foster. 1992. dancing bodies.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
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ncing
Bodie~
Susan Leigh Foster
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l eam int riguing detai ls about the s ign if ic anc e
01
sundry anatomi cal parts and how they have been
subj ectcd to study - and, by extensi on, incorpo-
r at eu into the l ar ge r work ings
01
power.
What I m iss in both approaches - the synec-
dochic substitution
01
t he body f or a the ore ti ca l
topos or its metonymic replacement by a set
01
measurement s - i s a more meat-and-bones
approach to the body based on an analysis
01
d is cours es o r p ra ct ic es tha t instru t it. Roland
Bart hes rerers t o it i n t hi s way when he describes
Bunraku puppet perrormances or t he involve-
ment
01
his own body in t he physical organiza-
tion
01
his desk and chair, his dail y rout ines and
habits 01 wri ti ng .' Mic hel Foucau lt de linea te s a s·
pects 01 t he inst ru ct abl e body when he desc ribes
the d iscipl inary procedures, the I ines , h ie ra rchies
and spati al organi zat ions t hat bodi es are asked
to maint ai n as part 01 the disciplinary Iineaments
01 culture.2
The se two examples h ar dly su ffi ce , t hough ,
when one considers what might be done toward
stud) 'ing nwthods 01 cu til 'at ing the body - II hole
d is cipl in es through which i t i s molded, s hap l'< l,
transform ed and, in essence, created. Such dis·
c ip lines inc lude a li sports and ph) 's ical-cultu re
I Jursuits ; r egulat ions governing pos ture , e tiquette
and comportment , and \vhat i s d ubiousl )' tit lcd
nonverbal communicati on ; habit s i n t il(' work-
p la ce or p la ce
01
worship; conduct in the per-
rorming arts; pat te rns
01
standing. Ivin. :'.sitting.
If y ou a re a sked to d esc ribe an objec t, y ou answe r
tha t i t isa body with a sur face , impenetrable,
shaped, coloured, and movable . But subtrac t a li
t he se a dject iv es f rom your deôn it io n and wha t i s
lef t o f tha t imaginary being you call a body?
- Den is D id ero t, Let te rs on the Dea f a nd Dumb
As a dance r working with, in and through the
body, I experi ence it as aJ?9d)'-of-ideas. I be-
Ii eve it is, as Diderot observed, the sum aI' ali t he
adjectives that can be applied to it. I know the
body only t hrough i ts.response to th~ds
anJ
technigiíesusedt~-~~Tti;;te
t..
Wli ê'ri 1 i -ead recent cri ti cal wri ting about the
body, Iam, on the one hand, delighted at this
new interest in it, and on the other, dismayed by
the tendency to treat it as a symbol ror desire ar
sexuali ty, for a ut opi a, ror that which i s u ni que
to woman or for the clusive nature
01
the tex to
These writings seldom address the body I know;
inst ead, t hey move quickl y past arms, Iegs, t orso
and head on their way to a theoretical agenda
tha t r equires something unknowable
01
unknown
as an init ial premi se. The bou)' remains myst eri-
ous and ephemeral , a convenient recept acl e for
thei r n ew theo ret ic al p os it io ns.
A lt ern at ive l) ', t hes e wri ti ng s sc ru tini ze and
analyze t he bod)', but only as a product
01
the
v ar io us di scours es tha t mea su re i t. I- Je re i t e xi st s
dS t he re fcr en t r or g en re s
01
ca lc ul at io n tha t con-
cern the h is torian 01 science 01 s exu al it y: we
I;
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(/
the instructions gÍ\'Cn, Yctsuddl'llh-. illl'Xplic'.l-
hl)', it diverges from expcctatiom, fl·\T.lls llc'\\
dimensions and mutel)' declares its unwilling.
ness ar inabi li ty to execute commands. Brief
1110mentsof mastery of the bod)' '' 01' of fceling
a t one wi th the bod)'' ' occur , producing a kind
of ecstas)' that motivates the danceI' to continue,
elear sensations 01' impravement ar progress _
the result of a rnomenta r) ' matching of one 's
knowledge and awareness of the bod~' with a de.
veloping physical capacity - also pravide encour.
agement. The prevailing experience, ho\\'e er,
isone of loss, of fai ling to regulate a miragel ike
substance, Dancers constantl)' apprehend the
dis crepanc) ' between what the) ' want to do and
what the)' can do. Even after attaining official
membersh ip in the profess ion, one never has
confidence in the bod) s reliabilit)', The struggle
continues to develop and main tain the body in
response to new choreographic projects and the
devastating evidence of aging,
Training th~çI ~_a.t :~_.~v2-I~~ies: o~~-
ce~\:e.d._~nd_ a~lg ble;he other, acsth~tic~DyJi~~
The dancer's perceived bod)' derives pril11arily
fram sensor)' informalion that isvisual, aural,
haptic, 01factor) ' and, prrhaps most important •
kinaesthetic. Dancers see large portions oftheir
o\\ 'n bouies, a vis ta that changes as the) ' mO\T,
The)' hear the sounds produced b)' locomotion,
h)' one holi) ' part contact ing another, hy lhe
hreath and hy joints and Illuscles creolking, pop-
ping and grinding asthe) ' nex, extend and rotate,
The)' feel the body's contact with the 'ground,
with objects ar persons and with parts ofi tsclf
and the)' sense its ternperature anu s,, eat.Thc)'
smell sweat anu breath, Thc)' sensc kinacsthl'tic
indications of the tension 01'relaxation, tollltncss
01' laxness , and degree ofexertion for ever) '
rnllscle, the action of any joint and, conscqll(·ntly,
the proximity of one bone to another, the rel .1-
tionship 01'an)' polrt of the bod)' to gral'il)' and
the entire hod~ s C(luilibriunl. 1\n)'01'this infor.
mation ahollt the percei\'cd bod)' Illol)'he incor·
porated into til(' dolnce'r'sideal hodv, whel'e il
Doncing Bcdies
eat ing, walking, asw0llas ali pract ices that con-
tribute to the development ofwhat MareeI Mauss
has eal led techniques of the body, -lSuch prac-
t iees , Foucault has demonstrated, are part of the
fabric ofculture i tselr. They invest, mark, t rain
and tor ture the body; they force i t t o car ry out
tasks . to perform ceremonies. and to emit s igns , 4
The dail)' praçti,c,~Jmti21?ation of a body in
any of _~~~~c:..':I~'plinesmakes of it a body-of.
i tleas . .Each discinl ine refers to i t using select
mct ;; p~orÚb.~_~bIT.t roR~~ t l~~e i tove r.
These tropes may be drawn from anatomical
discourse 01'the science of kinesiology; 01'they
may liken the body to a machine , an animal 01'
any other worldly object 01'evento They may
be art iculated asverbal descriptions of the
body and its act ions , 01'asphysical act ions that
show i t how to behave. Whethe r worded 01'
enac ted, these tropes change i ts meaning by
re-presenting i t,
In \Vhat fol lows, I shall attempt to describe
one s~~~ ~?_~tof-ideas, that of the theatrical
danceI', r have imagined that I am address ing
SÕr;:;-O;lCWIIO has secn but never participated
in thcatrical dance. My cO~lm~ 1 ~i~1li. .ltOtwo
sections: the first focu~e2-?~. h~Jorm. 1tion of
da,íCi,íg -io,lllycon~cious 2~s:,-.~~1.~_~~:~nd
situates this Ijoiljri-cõi;~iousness in a cultural
alld aesthetk i110n;~~t.·B~tÍl arc'firmiy rooted
iJia \Veslern frameIVork for considering lhe
purpose and value ofdance; they cannot avoid,
even asthe) ' t I' )' to provide a perspective on,
Western assumptiuns about the bod)' , the self
and the express ive act .
