Somatics Midterm

Define Somatics. How does a somatic-based approach to movement education differ from a traditional approach to dance education?

"Derived from the Greek word soma, meaning "the living body in its wholeness," the term somatics is credited to Thomas Hanna (1979) and references processes inclusive of the entire being - body, mind, spirit, and the environment in which they coexist. This work rides on a belief that the soma is a changeable, fluid entity that responds to both external and internal stimuli. The focus is on the individual experience; how we feel as opposed to how others perceive us or how we think we are being perceived. By increasing internal sensitivity or listening, we can become aware of habitual ways of moving and responding and arrive at new movement possibilities (Feldenkrais 1972; Hanna 1979). In this manner, somatic thinking emphasizes the process, rather than the product."

cellular breathing

"With every breathe we connect and have an exchange with the environment outside of ourselves. The fuller our respiration, the more each and every cell of our bodies is dialoguing with the world.

List 6 Themes found throughout the Laban Movement Analysis system.

1. Breath 2. Core-Distal Connectivity 3. Head-Tail Connectivity 4. Cross Lateral Connectivity 5. Upper-Lower Connectivity 6. Body- Half Connectivity

In Making Connections, Peggy Hackney says that we return to early movement patterns to address what 3 things? (3 points)

1. Weak or underdeveloped patterns - for support of psychological health. 2. Skill-development requiring sophisticated coordination and phrasing of movement- to facilitate technical virtuosity. 3. Purpose- oriented expression reflecting and impacting an individual's creative style creative style- to increase personal artistry.

Head-Tail Connectivity Three Main Themes

1. willingness to change 2. full spinal connectivity 3. fluidity and stability in relationship (with the world)

According to Peggy Hackney there are three things that are fundamental in life and movement. List them below: (3 points)

A. Change is fundamental B. Relationship is fundamental C. Patterning body connections is fundamental

Core-Distal Connectivity As fully experienced within more complex and adult movement

Aware of body's edges. The difference between what is ME and what is NOT ME. Radiating from naval core. Differentiation of limbs. Spoking out - starfish, Organization of the body around a central core, around a naval center

What is Bartenieff Fundamentals?

Bartenieff Fundamentals is an approach to basic body training that deals with patterning connections in the body according to principles of efficient movement functioning within a context which encourages personal expression and full psychophysical involvement. "...an approach to basic body training..." a multi-faceted approach. Inroads might include: kinesthetic sensation sound/sight emotional recall repetition

Breath connectivity as fully experienced within more complex adult movement

Bonding with the earth. Breathing. Noticing the breath. Moving, always moving of the inner contents. One with the environment. Outpouring of flow into the surfaces supporting you. (In the womb, those surfaces are 3-dimensional), outside of the womb it is the surface beneath you, the earth. Whole entity moving as one. Ameoba-like. Oneness. Wellbeing.

Then, describe two examples of ways you have experienced a specific theme so far this semester as part of your study of the first 3 PTBC's. Example #1 (1-2 sentences): Example #2 (1-2 sentences)

Breath in relationship to bonding, bonding with the floor as a way to achieve groundedness. attachment more than gravitational force Discovering my spines stability it inversions through the connection of my head and tail

b. dynamic alignment

Dynamic alignment is achieved through releasing holding patterns through activating connections to find optimal balance as you prepare for both mobility and stability.

The goal of Bartenieff Fundamentals is: "the -------- between-------------- and -----------"

lively interplay inner functionality outer expressivity

"These fundamental patterns of Total Body Connectivity form the basis for our patterns of _____________________ and ____________________ as we live our embodied lives. They provide models for our 'connectedness.' (pg 13)

relationship connection

Breath Connectivity Three Main Themes

· Bonding reflex · Oneness - moving as one organic form · Beginnings of Flow

Core-Distal Connectivity As seen with infant development

Naval radiation - (from umbilical cord)/Radial symmetry Coming into/Going away from "I take in and I pour out" In-out rhythm is less circular than Breath Connectivity, more like a radiating star Discovery of "parts" (differentiation) and the relationship of "parts" to other 'parts" (integration). The beginning of differentiation and integration.

Head-Tail As fully experienced within more complex adult movement

Organization of the body around a body spine, and central nervous system. With a head at one end, and a tail at the other. Rotation is introduced. The soft spine. The tissue returns to itself. It knows itself. Senses. Attention and intention. Seahorse.

10. Describe the relationship of diaphragm and psoas. (1-2 sentences; 2 pt) How is Breath supporting your full bodied movement at this point in the semester? Use analytical and evocative language for full credit

The psoas is attached to the diaphragm through fascia and the medial arcuate ligament. With each breathe, psoas and diaphragm work together to provide anterior spinal stability. The diaphragm and hence the psoas, react to fear and to stress with constriction. Breath has helped me overcome fear.

d. Vertical Throughness

Throughness of the Vertical" is referred to by Hackney as "clear sensation of alive energy through your spine" Hackney, 94). It is referring to the awake and active sensation that comes through being aware of, and engaging the fullness of innervation and functional expression of the spine.

Head-Tail As seen with infant development

Thumb Sucking 1. First, the action of sucking moves the jaw bone which causes flexion and extension of the skull on the spine which has repercussions in the baby's tail. 2. It also stimulates the digestive track, connecting the top of our innards to the bottom of our tail.

What does it mean to "Yield to Push?" (2-3 sentences; 2 points)

Yielding is about our connection with the outside world, but looking at the earth as a greater whole we are already connected to. It is focused on our connection and ability to bond with the earth in order to compress ourselves to push away from it Yield: · bonding, outpour of flow · Grounding: sense of self · My tissues know themselves, come into themselves, a return to Self · Compression of the tissue Push: "Through pushing, the individual compresses the body (bony structure, musculature, organs, etc) momentarily, thus stimulating proprioceptive knowledge of the structure or solidity of Being itself. Ability to give attention inwardly through sensation is developed. The individual yields and pushes and gets feedback in the ground of his/her own Being."

How are you experiencing new patterns of Connectivity so far in the semester? (Consider the various examples of "connectivity" Hackney discusses, and your own individual somatic work.) (2-3 sentences; 4 points))

Hackney argues that Head-tail Connectivity is related to our body attitude via the involvement of the spine. Body attitude is the series of held and upheld parts that make up habitual posture and movement. This habitual patterning, or body attitude, is generated by a person's sense of head-tail connectivity and tells a lot about a person. A gangster walking down the street will have vastly different held parts than a mom of 6, but the way both of them walk is a projection of their body attitude and Head-tail connectivity as they send a message to the world about their life, their beliefs and their personalities. 1. Fixed relationship in the head-neck area Talking about the Psoas chain, helped in extensions in ballet

Core-Distal Connectivity Three Main Themes

Less circular- more radial Starfish/fireworks Twoness

Breath Connectivity As seen with infant development

Manifestations of breath connectivity is the sense of oneness, the body senses itself as one organism. They start to sense themselves as this one being, expressed through bonding. Breath is about flow and the subtle impulses of movement in the body, it isn't directed into the space at all. They are one and they are bonded with whatever surface they are on. Even In the womb babies are experiencing a sense of flow without it being directed anywhere. They remain as an undifferentiated body.