DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Benjamin Waugh

Integrated Thesis Writing Component

MFA Contemporary Performance Naropa University

23 April 2015

 

Somatic Integration into Aerial Arts

 

"I always feel bad for the parts of the stage that aren't being used. I have in the past felt sorry, for the ceiling and walls. It's perfectly good space, why doesn't anyone use it?" - Trisha Brown 

 

     This phrase is one of the many converging paths that led to the development of Aerial Dance, just after the birth and infancy of the Post-modern world. Trisha Brown is one of the dancers in the 1960s and 1970s that decided to question everything that was taken for granted in the dance world. Amongst her were the brilliant minds of Mary Overlie, Yvonne Rainer, Barbara Dilley, and Steve Paxton. Trisha Brown, though, was the one who decided to fly. Using rope and harness she choreographed work that brought new power to the use of space, a reoccurring theme in her work, her dancers moved on the walls and danced from this spatial orientation. This new vision of space opened the door for the dance world to take flight. Simultaneously, Stephanie Evanitsky, a Pratt Institute graduate (Robert Wilson's Alma Mater) and Alwin Nikolais trained dancer started exploring through, as she says in Jayne Bernasconi and Nancy Smith's Aerial Dance, "a search for the space and time that gave birth to a new way of moving." (Bernasconi and Smith 32) This is essentially the post-modern view of space and the removal of artistic partitions of work and field. The allowance of actors being dancers, and singers being painters, allowed for the dance world to steal from the athletic, including gymnastics and circus. This cross-pollination of work continued into the eighties and nineties and into today. 

     Aerial Dance diverts from the world of post-modern in the realm of aesthetics, the aerial dance world is heavily rooted in modern dance composition, though shares many post-modern questions and ideals. I set out to investigate the movement practices of this post-modern compatriot, mostly based in the modern dancer training of shared warm-up then repeated and coached technique class, much as any ballet, tap, or jazz class is taught across the country and world. This is a fine technique and great for introducing beginners to the work, but how does one turn the work from simple technique and tricks into an individually based creative creation process? I decided to investigate the integration of somatic principles and experiential anatomy, based off the pioneering work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and the School of Body Mind Centering(R) (BMC)[1], into aerial arts. This grew out of my passion for both somatics, and aerial arts. I also have been extremely lucky to have fostered a wonderful relationship with Frequent Flyers Productions (FFP) and the amazing dancers and teachers there, including founder and Artistic Director as well as co-author of the only aerial dance book Aerial Dance, Nancy Smith. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Valerie Morris, education program manager at FFP, and Erika Berland, core faculty at Naropa University's MFA in Contemporary Performance.

     I see somatics, or the study of the experienced subjective body with the underlying theories and principles of BMC, as a three-fold tool with the ability to help alleviate the inherent difficulty of aerial arts that of the fight against gravity, a creativity source and process for movement, and as a pedagogical tool. My research began in my own integration and exploration of somatic principles (such as equality of the six limbs, yield, push, reach, grasp, pull, the body systems, and developmental patterns) within an aerial container. As I learned new techniques I translated the language into a somatic vocabulary. I kept the systems of the body in mind as I rehearsed techniques and discussed ideas of this work with other aerialists as well as other somatic practitioners. This moved into more specific research into connections that occurred to me fairly quickly. These were mostly organ and gland connections to specific joints, such as knee to kidney and heel to gonads, energy spots used to support the on going work of the muscles and joints. I then continued the research by taking these ideas and other investigations I sought to find more support of, as well as integrate into my own work on others.  I organized two sequential Saturdays in which to work with a group of four wonderful individuals with diverse backgrounds, but two of which have a strong aerial background (Frequent Flyers Productions Professional Training Program students) and two which have a basic somatic understanding (Naropa MFA students.) I did this for two reasons, one to save myself the work of teaching brand new concepts to an entire new group, no matter what I was doing half of the participants understood the work. The second reason was to have two different avenues of connection, either with somatics as the base or as the added layer of understanding.

      The first workshop consisted of a basic somatic lesson, where I focused on yielding, (a major theme of my exploration) pushing, reach and pull. Distal and proximal initiations were explored as well. I also used this time to introduce the language of somatics, words such as distal and proximal, compression and suspension, flexion and extension, and navel radiation. (Complete Lesson Plan for Session 1). One of my investigations was into the LANDAU reflex, an early reflex that uses all six limbs in near full extension to achieve a semblance of balance, think of a baby and the airplane shape when held about its midsection. Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen on reflexes, "Reflexes create the pathways that allow the mind to express itself in movement" (Berland 51). I felt that the LANDAU as a reflex exemplifies the principle of the equality of limbs. I also sought to differentiate the reflexes in order to fully understand them and make them an accessible tool for creation and study. This introductory session allowed for the following workshop to be a true investigation and help me to cement on the three-fold nature of somatics in aerial arts.