The Perceived and Ideal
Dancing Bodies
Typicall)'. a danceI' spends an)'where from two
to six 110ursper da) ', s ix to se\ 'en da) 's per wcek
for eight to ten ) 'ears creat ing a dancing body
During the course of this tra\'ai , lhe hod)'
seems
('I)nstantl)' to c1ude one's cfTorts to direct it. The
danceI' pursues a certain technique for reform-
in ~til(' hnch-.and til(' hndv S('('I11<o ('onform to
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combines with fantasizeel visual 01'kinaesthetic
. images of a boely,images of other elancers' boel-
ies anelcinematic 01'vieleo images of elancing
boelies. The dancer's ideal body may specify size,
shape anel proport ion of it s parts as wel l as ex-
pertise at executing specific movements. Both
boelies, the perceived and the ideal, consist of
the skeletal, muscular and nervous systems and
any fat t issue of the biological body. The lungs,
stomach, sense organs, circulatory systems exist
only minimally; other organs and the endocrine
system not at all ~' .
'I
Both hodies are co~s~~~~? ir ts .ª; ç4,~ each
influences the development of the 'other. Both
result from the process 01'taking dance classes,
aswell aswatching elance and talking about it.
Cumulatively, these activities help the danceI' to
develop skills at attending to, duplicating, repeat-
ing and remembering bodily movement.
A
third
kind ofbody, the demonstrative body, m~dia~~
the~~~i~~i~ti~;'~i'
sk~}s
b~ .~~~;g
cori'ecfór-í'ilcõrl'ect movement. Where the ideal
. '. ,--- -. -.- . .. . ..-- ...- -;:1'.- . ..
--.--1' ..- .....-
bodyel\:iC1estFi~A~l1.:.e.l:.witnts penection, the
dem011~;tf~Ú~~~~dy did~tT;~-iíy'e~npha~Izesor
even exaggerates actions necessary to improve
dancing: it isolates moments in a movement
sequence 01'parts ofthe boely in order to pre-
sent an analysis 01'the ideal.
T~~
~~monstratiy'~,
body elisplaysitself in the body 01'the teacher,
anel ;~7netimes in one's own image in the mirror
anelin the bodies 01'other stuelents in the class
aneltheir mirrar images. For example, when
I
look at another student in the class, I see heI' 01'
his body not as that ofa friend 01'an acquain-
tance, but asthe bodily instantiation of desired
01'undesired, correct 01'incorrect, values.
Several systematic programs of instruction,
knoWi1ãS dãncêtechí1iquês~'ff-ex'isrfõfStüõ.ying
the perc~iy~4
po:dy,:() g~~n.i,~J Tg:~.rr~~:m~~~~~
it presentsand correlating it with demonstrative
anel
i
deal'bodi~s. Ea~h'tech~iq~e '~~itiv~tés oüd-
ily strength, ile'xibility and alignment, the shapes
III.ltk
hy l'Iw
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tlll' rliVlllllI
orits IlHIV('IlH'11I
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' ,out i t ..Most tec 1ll ig': l~.ffer both a body topog- .
?'aphy,a ~iTlgork~y .<\re<\~.()~.<?~~~) l~.~.~ell;'
as principIes governing the,.proper relations of
tfíeseã;eãs~Tn da~;te~I~nique ~lasses, this
-'
tõpography isput in motion by performing
sequences of movement usually designated by ,' '.
th<:.de~~. '_tI-,~.t\'y <:, ?~4y_~he teacher . .v
Unlike the private classes offered in the tech-
nique of playing a musical instrument, dance
classes are usually attended by fifteen to fifty
students at a time. They occur daily, rather than
weekly 01'monthly, and they rarely present for
study and performance an entire dance compo-
sit ion. Pht 'ases 01'sections of dances may be
taught, but the issues of interpretation, develop-
ment, coherence 01'style of performance are
more often aeldressed in rehearsal for a specific
work rather than
in
technique class. Further-
more, dancers are not expected to pract ice
extensively on their own. Their training iscom-
munal and highly regimented, but it isalso con-
text specific. Asstudents learn to duplicate the
correctly demonstrative body and to avoid the
mistakes of the incorrect body, they present
(anelare presented with) endless new variations
on right and wrong. The demands ofboth the
perceived and the ideal bodies are thus redefined
by each teacher with each group of students.
E~<;.hd~ lf~c 1l1l3.ue relie~~extensive
nOl}l~ : ÇJ.~l~I~,.§9Jl'letimesiteral and s~;1;et1mes
r;~. ~E~O ~S.<?~.~~s.ig;~~T~iey';~~a; oftr~~-b~dy
and their relations:
A
danceI' may be asked to .
tot~te th;'h~~'d-;fth;f~TI1~; i~the hip socket,
l ift the floating ribs 01' increàse the space be-
tween the skuIl and top cervical vertebra ; altero
natively, to become a baIloon expanding with
air 01' a puppet. Techniques might visualize
the body asa se t ofabstract lines running close
to the bones, asa se t ofpoints 01'regions ofthe
surface and interior, asa set of forces that l ift,
descend, expand 01'condense specified areas of
the body. Dancers puIl, tuck, extend, l ift, soften
and kllgllwn
(lJ'l'(lS
of the
ho<ly
th ro llgho ll t t :h~~ .
.1111'<11 j. 111 I' I l,. j(o, , ll Il i. 1111'
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J'lw\' ,Ir1\ 111(
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I r
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V
Bad hahits (only recognizablc as such 01H'l'the)'
already exist) indicate probl('ms that recjuire
special attention. lI' the metaphoric system in
use proves inefTective in eliminating bad habits
or in preventing or curing injury, the daneer may
discard it in favor 01'al ternative systems, The
dancer must decipher each new interpret ive
framework, however, using asreference the body
01'metaphors built up thraugh prior training.
Asdancers l abor to meet the s tandards for
the ideal body - dete rmined sometimes by
themselves, at others bya choreographer, style
or tradition - they inevitably encounter areas '
ofbodily resistance or incapacity, These deficits
are exaggerated by the intensity 01'training, and
they produce highly distorted, often obsessin~
images 01'the perceived body. The training regi-
men reveals the perceived body to be horribly
deficient in the size and proport ion 01'i ts parts .
rts areas 01'inflexibility and lack 01'strength or
endurance can take on grotesque dimensions .
