledge in somatic practice theory." Kathryn Daniels, Chair, Dance Department at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle