Sunday 16 March 2014

Workshop - working from the inside out

I recently attended a CPD workshop a few weeks ago, which looked at contemporary dance styles for teachers of GCSE/BTEC/ A Level, dance in the modern dance styles of Graham and Limon. I had a particular interest in attending because I teach Horton a modern dance style developed at the time of Martha Graham and Jose Limon. The different being that Horton was developed on the west cost of America and the others on the east coast in what was considered the modern dance mecca at the time in the 1930s 40s, and 50s. Alvin Ailey studied and danced in Lester Horton’s company and after Lester Horton died in 1953, Ailey took and developed his legacy in the form of a company and choreographic works, which include Ailey’s signature piece “Revelations”. Revelations contains both influences of Graham and Horton technique. The technique is codified and forms part of the technical and choreographic training of dancers at the Ailey school and company. Doing this course was relevant as it links to my inquiry about modern dance technique and young people in the 21st century. What was interesting was how the workshop facilitators talked about the movement principles of the techniques of Graham and Limon, which is not as dated as people might expect. A long time ago I was told that the Horton technique was considered out of date and old fashioned! This statement was in reference to a class I taught at a school and subsequent repertory that resulted. Whilst the comment was unhelpful the implication was that it wasn’t trendy enough and would not engage the school. There was agreement that these modern dance styles are very relevant and can be utilized in the teaching of technique through performance. Susan Sentler and Nina Atkinson who led the workshop both shared and worked on some choreography from the repertoires of both Graham and Limon and it was revelatory and also affirming how as with most dance styles the choreography dictated the style and substance of the techniques. It got me thinking about Horton’s early works which if you look at it in historical context was appropriate for the time and to some looks a little dated but in looking closely at the movement concepts it was very much up to date and adaptable for today’s dancer. I could see the relevance of the technique both in terms of its form and function. Also really interesting was the use of somatic practice incorporated into the study exploration and experience of a modern dance technique to support the understanding teaching and learning of a codified modern dance style. Both Nina and Susan adopt this approach and to very good effect. We went back to basics and worked from the inside out. I cam across a couple of clips of the restaging of one of Horton’s earlier pieces “The Beloved” (1948). The first I viewed as a performance reconstruction from a notated score and the other clip an embodied reconstruction from ex Horton dancer and company member Bella Lewitzky. Although choreographed by Horton she collaborated on this piece. Bella was his muse for the development of many of his choreographic works and also for the development of the technical form of Horton. What I loved when watching both pieces was the performance aspect and how as a teacher I could use sections of choreography as a study and focus on the movement principles in order to get my students to understand style and technique and develop different ways of learning and educating the body. Reflecting on the workshop made me realize how little relationship my students have with the past history of modern dance in order to understand where it came from and then inform the future. Not having this relationship or embodied knowledge sets up a big challenge for me teaching modern dance. However I felt inspired looking at it from purely a movement perspective which I hope with the right language encourage my students to compare, contrast and make links with movement in their own lives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZ8RP8cTcs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sncN5sq0ONY

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