Its inabili ty to imitate shapes, to hear rhythms
or to relax or tense appropr ia te ly become an
aberrant inadequacy,
Working to correct bad habits, to modify
the body's aberrat ions and to increase its capa·
bil it ies, the dancer frequently incurs pain and
learns Cluicklyto distinguish bet\Veen several
kinds: constructive pain that \ \' il ll rad togrcatcr
strength or flexibility; destructi\'C pain caused
bythe incorrect posit ioning or use 01' a part 01'
the body; chronic pain, the cumulativc result 01'
bad habit ; pain resulting from too Illuch tension,
too lit tle s trength, acti\ 'i ties other than dance,
overambition, inattentiveness and so on, Some
pains remain consistent and reliabll' , and the
dancer carries them arollnd asconstant features
ol'bodily topography. Others, intl'rmittent and
unpredictable, cause the dancer to chasl ' aftn
them in search 01'a diagnosis that could prevl 'n t
their recurrl'nce.
Asboth the percei\ 't 'd and the ideal hodies
develop, the)' increasingl)' occup)' lhe dancer's
consciousness. OVl'r time, dancers inLTeasillgiy
LJUIIClflg bv,J18~
curves or anglrs that body parts can f()rrn, and to
place these in a particular shape at agiven time.
They learn to delineate rhythmic structures, to
regulate the flo\\'01'effort fram one part to another,
to sculpt, t race and imprint these parts in space,
Both the exercises themselves and any direc-
t ives offered bythe teacher are usually highly
repetit ive. Drill ing isnecessary because the aim
is nothing less than creating the body. With repe-
t it ion , the images used to describe the body and
its actions
become
the body. Metaphors that are
inapplicable or incomprehensible when first
presen ted take on a concrete rea li ty over t ime,
through their persistent association with a given
movement . For example, i t may a t f ir st s eem
impossible to lift the leg forward using the back
thigh muscles , but continued attempts to execute
the movement wi th thi s image inmind sub tly
reorganize muscular involvement so asto pro-
duce the c lear percept ion tha t p reci se ly thi s is
happening.
Over months and years 01'study,.the t ~ng
P.~o~~.ssepe:ateA y,I:~confjgures ilie b~dy: it iden-
t if ies and names aspec ts or part s tha t were pre-
viously unrecognized, and it restructures the
,hole in terms 01'dynamic actions that relate
the variolls parts , Neither the perceived body
nor the ideal body remains constant throughout
this process: definit ions ol'both are altered and
refined. The mastery 01'one area 01' the body's
topography enables the dancer to comprehend
new images and to reconsider familiar ones from
anel\ ' perspective. Once one can l ift the leg
from underneath, one can appreciate anel\'
how to avoid Ieaning into the hip 01' the sup-
porting Ieg.
Metaphors open out into related metaphors ,
leading the dancer further into agiven system for
conceptualizing the bod)' - The daily routines 01'
training consolidate metaphoric knowleclge and
thereby produce bodily habits, some good and
some bad, Good habits form the basis for the
nf'wly perceived body, and the)' alio\\' the student
to attend to assimilating additional information.
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monitor their alignment , the quali ty of their
movemen t and their bodily pain - not on ly in
the dance studio but in quotiui an s itua tions as
well. They may 01'may not apply technical prin-
cipies learneu in the dance class to dai ly chores
and routines, but they certainly attend more
ful ly to these act ivit ies. They also retain kinaes-
thetic information from past performances 01'
these act ivit ies so asto begin to acquire a his tor-
ical sense of their own bodily movements .
Most dance classes emphasize seeing a move-
ment anu then performing it, whicl~ further
heightens the uancer's kinaesthetic awareness of
others. Dancers, ~n_oJ_eban b..,- sewho do . l0t
uance, s trongly sense what other person~' bodily
movements feellike. Walking uown the street,
they regis teI' the characteris tic posture anu gai t
of passers-by; in conversat ion, they sense the
s louch, s train and gesticulations of othcrs. This
capacity for kinaesthetic empathy, however, '-'
rarely indú'des erotic f~lings. ThemetaphQrs
used to t ra in - th~ d~~ing body seldom, i feve r,
refer to t~~ sexual body:-TheTr~~l e;:;ty~f
mirrors in I~arning t~..< ~f1~~rC n.? :~~~,~m of
narcissistic ~f1 ~~~ mentwith the body, but this
is usmll1y mitigat:.~ bJ ~~_i~j~ D'.~o?~~Son,
and criticize, bódily inadequacies. The muscu-
loskeletal empathy de~~i~ped by dancing usually
involves an appraisal of the other 's and one's
own perceived bodies. The sexual bodies, per-
haps adjacent to, and informed by, the dancing
bodies, remain clearly separate .
A dancer's~~sness of the body
thus ranfeslletween heI' 01'~i~p«:~~~~~~ body
- with ali its páins'áJ;dcli~t;;rtions -:a 1d i';;ages,
both fantasizeu and real, ofother b.odies. Dancers
alternate between, 01'sometimes fuse together,
images from ali these bodies as they objecti fy,
monitor, scan, regard, attend to and keep track
ofbouily motion throughout the day.The m,-:ta-
phors learned during instruction..:..<:~~:_~s~oth
markersand 'Dteq~r~t~rs_:Qf,ª~y~I()p'il1g~~dily
~) consciousl1l·ss. They ~ls(Unt~grate the tr~\ning
\, 01'the 'oely'\~~i-thesthctic, social and Illoral .he-
licfs ab.Ql t.dance. The. repertoire of metaph9rs
learned in c1assfUI~ctionsnot only to uefine the
dancer' s body but also to establish the epistemo-
logical foundation for performing dance.
The Body of Dance Techniques
I havetried to describe the development ofuanc-
ing bodily consciousness in a way that would ap-
ply to most programs 01' instruct ion. Each dance
te~hni9ue, however, constructs a specialized and
specific body, one that represents a given chore-
o&~apher's 01'trauitio~':.~.:~th.e i(;visi?n of d~~lce.
Each techniqué 'c reat es a body that i sunique in
how it looks and what i t can do. Generally, t he
s tyle and ski lls i t imparts can be transferred only
partial ly to another technique; thus, bal let
dancers cannot assume the bearing 01'perform
the vocabulary ofmovements found in contact
improvisation, and vice versa. TJ:~illing~ot only
const ruct s a body but a lso helps to fash ion an
exp;:~ssive self that, in i ts relat ion with the bouy,
performs the dance. Aesthet ic express ion can
resul t when a se lf uses the body asa vehic le for
communicating i ts thoughts and feelings, 01'
when the self merges with the body and art icu-
lates i ts own physical s ituation. Body and selfcan
also coexist , enunciating their own concerns and
commenting on each other 's . Many other rela-
t ions are also possible, each producing a specific
aes thet ic impact on danceI' , dance and viewer.
ln urder to i\ lustrat e the dif fe rent forms tha t
exp .:~~i9. . ,~ot :f~lt an~~e~icteCl:-é;~tak~-;-(
liave compiled brief descriptions af fiv~t~enti-
êth~c-é~:~ry. techrlÍq~e~ tllat, fiirmúlat~~dig nct
bodíes ~I1d~~lves.Th<::~~~escriptions, which
emphasize the differenc:~s among the tech~lques,
deí-Tv~'fr~mchoreographers' and critics' writings
a\:íoutthe techniques, aswell as from obse~va-
tio~J..J~.~\,~~~arel 01'have 1Jl~~~ ~s.~~t. : ~9tin
cla~~:~~r fr~m comprehê~'sive, they present only
a fe\Vtl':Y fea tures ofeach technique ino;ue~ to
suggl':s. p(>s.siblerelationships between body and
se lf lhal resull f rom insl ruct ing lhe hody in a
given dance techniquc.
