Running head: A SOMATIC FOOTPRINT 1

A Somatic Footprint in the Dance Movement

Miquella Young

Arizona State University

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A Somatic Footprint

A somatic footprint is the impact that somatic practices have had on the world of dance as

it has evolved through its various styles and forms. “Somatics” is a term that describes bodywork

and movement that focuses on internal perception and evaluation. It is not necessarily a field of

dance, but rather an area of study that relates to dance. In this paper there is an outline of how

somatic practices and education became an influence in western dance culture. Next there is a

breakdown of how somatic practices have been evident and transformative in the history of

western dance, even before the term was coined.

Less than half a century old, the history of somatics and the formation of its principles

were founded heavily in dance. Somatic education and healing were created by founders like

Feldenkrais and Alexander who were willing to explore their own bodies and appreciate their

inner experience. Others, like Bonnie Cohen and Bartenieff began with their roots in dance and

used somatics in conjunction with other movement practices. Whether it was used as a coping

mechanism for all the change during the 20th century or a tool for creative teaching and

expression, somatic history has helped shape modern dance forms into what they are today.

In its beginnings, somatics began in response to societal stigmas about the body. There

was a shift in perspective on how the body and mind were connected; the coining of the term

“somatics” was the start of self-knowing and self-organization of the body; imagery and

self-exploration became the keys that make somatics, somatics. At this same time in the dance

world, artists like Martha Graham were founding modern dance, the form with a high level of

freedom, aiming to universalize the human experience. Somatics continues to evolve this open

exploration of the body and individual self-expression alongside this dance movement.
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Coming to America from far away countries, many of the pioneers of somatic dance had

taken eastern ideologies with them into the western culture. These individuals were very aware

of their new surroundings as they began the integration of eastern culture into the west. In

eastern hemisphere, practices like martial arts and yoga were popular for their cultivation of the

mind-body relationship. Pioneers of somatics, like Ida Rolf, were influenced by yoga and

Feldenkrais, Judo. Their formation of new somatic principles and practices were not entirely

new, especially in eastern culture. These individuals simply took what they knew from the east

and combined it with their pre-existing philosophies and experience in the west. These practices

were based in natural movement, like the dance themes being shared by western artists.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, dance became intertwined in the mix of somatics

with movements like that of Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, who combined ideals of nature

and eastern cultures into their art forms. Ruth St. Denis took ideals and influences from

Egyptian, Indian, and Japanese cultures. There are some overlapping characteristics between

somatic dance and Ruth St. Denis’s style since they have stemmed from similar eastern culture

ideals. Where Ruth’s style came across as cultural misappropriation, somatic practices were able

to bridge that gap between dance and eastern cultures. For example, hand gestures or mudras,

that are foundational to Indian dance were used by Ruth, but also in somatic practices to center

the body and mind. Sitting or moving with mudras centers the energy of the dancers and gives

them purpose. This somatic use of mudras can be used in preparation for dance instead of on

stage, to avoid cultural misappropriation.

Dance and somatics have also been intertwined through the impactful work of Isadora

Duncan. In her work and somatic history alike, how we view the human body was beginning to
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change. The relationship between the body and nature was considered in the work of Isadora

Duncan, shedding the superficiality and rigidity of ballet. She connected the body with our

external world, but somatic practices connected us with our internal world. The somatic practices

of listening to and altering established pathways of movement, as in the Feldenkrais method,

brought the dancer’s awareness inside. The dancer who is able to utilize methods of listening like

this are also able to apply critiques and notes from instructors more effectively. This holds true in

modern dance practice where unison and unique movement qualities may have not been familiar

to the dancer’s body. However, this critical thinking connection between the body and mind

creates a mechanism for creativity: a step away from balletic.

Into the 20th century, somatic dance moved past its introduction into society. The dance

world began to take interest in somatic practices with the emergence of somatic workshops at the

American Dance Festival and a dance magazine called “The Body Therapies” by Martha Myers

in 1980 (Batson, 2009). With the emergence of postmodern contemporary dance, somatics began

to play a role in the experimentation of new media like props, sound, lighting, and other

technology; the expansion in mixed media components required an expansion in the mind-body

relationship to unify the various and versatile elements being incorporated for the first time.

Today, the merging of dance education and somatic education continues the legacy of

“somatics.” Dancers in today’s society have more access to somatic ideas in their training and at

a younger age. We see contemporary trends like physical risk-taking in ​Born to Fly​ by Elizabeth

Streb, where complete kinesthetic awareness and intricate body patterning are necessary to

perform. In ​Born to Fly,​ there is repetition and trust with the movement, just as in somatic

practices that require constant attention, like the Alexander technique.

