Quote of the Week 8/15/11
“There is no such thing as a ‘right position,’ but there IS such a thing as a ‘right direction.’”
This quote serves as a reminder that in the Alexander philosophy, ‘poise’ is a matter of movement and energy, not of a specific shape to be gained and held. In the Technique we hesitate to use the word “posture,” because posture suggests a fixed alignment that is universal and static. In contrast, the Alexander Technique promotes a functional alignment, a sense of ‘poise’ that comes about through a relationship of the head and neck to the rest of the body. As the body moves, the head and neck also move. This is why we say there is no such thing as a ‘right position,’ because the exterior physical appearance of ‘poise’ will change as the body moves. The ‘right position’ will be different with every new thought or action. The ‘correct posture’ really manifests as movement, a combination of energetic directions that work together to keep the student poised throughout their daily activities, whatever those activities may entail.
Concept Spotlight: Breathing
Sorry I missed the Quote of the Week on Monday, I was in the process of moving out of my apartment. But here’s this week’s Concept Spotlight as promised.
When Alexander first began teaching his new Technique, he touted it as a method of “full-chest breathing.” Even to this day, breathing plays a large part in the Technique. My teacher Alex Murray, being a flautist, is always drawing attention to the breathing aspects of good use.
Those of us in the performing arts (dance, theater, voice, music, etc.) are frequently inundated with teachers telling us how to breathe. Ballet dancers are told to breathe from their chest so as not to see the stomach moving, vocalists are told to breathe from the diaphragm so as to achieve greater power, and countless other performers are told to breathe in different ways, but none of these methods ever seem to work with any consistency. Alexander argues that this is because the many systems of breathing in use all seem entirely focused on the breath IN, with little or no thought given to the exhale. This creates the situation wherein a student can be fairly poised at the end of an inhale, but by the time they get to the end of the exhale their body has become completely disorganized and collapsed. In many cases the end of the exhale is precisely where good use is needed the most. This preoccupation with the inhale also leads to the prevalence of “sniffing” and “gasping,” as the student believes the only way to take a quick breath in is to forcefully TAKE the breath in.
In reality, inhaling is a reflex action that occurs naturally when the lungs are empty. Emptying the lungs creates a vacuum, and the inhale happens automatically to neutralize the vacuum. So to breathe most efficiently, one need only focus on the exhale, and maintaining poise all the way through the end of the exhale, and then simply allow the breath to come back in on its own.
Whenever a person sets out to achieve a particular end, he can do so in one of two ways. He can work directly for his end, bearing little or no thought to how he is getting there but instead relying on his subconscious guidance to carry him. Or, he can take an indirect approach, focusing on the “why do I want to reach this end” and “how do I get there,” rather than the “what do I want.” Alexander defines the direct method as “End-Gaining,” and the indirect as “Means-Whereby.” One of the Technique’s overriding principles is that means-whereby will always be more effective than end-gaining, and as such should be used whenever possible to achieve the most consistently efficient level of work.
The Technique provides a practical demonstration of the ‘means-whereby’ principle during lessons, where we increase the student’s overall level of physical and psychological health with the knowledge that once a certain level of what we call ‘good use’ has been reached, any specific ailments will have a tendency to disappear of their own accord. If you come for lessons because of a painful pinky finger, don’t be surprised if we completely ignore your fingers for the first few weeks. Our primary concern will be on creating and maintaining a general level of functioning, and only once that level has been attained will we begin addressing how that pinky finger relates to the whole. This is ‘means-whereby,’ we focus on how you should be using your body overall and let the little things take care of themselves, rather than trying to ‘fix’ specific problems.
It is important to note, in my opinion, that in advocating the “means-whereby” Alexander is not saying that you should never have an end in mind, but rather stating that it is better to stop and think about how you plan on getting there, rather than simply fixating on the end itself. When you know how you plan to achieve something, you are much more likely to be able to pull it off successfully than if you simply focus on what you want to the exclusion of all else.
Quote of the Week
Hi All!