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O an ci ng B od ie s
Bailei Technique. T\le dominJnt and most
fJllliliar 01' JII theatricJI dJnce techniqlles isbJI-
Iet . 01' the fivebodies to be considered here, i t is
the onl)' one with requirements for the dancer's
physique, Success in this technique depends in
pJrt on thin, long limbs capable
01'
displJying the
formJI geomctric feJturcs
01'
the trJdition. The
ideal body - l ight , quick , p reci se , st rong - des-
ignJtes the linear shapes, the rhythm 01' phrases,
even the pantomimed gestures, .111with Iyrical
effortlessness, Success also requires the promis-
ing s tudent to make anearly and dedica ted
commitment to intensive training. The per-
ceived body, never sufficiently thin or well pro-
portioned, must mold itself repeatedly into the
abstract forms presented in c1assand then on
stJge. The dancer's self exists to facil itate the
crJftlike acquisition 01' skills: it ser\'es the chore-
ographer and, ult imately, the tradition byorder-
ing the bod )' to prac ti ce and then to perform
ideaIs 01' movement.
Classes, organized into severallevels
01'
com-
petence, measure the student 's progress through
a stJndJrdized set 01' physical skills. Aswith the
levcls
01'
classes , the exercises in a given elass
progrcss from simple to more complex. Dancers
begin a standard dJily sequence \Vithone Jrm
stJbilizing the body byholding J barre. They per-
form mo\ 'ements, announced (in French) bythe
teacher, originating in, and returning to, bJsic
posit ions - f ir st on one s ide Jnd then, s \Vi tching
J rms J t the harre , on the other, The movements
work the Icgs(Jlways inJ turned-out posit ion)
Jnd, to J Ies se r extent , the arms to create var ia -
tions Jnd clllbellishments on CirClllJr Jnd trian-
gu la r designs , The torso provides a t Jut and
llsually erect center conneeting the fOllrappend-
ages Jnd the heJd. Approximately one half 01' a
c1JSSsession tJkes place at the barre, Stlldents
then mon' to the center 01' the room for longer,
nlOrt' intric.1tc cOlllhinations Jl ,'arying tcmpos,
Cbss l'nds \V'it h S('flu('nn's 01' IcJps Jnd Iurns in
\\ hich dJneers tr,1ITIJCross the room diJgonJII)',
two 01' thrp(,' Jt a timp, Dpsrriptinn, 01' mn\'P-
Ill l'nts Jnd corrcctions Jre phrased soJSlo Jsk
pJrts 01' the body to eonform to abstrJct sh' '1Jes;
the)' place the pelvis
01'
head in specific locatiolls,
or extend the limbs along imaginar) ' l ines in
space. Additional cri teria based on the prccision
01'
timing, c1arity
01'
shape Jnd lightness
01'
qual.
ity ali meJsure the studcnt's performJllce,
The teacher i llustrates the correct JpproJch
byperforming a small excerpt from the phrase
- seldom, i fever, anen tire sequence. The idcJI
body glimpsed in performances
01'
the prelllin
dancers thus remains dis tinct froll l the demon-
strat ive body thJt models proper practice, Froll l
the teacher's unchallenged Juthorit)', students
assimilMe the system 01' vJlues Jnd internJlize
the impu lse to eva lua te and rank thei r own and
others' performances. Competition, Jlthough
quiet , i s f ie rce - in part becJuse stambrds for
perfection are so c1earlydefined. The aesthetic
San Francisco Baile .
Garry Sinick
Lf.f{
)
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San Francisco Ballel,
Garry Sinick
1 1l 1. 'l ll s . JI HI U Jl ll Tl ll ll l: -. d i, ,: 1 1J ll d: -. • • ..1 ~ lJ .I :- . l u d :- 't >.
parls 01'the lod)' to conform to ah,tr~l't ,h~pl'S;
lhe)' placc lhe pl' '' 'i ' 01'he~d in 'pl'l 'ilk IOl'~lion',
01'extcnd the limhs ~Iong illlagin~r)' lines in
space. Additional crite 'ia h~setl on the prccisioll
01'timing, clarit)' 01'shape and lightness 01'(llI~l-
ity ali measure the student's perfonnance,
The teacher illustrates the correct appro~l'h
byperforming a small excerpt from the phr~se
- seldom, ifever, an entire seC]uence,The ide~1
body glimpsed in performances 01'the premieI'
elancers thus remains elistinct frOIllthe demon-
strat ive body that models proper practice, from
the teacher's unchallenged authorit)', sludcnts
assimilate the system 01'values and internali7.e
the impulse to evaluate anelrank their own ~nd
others' performances. Competition, allhollgh
guiet , i s f ie rce - inp~r t because s tandards for
perfection are so clearl)' defined. The aesthetic
BaileI Technique.
Thc
domil1~111~l1d mosl
f~mili~r 01'~IIthe~tric~1 d~nce techniC]lIes is b~l-
Ict . 01' thc fi\ 'c hodics to be cOllSidered here, i t is
the onl)' one with reCjllirements for the dancer's
ph)'siCjllc,SlIccess in this techl1igue depends il1
p~rt on thil1, IOl1gimbs capable 01'displa)'ing the
form~1geometric features 01'the traditiol1. The
ideal botly - l ight , g ll ick, precise, s trol1g - des-
ignates the linear shapes, the rhythm 01'phrases,
evel1the p~ntomimed gestures, ali with Iyrical
effortlessl1ess, Success also reguires the promis-
ing studel1t to make al1early and dedicated
commitment to intensive training The per-
ceived body, never sufficiently thin 01'well 1'1'0-
portioned, must mold itself repeatedly into the
abstract forms presented in c1assand then 011
stage. The dancer's self exists to facil itate the
crartlike acguisition 01'skills: it serves the chore-
ographer and, ultimately, the tradition byorder-
i l1gthe body to practice and then to perform
ideaIs 01'movement.
Classes, orgal1ized into severallevels 01'com-
petence, measure the student's progress through
a standardized set 01'physical skills, Aswith the
Ievcls 01'classes, the exercises in a given c1~ss
progress from simpieto more complex. Dancers
bcgil1 a stand~rd daily seCjllel1Cewith one ~rm
stabilizing the bod)' byholelil1ga harre. The)' per-
fonn mo\'ements, annoul1ceel (il1French) by the
teacher, originatil1g in, anel returning to, basic
posit ions - first on one side and thel1 , s \\ 'i tching
arms ~tlhe barre, on the other. The movements
work lhe legs (always in a turneel-out position)
and, to a lesse rextent, lhe anns to create vari a-
tions and embellishments on circular anel trian-
gulat ' designs, The torso provides a taut anel
usuall)' erecl center connecting the four append-
ages and the heael, Approximatel)' one half 01'a
c1asssession takes place at the b~rre, Students
thel1 move lo the center 01'the room for longer,
more intricate combinations at var)'ing tempos,
Class ends \Vith seguences 01'leaps anel turns in
which dancers travei across the room eliagonally,
1\\'001' lhree at a time, Descriptions 01'move-
,I
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Isadora Dunean, Rubyaiyat of Ornar Khayyam, 1899.
Jaeob Sehloss
great nineteenth-century classical composers.