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Although the history of “somatics” as a category of study has only been around since the

nineteenth century, the principles that it suggests have evolved over time with dance culture in

the western hemisphere. Universally across the centuries, the emergence and transformation of

new dance vocabulary called for use of the mind-body connection. The dancer would have to use

imagery when learning from early forms of dance notation, translating language into a visual

representation of the body and then outwardly expressing it. In America, the human race was

beginning its transformation from outward to inward perception with dance from the start.

As early as the 1300’s, organized movement of the body began to take shape:

renaissance dance was born. This form of dance was not very connected with somatic principles

of internal perception, but it was still the beginning of a new kinesthetic awareness of the body

moving in space. As theatrical entertainment, baroque dance focused mostly on floor patterns

and new uses of vocabulary. Sacial awareness came into play depending on the size and shape of

the stage. The dancers also had to learn how to be aware of where others would be in space, with

up to eight dancers in formations, or figures. However, the somatics behind dance in the

renaissance period were limited since the movements resembled day to day use of the legs, like

walking steps, sliding, and stamping.

As the times transitioned to baroque dance, where dance was used as an expression of

power. As nobility performed this dance, they had to connect their inner feelings of confidence

and power into the steps that they created and/or performed. The steps became more codified,

more complicated, and more elegant. Before baroque dance, the feet were simply used in tasks:

to walk and to work. This form brought special somatic attention and awareness to the feet.
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Turned out positions and a call for an effortless aesthetic called for intricate pedal movement,

unusual when compared to how their bodies had been trained before.

In romantic ballet, the focus is still very physical and outward, but new elements like the

pointe shoes are added as an additional challenge for the dancer. The ballerina has to consciously

organize her body in new ways: accommodating a new height, a new pressure point on her feet,

and a new point of contact with her partner. The focus for the ballet dancer becomes internal in

this period, where dramatic emotion and facial expressions are utilized in performances like ​La

Sylphide.

Where a ballerina only had limited self-expression in romantic and classical ballet time

periods, the Ballet Russes subtlely furthered the progression of somatic ideals in the dancers.

One example is in the slow movement in ​Afternoon of a Faun​ by choreographer Nijinsky.

Although it caused an uproar with the crowd, slow movement takes a lot of focus and awareness.

Somatic dance focuses on a high rest to activity ratio where the brain has more time to process

and evaluate neural input, or sensory stimuli. Slow movement in this piece paired with the use of

stage props gave the dancer room to process where his body is in space and how movement feels.

Although this perception may have not been shared by the choreographer with the dancer, the

slow speed leaves space for this internal processing to begin. Since the movement of the Ballet

Russes strayed from typical ballet vocabulary, the dancers required a lot of practice for simple

movement patterns that were unfamiliar to their bodies and minds. This repatterning of

movements relates to the modern-day somatic principles taught in Feldenkrais.

In the same time period as the Ballet Russes, modern dance was evolving. Many of the

pioneers in this field had versatile and diverse dance backgrounds which lent to its divergence
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from the rigidity that ballet had restricted dancers to. The freedom that modern dance brought to

the stage gave artists and dancers room for exploration with the environment, with each other,

and most importantly, with themselves. This is where somatic practices come in; “Somatics and

the modern dance movement are linked...They are both body-based forms that value the whole

human being” (Eddy, 2009). Modern dance choreographers, like Pearl Primus and Ana Sokolow,

often chose to deal with contemporary issues and other cultures, which required internal

reflection to create. The dancers required an internal relationship to the topic to accurately

portray movement.

Throughout the history of somatics and the history of dance, the concepts of mindful

moving, brain repatterning, and individuality have been developing towards how we know them

today. They are perspectives of how the human mind and body can work together to transform

dance as an art form that have been integrated into our view of dance. Thanks to somatic

practices in modern dance and movement education, the field of dance is still evolving from post

modern contemporary to something new and unknown. Into the future we go with an internal

perception and awareness in hand.

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References

Batson, G. (2009). Somatic Studies in Dance. ​International Association for Dance Medicine and

​ etrieved from www.DanceEducation.org

Science. R

Eddy, M. (2009). A brief history of somatic practices and dance: ​historical development of the

field of somatic education and its relationship to dance.​ ​Journal of Dance and Somatic

Practices,1(​ 1), 5-27. doi:10.1386/jdsp.1.1.5_1