 

1. Somatics as Antidote

     Aerial arts are a wonderfully creative style of dance, but the simple nature of the movement and the physics behind leaving the ground, strongly put the work into the skeletal-muscular system. My gut impulse of the investigation was how to help remedy this strong cementing into these two systems. My first instinct was to follow the gut and to directly integrate the organs into the work. I quickly found that the earthy nature of many of the organs lead to a heavy grounded and full movement, but also made the effortless and light movement of aerial a bit more difficult. This was a necessary exploration to realize that aerial is based in the muscles and skeletal system, to be a creative act it must have this extremely strong support that the muscles and skeleton provide.

     I then started to experiment with using the organs as an underlying support of the muscles. Many aerial positions, such as the knee hang, (an inverted suspension utilizing the back of the knees and compression between the thigh and calf to create grip and tension with a trapeze bar) require an aligned body, most methods of teaching base the alignment off skeletal markers, ribs aligned with hips with knees etc. This is a simple instruction, but requires a lot of tension to be held in the muscles where it is not necessarily required. I utilized the density of the organs and the fullness of the body to help find the alignment required to maintain the style and structure of the knee hang, without the held tension of the muscles.

     I also utilized the developmental patterns and distinctions of homologous, homolateral, and contralateral (BMC). Many positions in aerial require a body awareness that is inherent in every individual, but is forgotten in everyday life and as beings mature. As the two non-aerial participants learned a basic low-flying trapeze sequence, entitled "Animal Series" (a series of positions and transitions used to teach the newcomer different ways to hold on to the trapeze than solely with the hands, i.e. elbows, knees, armpits). Which is reminiscent of the somatic principle of rediscovering the evolutionary growth of beings through the developmental patterns and systems. I led the group through a warm-up that brought attention to all surfaces of the body and helped find the difference between the side body, front body, and back body. (Complete Lesson Plan for Session 2) This simple distinction allows for the non-aerialist (or even non-dancer) to make differentiation in their movement and find alignment and lines easily and supported with the bodies natural movement. The identifying of the side body, and working with homolateral (left and right side distinction) movement allows for positions, such as the sloth (a hang from the trapeze with same side knee and elbow) to arise easily with correct alignment.  The position of the knee and elbow in tight flexion and understanding of the side body and homolateral movement subtly promotes the bottom surfaces to find an extended line.

     I also used the fundamental somatic principle for movement of yield, push, reach, and pull as a base of support for all movement. The importance of the underlying surface is a huge motivator in the work, and I feel this is even more important as you limit the amount of surface in which contact is held. In aerial this may be mere square inches. Finding the support in this minimal area allows for the movement to be grounded, be it on the ground or meters above it. We all have dreams to fly, aerial is how we achieve that, it is not so ethereal and as Robert Davidson says in Aerial Dance "We unconsciously recognize the experience of being in the womb floating, hovering in fluid, smooth energy." (Bernasconi and Smith 43) Aerial is a way to achieve that and with the integration of the whole body, the body that knows the floating in the womb, we can do it effortlessly.

 

2. Somatics as (Creative) Tool for Creation

     "Aerial Dance forces dancers to be present in the moment; they cannot lose focus or they might fall from a height. The stakes are higher, literally."(Bernasconi and Smith 25) says Nancy Smith in Aerial Dance. This is the thrill of being an aerial dancer, working in a state of presence while creating work is of huge importance to me. Aerial dance and any virtuosic movement (acrobatics, ballet, tightrope walking) require a presence and understanding of the body that is highly attuned and trained, but many of these ask you to move past the focus on the body and have an appearance of effortlessness. This is a great tool and has its place in many performances, but many performers (myself included) learn these difficult movements and never learn the basis of creation behind them and never investigate how the movement is unique to the individual. 

     Somatics and understanding the experienced body allow for a person to learn these difficult movements and be present with them. To go from standing and fall to the ground or to move to the top of an apparatus, in what appears as an effortless movement one must understand the systems of the body and how it moves in space. This is from within; many learn these movements and then supplement the movement with an outside image to remain in form. The use of imagery is a remarkable tool, but when you understand the body (as a subjective being) and can find the structure and motive within yourself, there is no need for the outside source. All the tools are with you. This is the creative brilliance of somatics, and techniques that have grown out of it, including Wendell Beavers' Developmental Technique(TM).