Dancers .lIso act out simple imaginary scenarios
guided by the music 's meter anelharmonic de-
ve]opment. Since music isconsiderecl to be the
truest expression of the human soul, dance,
which replicates its compositional structure,
can likewise indicate the soul's ephemeral but
fervent states ofbeing When students are asked
to retreat , shiclding themselves from an evil
force moving toward them, or to fali to the
ear th , l ie qu iet ly and then r is e to g reet the sun ,
they are participating, body anelsoul, in primor-
dial human situations.
Students imitate the unpretentious intent
and full-bodied commitment of the teacher,
who frequently dances alongside them. The
actual shape ofthe limbs is less important than
the e1egreeof involvemenl in the dance, evident
in the face, the <lualityof movemcnt and lhe
graceful connections among arcas of the body,
These criteria li) ' succcss discouragc critical
Duncan Technique
Reacting in part against the
artificial and hierarchical organization of ballet,
Isadora Duncan and several other early t \Venti-
eth-century choreographers and performers
pioneered a radically ne\Vdance aesthetic and
a concomitant approach to training the body.
Claiming for lhe body an intrinsi~ freedom and
meril , Duncan transported those liJr ,hol1lshe
danced into an evanescent realm of feeling-filled
forms . Her work has been reconst ructed by a
number ofcompanies that currently perform and
teach regularly throughout the United States.
I thas a lso been preserved in the p ract ices of
dance camps that offer summer study, primarily
to women, in interpret ive dancing
For Duncan and those following in her tradi-
tion, the dancing body manifests an original natu-
ralness. Unadorned by the contrived distortions
of movement that modern society incurs, the ideal
body inheres in a prima] experience of integration
both within one's self and within society. Its har-
monious passages for the limbs and graceful phras-
ing emanate from the protean ductility ofthe
respiring central torso. It ishere, in the region of
the solar plexus, that sou]and body meet and con-
verse. The ideal body resides within every body
but deforms atan early age in response to social
pressures, Byrequiring dance study of ali young
children, it isthought, society wil make itself
over, for dance isa revolutionary force that evokes
noble and pure motives in ali its participants,
In order to cul tivate the na tural body and to
allow it to relinquish affected habits, Duncan's
approach advocates the study of basic human
movements such as walking, running, skipping,
Iying do\Vn,standing, turning and jumping - ali
performed wilh agraceful , relaxed fullness, ini-
l iatcd bypatterns of breath, These basic l1love-
ments form se<jucnccs practiccd to music of
rationale based on the pursuit of classica] beauty
offers dancers no alternative conceptions of
dance: inabili ty to succeed at ballet implies fai l-
ure at ali dance. S
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evaluation of one's own
01'
others' bodies (slIch
a pronounced distance between perceived and
ideal bodies could only result in pretentious
performance). Instead, through repetit ion in a
coml11unal setting, movement and l11usicwork
their elevating, liberating charm. The ideal body,
then, one that has achieved simplicity in its move-
l11entand harmony \Vith the self, isslles from a
nurturing collective of bodies.
Graham Technique.
For Martha Graham, the
dancing body must possess the strength, flexi-
bility and endurance necessary to provide the '
expressive self \Vith a fully responsive instru-
ment. The goal ofdance, to represent in arche-
typal form the deep con fl ic ts o f the human
psyche, can be realized only through a rigorous
training programo Aswith Duncan, the body
functions asa perfect index of the self's feelings.
The self' s abili ty to express those feelings,
though, l ike the body's abili ty to manifest them,
shares none of DlIncan' s exuberance - the sel f
is too dark and repressed, the act of expression
too tor tured for movement to be l ight and free-
flowing. The ideal body, then, even as it mani-
fests an agile responsiveness, also shows in the
strained quality and definition of its muscula-
ture the ordeal ofexpression .
Graham's technique coalesced out ofthe
vocabulary she developed in heI' earliest dances .
The basic set of exercises, which became routine
bythe 1950s, dominated the American univer-
s ity dance cuniculum for many years, and it
continues to provide a coherent and viable aIter-
native to ballet train ing in dance schools around
the world. The f ir st half of a c lass - as much
time as the ballet student spends at the bane -
consists ofcxercises performed in a sit ting 01'
Iying positionj students then practice sequences
standing and, i'inally, traveling across the floor.
The exercises privilege movements originating
in the torso and radiating Ollt\Vithrcstrained
tcns ion to the per iphery of the body. The s low
progression from sitting to standing to traveling,
~~
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, I
.,
~~~'1
'
CunninBham Technique.
Ivlerce Cunningham,
a I ll cl ll bc r 01' l he thi rd gc nc ra lion 01'Al11e ri can
rnod ern dance rs, I ef t Mar tb a Gra ba ll l' s cOl ll l' an )'
in lhe lale 1940s lo de\'elop bis OIH] approach lo
choreogr aphy and t ecll ll ique .
Cunningha l1 l' s l11elhod presents lhe physica l-
i lv 01'mul ti pl e bod ic s ins cr ib ing c ol ll l' lcx s l' ,l ti al
and temporall 'att crns. Il is concepli on of tll l'
d an cing bod; ' ruse s body and s el fb y i ll ll ll cr sing
t he sel r in lhe practi cal pursuit 01' enhancing tl 1( '
b ody' s a rl ic ul an . '1 '1 1( 'se lr d oc s nCl tu se' t he bo(h·
1 ,)1' i ls O\vn eXI'I \ 's si \' (' I 'u rl '0ses as in Graha ln or
Duncan; r at l, cr , i t de di cal es i ts el f, a s in I Ja il et ,
t o lhe n ar tl ik c l as k 01' I l 'p ar ing a nd 1 '1 \ '' ''n ti ng
lllon 'l1lcn t. Unlike balle t, hOI\T\' (' J' , a rad ic ,l lh ·
nonhicrarcl ,i a l defin it io l1 OfCOllIH' I( ' (T . ll le l
distillcti\'l ' I':\llIe pn'l'aik Cl1l1l1il1ghalll\ al' l' roaclr
c ekhral cs I1ni 'l e 1' I, ) 'i 'l es , ' l' ,i rk ilH' ss a ll d t i\ ('
t1nal1t ic il 'a ted. This is, inl 'a rl , t ire 0IH'II-el1ded
nH'S~;)gl' hi~ (1.111(TS l OIl\ CY.
Lxcrciscs li' t IH' I<'clrn i( l l ' cbss I 'a r;- fro ll1
Thc pr in cipa ll ll ct aphC lr c xp lo re d in lhc sc
excrciscs, that orcont racti on and r leasc, 1'1'0-
I1lCltCSa conncction bct\\ 'ecnphys ical and psy-
chological functioning. Stude11ts introsl'ecli\'el)'
delve into the interior body as the} contract and
r el at e internal to external space t hr ough var iuus
p athway s 01' r cl eas e. Unl ik e Duncan 's c la ss es, i n
whi ch the student i s c ast i nto imagi ned si tua-
t io ns , t he cOl1lmen ts made in Grah am 's c la sse s
refer only ind iree tly to ps) 'c1lOlogical experience:
they al lu de to the se lf 's cond it io n by contextua l-
i zi ng physical corr ecti ons wit hin t he l ar ger and
arduous project 01' becomi ng an art ist. Just as
t he chor eogr apher rnust suhmi t to conslant self -
i nt er rogati on concerni ng lhe vali dit y 01' the
dance's message, 50 the danccr scruli ni zes sel r
as \ \'el l as body in a scar ch r or t il (' causes 01' t he
body' s unrespons i\ ,eness . The dancer' s perce i\ 'ed
bady, abays lacking either in integration or
ar ti cu lat io n, mus t st ru gg lc to h eco l1l e l110re lha n
it is - a q uest that, in turn, strengthens and
sensi tizes the self.7
Ba rb ara Mo rg an
Duet from
Amer;can Document. 1939
and the t ensilc SUClTssi ons rr om cenl ral t o
periphcral hody, al Ti rm both l he possi bili ty and
lhe di rl ic ul t; · orbod ily expres sion . Excrci se s,
repealed \\ 'i lh sl ight vari at ions compmcd by the
t eachcr eaeh da)', cause lhe hody to spi ral ar ound
a spinal cor e, extendi ng oul and tl 1< 'n pull ing
back into d)'na.nic p,, ,i tions. TIl l' I , dy, gaka-
ni zed int o acti on as l 1l uch h) ' i ts ol\'n I '0tent ial
l 'IH' rg \ a s by t ll l' di ss on an t l ex lulTS or th c l1lus i-
c al a c(ol ll pan il ll en t, a rr in' s o n t il (' dO\ \' nlH' at ,
hu t t l1( 'n s urges a lmos t inn11ediat cly in a I )t '\ \'
di rc ct iC ln . A lthough thc p rc ci se , c tr ic 1 '( '( I il '( '-
n l( 'n ts ror thcse min ia ture cvc les Clrat trac tiCln
and l \' it hd ra \\ '. ll g il 'l ' l he c la ss a n almo st m il il ar )'
a l' l' (' ara11Ce, lcnsi lc e last ic it ;· p redCll ll inatcs O\' (' r
1
i. 'L1all'attcrn in til(' olTral1 mO\'('nH'nt.
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mass. Contact improvisation gained popularity
rapidly in the United States uuring the [970s
and early 1980s asan art is tic and social move-
ment. [ts technique elasses were complemented
b)' freguent informal practice sessions known as
jams, which allowed dancers to learn from,
perl(lI'Ill f()I',and socialize Wilh, onc anolhl'l'. lts
I)'ri( ll,llhklicislll h.1Shcen inl'<lrpor.lled inlo lhe
movement style 01'man)' dance companies in the
United States and . lIso in Europe, where it o lTers
one
01'
the few alternatives to ballet training.
Unlike an)' 01' the other techniques discussed
here, contact improvisation sets parameters for
how to move but does not designate a set vocabu-
lary 01' movements for students to learn. Stuclents
explore throllgh improvisation the movement
territory established by the stylistic and techni-
cal rules 01'the formo Classes inelucle practice at
simple skills 01' weight transfer as well as oppor-
tunit ies to use them through improvisation with
others. Exercises present ways to clrain weight
out 01'one area of the body, to collect i t in
another anclto transfer weight across any 01'the
body's joints. Certain Iifts 01' rolls are practiced
again and againj other exercises direct stuclents
to experiment for several minutes at a t ime with
methocls of regulating and channeling the body's
weight on thei r own 01' with a partner. As in
Duncan's approach, the body is believed to have
its own intel ligence - though one encumbered
by its art ificial and ungainly habits. Dancers can
be advised on how to
1'011,
jllmp into another's
arms 01' l and from a grea t he ight , but they are
. lIso encouraged to Iis ten to the body, to be
sensitive to its weight and inelinations and to
allow new possibilities
01'
movement to unfolcl
spontaneollsly hy attencling to the shifting net-
work 01'ongoing interactions .
The teacher's guidance, l ike the students'
participation, ishased on an assessment
01'
the
needs 01' the momento Rather than specifying a
series of preconcci cd forms, both tcacher and
students n1llst determinc what mO '('ment is ap-
prol'ri,IIC for 11)('1:1 0111'
I a
,1:i\'I'nlinH·. Inlhis
Contact lmprovisation Tec:hnique.
[fthe Cun-
ningham body isa jointed one, the body culti-
vateu in contact improvisation is weighted and
momentous. This technique, developed collabo-
ratively in the early 1970s by Steve Paxton, Nancy
Stark Smith, Lisa Nelson and others, explores the
body's rclat ions to gravit) ' and to other bodies
which resll lt from ils ahili ly lo flow asa ph)'s ical
day to day as they systematically explore the
body's segments and their possible range 01'
movement. They present spinal curves, arches .
and twists, leg Iifts, knee bends, brushes 01'the
foo t - a li us ing quot idian names for part s 01'
the body and their actions. Sequences
01'
these
moves, complex in duration, meter and rhythm,
form subt .- rd.ltions \\'ilh lhc SlllTolllHlingSP,ll l'.
Students focus on accomplishing elear bodily
enunciations 01' these spatiotemporal relations.
The danceI' isasked to enhance bodily accom-
plishment by remaining alert an(J'concentrated,
to be quiá on his 01' heI' feet. Where ballet's
ideal body privileges certain joint actions over
others, Cunningham's ideal body is imbued
equally throughout with animated alertness.
The teacher presents movement sequences
asproblems to be solved. Students are asked to
focus on and to demonstra te, through their
art iculacy, the choreography inherent in the
movement sequences. The height 01' a jump 01'
extended leg matters less than the elear presen-
tation
01'
complex directives - quick changes
01'
weight 01' focus, polyrhythmic patterns in differ-
ent body parts , carefully patterned paths 01'
movement across the floor. The accompanist
reinforces the emphasis on composition by
experimenting with different tonal and timbral
frameworks, even for the repetition 01' a given
exerci se. Such a strong and contrasting musical
presence affirms the autonomy 01'dance and
music as expressive media. Students must attend
to the two distinct forms simultaneously and to
their unpredictable relationships, rather than to
fuse one with the
other.8
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Nancy Stark Smith and Alan Ptashek,
Conlacl I mpr ov is al io n, 1 97 9.
E ri ch F ra nz
dcmoc rat ic , u np rc dict abl e and h ighly phy si cal
sit uation, the dancer 's sel f hccomcs iml llerscd i n
lhe body, as il does f( )r Cunningham. The body,
hO \\TI 'l 'r , i s n ol inv es te d \ \' it h an ongoing iel en-
t il y: i ts e le l' ini ti on i s c on st an tly rcn cgot ia le d in
lhe ch anging contex t 01 't he imp rnvi sed danc e.