     Somatics, being individual and experiential, also allows for individuals to bring themselves to established techniques. Once a form is understood, you can adapt it to fit yourself. This is how I use somatics in my aerial work. My understanding of my body allows for me to create my own movement and supporting systems within the required technique allowing for different styles and presentation within myself. The possibility of the body as an ever-present creative source of choreographic and stylistic creation is remarkable. It is a never-ending source of movement and improvisation.

     Each step is different than the last. Every movement allows for something new to happen. Developmental Technique(TM) is a remarkable system completely based in the body, while still allowing for individual and unique sequencing and movement to happen. Each person that approaches that work will get something different out of it based on their  individual aesthetic and wants, as well as their unique body experience. This philosophy I continue to hold into my aerial creations. How does one explore the apparatus and established movement vocabulary within the means and abilities of the self? The body is the answer; you can only do what you can do. This is the draw of live performance, so the body is the ultimate tool for this.

 

3. Somatics as Pedagogical Base for teaching Aerial.

"There is an art, or rather a knack, to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground, and miss."- Douglas Adams Life, the Universe, and Everything.

 

     I have previously argued the merit of different systems as an "antidote" to the extremely- muscular-skeletal based aerial work. Teaching people the work as an added layer and assistance to the already established technique is a great tool, but aerial taught from a somatic base would allow for the forms to still be present while the individual needs and movement were forefront.

     As a pedagogical tool the focus would still be on the teaching of the aerial forms, but the warm up and beginning of the classes would be rooted in a somatic warm-up. The use of a warm-up with the individual's body as the center of focus allows for a varied warm-up that allows each person to move to the extent they need in that moment or that day. Utilizing tools, such as vocalizing and focus on the breath allows for the body, to be "tricked" into following  the developmental paths and finding the body's natural understanding of itself.

     This somatic base would focus on the underlying surface and finding the individual’s support, then allowing oneself to yield into this support to push, reach, and pull into the movement, and the repeated cyclical nature of this understanding. This would begin by bringing attention to the body, from the outer container of the skin to the inner density of the organs. The fluids would be kept present with the use of music and the structuring of movement through space. I would change the intention of the movement to bring about the different qualities of the fluids without having to directly name the variety of fluids. 

The beauty of somatics is again the natural understanding the body has for correct movement. Naming the distinctions is wonderful and allows for quicker access, but in a beginner’s aerial class, simply finding the support (not only of the muscles and skeleton but of the entire body) is the goal. As students advance technique wise, the systems would become more in depth and explored. Instead of just me using my understanding of, say the Lymph to promote directionality and precise movement. I can begin to name the things I am using, and then supplement it with exploration and understanding on the floor and into the air.

     Somatics, especially as a base to begin teaching from, would allow for the movement to be embodied and whole from the beginning of the warm-up,  and into the class be it an aerial class, ballet, or performance. Fostering a direct connection with the body and the awareness that is inherent in one’s own body will prompt the student to keep this mentality through the class and the progression of difficult material.

 

4. Conclusion

"Finding the lightness and depth from ground to sky"- Terry Sendgraff (Bernasconi and Smith 41)

 

"Reflexes are patterns that support our relationship to earth and heaven or gravity and anti-gravity."- Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (Cohen 124)

 

     Aerial Dance, and somatics already have many similarities, the two above quotes exemplify this, and the trainings both allow for the individual to bring themselves to the work as unique persons and to discover it through their own effort. The further exploration and joining of this is a natural progression. The work of Terry Sendgraff (considered the originator of aerial dance, separately but unknowing of Stephanie Evanitsky, and was the individual who taught her work to others, and therefore created the genre) and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen sought to answer a question, and both decided to answer it with how we as human beings move. One did this by going deep within the self and discovering how we have evolved and moved through birth, infancy, and into adulthood (Cohen), and the other by extending the possibility of dance to the skies (Sendgraff). They were the originators of the work. The job of this generation, of my generation (call it Post-post-modern or whatever you like) is the joining of these worlds to create new and original paths. The post-modernists had to rebel and swing to the opposite side to clarify the spectrum of possibility within the work, to open the skies completely. The integration of somatics into highly technical work is only step one, and is happening simultaneously with brilliant work across the board. Some of these include Sonya Smith's research into somatic integration into aerial (as well as her study of gender in aerial), and Ana Prada's use of Gyrokinesis(R) in aerial arts, as well as many other creators in the dance and circus worlds. As Douglas Addams said, " Their is an art or rather a knack to flying..." that knack is knowing the body as you know it and following its capabilities to its inherent and shared knowledge.

 


[1] As taught by Erika Berland as part of the MFA:CP curriculum at Naropa University.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.