Ideal ly, i ls slrength should be sulfi cient to bear
the \ \'e ig ht 01 ' anothc r; b ll t e l' l' n more i ll lpo rl an t,
it must manil'est an ability to go with the now9
fl ot h contact i lll pr ovisati on and Duncan tech-
n ique ca st t he t ea ch er in the rol e 01 ' fa ci li ta to r,
and hoth ask sl lldents t o apprel'iate and encol lr-
ag e one anothe r. Eac h 01' t he se t ec hn i<plcs el ll -
brace s al lp ar ti cipan ts in the c1 as s, \ \' ha te l' er t hei r
.'1'
r 1 (' \' (' 1 r ' '' ,,)(' rt ise, as nH'llllH'rs r a ('Olll-
Il lunil y ofel ancers. I n hall el , hy contr asl, t he
h ie ra rchy 01'Valll l'Scv iden t in the ' \TIs 01'c1?ssl 's
and compani cs, in l he chorcography i lsclf and
in i ts vi ewers' r es pons es a li i nc it e c ompet it ion
among stud en ts , l 'ca ch er s, as the y int ro du ce
the tradi tion's standar ds for success aml rank
the studcnts' pcr formance agai nst t hem, em-
body the a utho ri ty 01 't he t rad it ion 's a hs tr act
ideaIs. Graham's t echnique, on t he other hand,
pl aces dancer s in competili on wi th each ot her
bu t a lso w ith lhems elve s. C ri t er ia for su cce ss
revo lv e around the danc cr 's ab il it y to pe rform
ful ly Grah am 's voc abulary 01'movemen t, b ll t t he
dancer is also askcd lo fuse i nner I lloti vation
wit h physical form. The l eacher encourages t he
st udent to measure this psychological and physi -
cal participa tion through cOlllments tha t q llcs tion
onc 's commitment to d iscipl ine. Cunningham's
t echniqu e, w ith i ts empha si s on compos it ion ,
en courag es da nc er s to int cres t l hemsel l'e s in mak-
ing dance as well as i n performi ng. Stll dent s take
fr om c1ass what el 'er i nsighl s may he relnant to
thei r own c aree rs as choreographer s and danccr s,
The st ruc tu re 01' aUlho ri ly d e\ 'elopl 'd in l 'ac h
cl ass hel ps to connect the danci ng hod) ' to its al'S-
t ll l' tic pro ject . Balle t' s p resc ribed pairings 01'pos i-
t io ns a nd s te ps , and i ts e ll lp ha si s on o ll tl \'a re ll y
r ot atcd legs and arms, constr ucts a f kxihlc, elc-
gan t, I if ted body tha t d isplays t ll l' c la ss ical linear
and ar ri al for l1 1s t hal ar e the Idl lll ar ks 01' that
l rad it ion , The teac hc r' s conl 'i se di rl 'l 't il 'l 's pl ac e
the s tud ent w ithin lhat t ra di ti on. D llnc an 's l I' alks
a nd s kips , d il ler ent f rol ll t he ( ll lO lidi an inlhei r
rh) 'thm and qua li ty , e l11hod)' an ideal 01'nalural-
I1( 'S5. ' lheir g racc fu l, g ro llnded litheness sel 'ks
to r ender t he hocl y tr anspar ent lo the IU111inous
incl ina lion s 01 ' lhe sou . 'l he l cac hn 's e nthu si -
aS11Ianel conl' ic tion hei lo incorpora ll ' t il (' s lu -
de nt into the d an cing cO ll lmuni l) '- The rest raine d
successin' 1110\TIllents 01'Grahal11's contract ion
and relcasc huild s in l' \\ ') ', t l' ns ile, e I) 'n ,' ll lic oely
tha l s}mholi7,CS a sell' ful l o f turhu lent fee lings
a nd the s trugg lc inl1( 'r l'n t i ne~pre~sing thos e
f(Tli ng~, Th tea{'hc r' s int iI ll l ion of th n lu(l ll~
3
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lt
i
~
,
training ahead warns students of their need for
commitment as i t summons them to the dance.
Cunningham's matter-of-fact inventory of the
body's structural capabilities produces a lanky,
intdligent, alert bod)' that elo(luently declaill1s
its own physicality. Cunningham teachers tend
to approach their students asjunior colleagues,
instructing them while prcserving their auton-
omy as potential artists. Contact improvisation's
athletic, I leet body realizes itself through the act
ofcontact with others. I ts teachers must consis-
tently empowcr students with the a~ili ty to im-
provise an innovative and sensitive response to
the collective gathering
01'
dancers.
Much more could be said abou t each 01' these
technigues - how each elaborates a set o f r cla-
tions among parts 01' the body, and among danc-
ing bodies, and how each de\ < 'lopsthe body
within a sonoral and architectural environment.
Ballet dancers, for example, have insisted on
practicing before a mirro r s i~ce the midd le of
the eighteenth century, whereas Duncan pre-
ferred teaching outdoors on a carefully groomed
lawn. Through choices such as these, reiterated
daily in distinctive routines, each technigue
introduces students to the set ofmetaphors out
01' which their own perceived and ideal bodies
come to be constructed. I t a]so instructs them
in the rhetorical relations that bind body to self
and to community.
Trisha Brown, Wa er Motor, 1978.
Babette Mangol e
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The Hired Body
Prior to the last decade, each 01' these technigues
\Vasconsidered to be unigue. Not only did each
mark the body 50 deeply that a danceI' could not
adequatd) ' pcrform another techniquL', ut each
aesthetic project was conceived asmutually ex-
clusil'e
01',
ifnot hosti le to, the others. Recently,
ho\Vever, choreographic expcrimentation with
eclectic vocabularies and with new interdiscipli-
nary gel1l'es of performance has circumvented
the distincti l'eness of these bodies. Anew cadre
01' dance makers, called independent choreog-
raphers, has emerged; their aesthetic vision can
be traced to the exper imental choreography of
the early
19605
and
19705,
a per iod when chore-
ographic investigation challenged boundaries
between dance and day-to-day movemcnt and
claill1ed any and ali hUll1anmovement as poten-
tial dance. Because these choreographers' work
neither grows out of; nor i s supported by, any of
the academies ofdance, classical 01' modern, their
success depends largely on their own entrepre-
neurial effor ts to promote their work. New insti-
tutions of arts management and administration
have grown to meet the needs of producing their
work. Issues of fashion and fundabili ty have in-
creasingly inlluenced their aesthetic development.
These choreographers have not developed new
dance technigues to support their choreographic
goals, but instead encourage dancers to train in
several existing technigues without adopting the
aesthetic vision of any.They reguire a new kind
ofbody, competent atmany styles. The new mul-
titalented body resulting from this training melds
together features from ali the technigues dis-
cussed above: it possesses the strength and Ilexi-
bil ity found in ballet necessary to lif t the leg high
in ali directions; i t can perform any mOl'ement
neutrally and pragmatically, as in Cunningham's
technigue; it has mastered the athleticism of
contact improvisation, enabling a danceI' to fali
and tumble, and to suppor t another's weight ; i t
art iculates the torso asa Graham danceI' does;
i t has the agili ty
01'
Duncan's dancers.
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lJuncing Ijothes
This hody exists alongside others that remain
more deeply involve() in, and consequently more
expert at, the techniques I haveoutl ined. It does
not display its skills as a collage 01'discrete styles
but , rather, homogenizes ali s ty les and vocabu-
laries beneath a sleek, impenetrable surface.
Uncommitted to any specific aesthetic vis ion,
it is a body for hire: it trains in order to make a
living at dancing
The hired body has been shaped partly bycon-
temporary practices 01'physical education whose
goals for such activ it ies assports , aerobics and
individual exercise programs - jogging, swim-
ming, weight lifting and so on - have been set
bythe scientization 01' the body's needs. Likethe
ideal body promoted by these activities, this hired
hody should achieve a certain heart rate, a general
leveI 01'strength and Ilexibility and a muscular
tonus. The cri teria for evaluating its train ing
share physical education's specialized and scien-
tific orientation. They use the language ofbiol-
ogy and kinesiology to appraise the strength,
flexibility and endurance 01'the body's muscle
groups. Through this scientitk language 01'the
body, the hody's character isreduced to princi-
pIes 01'physics: it can he enlarged here, c1asticized
there. This bod)', apureI)' ph)'sical object, can be
made O\'er into whatcver look one dcsires . Like
one's l ifes t) 'le, i t can be constructed to suit
one's desires.
01' equal influence on the hired bod)' is the
video dancing body, which isas familiar to
danrercize and MTVenthusiasts as to thcatrical
dance choreographers, per <)fmcrs and viewers.
The video dancing body isorten constru('\ed
rroll1the edited tapes 01'dance 1l10\,(~ll1entilmed
rroll1difTcrent anglcs and distances. Its 1l10tion
can bc slo\\'ed, sll1eared 01'replicated so that it
performs hreathtaking feats, and )'et it projects
none 01'the tensile qllalities 01'mO\Tmcnt, the
hody's sitllation in space 01'the charisma 01'a
live perrormance. Nonethel('ss, it orrers to per-
rO'l1\erS,choreugraphers and scholars the irre-
:;istible promise 01'a pennanent record 01'the
dance, ,hich can he vic 'ed and H'vie\\ 'cd iIHJer-
ini tel) '. This reconl, hclpfll l asa too}in the cho-
reographic process, has become increasingly
mandatory asa promotional device required b)'
ali dance producers and funding agencies asan
unproblematic simulacrull1 01'live dance.
Although the video body bears little resell1-
blance to any 01'the bodies perceived in the dance
class, it shares with the hired body certain ideaIs.
Both feature a rubbery Ilexibili ty coated with
impervious glossiness, and both are equally re-
moved from the aesthetic vision that implements
them. Training to construct i t primari ly takes
place standing behind the camera and sit ting in
the editing room. The techniques it manifests ,
along with the aesthetic orientation it supports,
be10ng properly to the medium 01'video, not
to dance asa perrorming art . Tra ining to con-
s truc t the h ired body occu rs in rooms ful l 01'
bodybuilding machines 01'in dance classes whose
overall aesthetic orientation may hold lit tle
appeal. 5tHl, both video and hired bodies appear
as the products 01'an elTicient and unbiased
training program, assumed to be neutral and
completeI)' adaptahle; as a result, thC')'mask the
process through \vhich dance technique con-
structs the bod)'.
01' course, there isnothing ne' ahout the
assertion 01'anormative or original bod)' , or an
efficaciolls 'a)' to instruct the hod)'. Dunran
and thC'other earl)' ll1o(krnists, ror cxample,
obscured their approach to constrl lcting the
bod)' h)' insisting 011the natllralness 01'their
training. Their natural hod)', ho\\'ever, contra-
vel1cd prevailil1g ~esthetil' ideaIs and I'l'csel1(('d
a profoundly different alternativc, \\'hC'reasthe
multipurpose hircd hod)' suhsull1es and sl1looths
over differenccs. The 11l0dernist approach to
dance making, evcn as it promoted the hody's
movement asmaterial suhstance to bc \Vorked
into art , assumed an irrcvocahlc connection to
a seI '.The hired hody, hllilt at a great distal1l'C'
rrom the self, recluces it to a pragll1atic 1l1C'r-
chant 01'movemcnt profTni ng \\'h~t('\·c lnnk
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appcals at the momento It not only denies the
existencc of a true, decp self, but also proscribcs
a relat ional self whose desire lo empathize pre-
dOlllinatcs ovcr its need for display. The hired
body likcwise threatens to obscurc the opportu-
nily, opened to us over this century , to appre-
hend lhe body as lIlultiple, prolcan and capable,
Iiterally, ofbeing made into many ditTerent
expressive bodies.
NOTES
I. See, for example, RolanJ Barthes,
The Empire
cifSigns,
Irans. Richanl HowarJ (New York: IliIJ anJ
Wang. 1978); and Barrhes by Barrhes. Irans. Riehard
Ho,, ard (New Yurk: Hill anJ Wang, 1977). Barthes,
ho,, e' ·er, also uses lhe hody asa symhol for desire aud
lhe 1Illconsdotls. I Jm indc. hkd to Cynth ia NO\,;lCk
ano to Kim 13entOIl fur their ínsightful COlllllll nls 011
Ihis paper.
Trisha
Brown,
M an Wa lk in g D ow n S id e o f B ui /d in g 1 97 0.
Carol Gooden
2. Michel Foucault,
Discipline alld Punish: The Bireh
C I(h~ friso 1 tr.\l1s.
Abl1 Shl rid.lll (Nl \\
\ ork: P.\I1thnlll,
1978).
3. lIis cssay isinduded inlhis \'Olumc, pp. ~54-477
-l'IlS.
4. Foueaull, Discipline alld Punish, p . 25.
5. D seriplions 01 lhe hallel d,1Sse.ln hc lUnd in
Merrill Ashleyand Larry Kaplan, Dallcillg.fi 8,,1,, chi e
(Ne,, York:OUllon, 1984); Cynlhia Lyle,
O<1l1cen O,, C-
in[J (New York: Orake, 1977); anJ Joseph Maw, Dallce Is
a Contact. Sport (New York:Salurday Revie\\' Prcss, 1974).
6. For more Jelailed aeeounls
01
Ounean's appmaeh
t o dance t echn ic lue s cc I rma DUl lcan , DUllCUll DUllccr
(Middlelo\\'n, Conn.: Wesleyan Universily Press. 1966);
The Techllique ciflsadora DUllcan (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Danee
Iloriwns, 1970); and IsaJora Ounean,
The
:Irr
' flhe
D nce (Ncw York:Thealre Arts. 1928).
7. l;rahalll's philosophy 01 dancl' kdllli'IUl' isSUIll-
marizeo in her art idc, uThe Amcri can
D.1IKI.::,
in Ml r1e
Arlllilage a/1()Virginia Sle\Vart, eJs.,
Modem Dance
(Ne\V
York: Weyhc, 1935), pp. 101-106; idem, ADancer's
World (Irans<:ripl aI'the filmA Ouncas H'orld) Ounce
Observer
(Jan. 1958), p . 5 ;and inAlice Helpern , The
Evollllion of Martha Grahalll's Technique, Ph.D.
Disserlalion, Ne\VYork Universily, 1981.
8.
Cunningham describes his approach lo dance
lechnique in his arlide The Funclion aI'a Techniqlle
for Dance, in Waller Sorell, ed.,
Th e Danc e Hu s Mar ~
Faces (New York:WorlJ PlIblishing, 1951), pp. 250-55;
and, in conversalion \VilhJacqueline Lesschaeve, Tile
Dancer and the Dance (Ne\VYork: Boyars, 1985).
9. For a comprehensive anJ insighlful analysis 01
the devclopment
01
conlacl illlprovisalion, see Cynlhia
Novack, Sharin8 the Dance: An Ethno[Jraph)' cifContacl
Improvisarion (Milwallkee: University ofWiseonsin Press,
1990); anJ Contact Quarter r, a jOllrnal fealllring arlides
on contact improvisatiol1.
41-6
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