Since it’s August and my move to Pittsburgh is drawing ever nearer, I’m beginning my blog posting in earnest. Starting now, I’ll be posting to this blog two or three times a week, discussing various topics related to the Technique. We’ll start off each week on Monday with my Quote of the Week, follow it up on Wednesday with a Concept Spotlight, and finish up each Friday with an optional This Week in AT. So without further ado, let’s get started this week with one of my favorite Quotes:
“[The Alexander Technique] bears the same relation to education that education itself bears to all other human activities.” ~John Dewey, in an introduction to Use of the Self
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes related to the Technique. In his introduction to Use of the Self, Dewey discusses the importance of education to the well-being of mankind. In his view, education is the only way we have of influencing our development as a species. However, he argues that without knowing how to achieve and maintain a high standard of functioning, both physical and psychological, any efforts to educate will likely be misdirected and result in what he calls “mis-education.” As an example, consider an anatomist who has studied the human body in-depth and has a thorough knowledge of the working of each and every muscle. He may be able to tell you precisely which muscles should engage to stand up from a chair and which ones should not, but if he cannot actually coordinate his structure to do it in practice, then what use is his knowledge? The greatest amount of theoretical knowledge in the world is useless without the ability to apply it in practical situations.
The Alexander Technique, in contrast, is a method that grants its students a real, practical knowledge of the most efficient way to live, both physically and psychologically. In essence, it teaches you how to learn. Once you adopt the principles of the Technique to your efforts in everyday life, you will have far more success in learning anything you wish to learn.
Dance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link, by Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier, explores the connection between the Alexander Technique and dance technique through the lens of the developmental movement procedures devised by Raymond Dart. It came about as a result of Nettl-Fiol and Vanier’s desire to find more intuitive ways to teach dancers the principles of the Alexander Technique. The Technique is subtle and quiet; dance is big and energetic, and the connection between the two is not always apparent. The authors’ explorations led them to realize that the Dart Procedures are the missing link between the subtleties of the Alexander Technique and the full-blown energetic movement of dance.
Missing Link uses the Dart Procedures and the Alexander Technique as lenses through which one can discover a holistic view of what the authors call “dynamic alignment,” and provides a practical exploration guide to help both students and teachers apply this concept to various types of dance vocabulary. After a brief introduction to both the Alexander Technique and the Dart Procedures, the book begins its explorations in earnest. Part Two contains applications of the Dart Procedures to dance; Part Three applies the Alexander Technique. Part Four contains detailed practical illustrations of how these concepts can be applied during regular dance classes (as well as sample combinations and themes to explore), and some tips for teachers on teaching dance with the Alexander principles in mind. Targeted illustrations throughout the book further explain the subtle concepts, while the included DVD adds extra insight and provides visual instruction for nearly every exploration. Read this book with the DVD menu open; you will be visiting it frequently.
I found this book to be a truly unique reading experience. The language is simple enough to understand, even when delving into the more complex topics. Clear explanations with good dance analogies abound, and frequent quotes from students give alternate perspectives on the matter. The average dancer will understand this material easily, and if a topic ever threatens to jump over their head you can bet there’ll be an illustration nearby for further clarification. The DVD provides even more varied explanations of the material; reading and watching simultaneously creates a well-rounded learning experience with something for visual, auditory and read-write learners. As for kinesthetic learners, nearly the whole book is composed of movement explorations for the reader to get up and try out, each with its own compliment of photos and most with an accompanying video segment. The illustrations contain an impressive array of demo students sporting a wide range of body types, backgrounds and understanding levels, which highlights the physical variation that exists and the authors’ emphasis on intent rather than form. The movement vocabulary is equally split between ballet and modern dance, further illustrating the universality of the principles discussed.
Dance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link is something every dancer should own. Nettl-Fiol and Vanier make their thesis concise and easy to understand, an important quality when writing about a subject that is difficult to explain in words. The structure of the book is organic and easily followed, and the tone is supportive and non-judgmental. Its multi-media nature makes it useful in a practical sense, and equally so whether you are a teacher planning classes or a student interested in a new outlook on your own performance. Incidentally, many of these explorations involve two people, so the authors suggest trying them with a partner. I could not agree more. Bring a friend and read the explorations to each other, or put on the DVD and have Nettl-Fiol and Vanier explain their work to you themselves. This is a book to be experienced, not just read, and it’s about the closest you can come to taking Nettl-Fiol’s Alexander Technique for Dancers class without signing up.
The Nitty-Gritty:
Title: Dance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link
Authors: Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier
Copyright 2011 by University of Illinois Press
Nonfiction
Accompanying DVD
Full Illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-252-07793-7 (paperback), 978-0-252-03601-9 (hardcover)
It’s almost time!
Hi All!
Well, it’s getting closer to the big moving date; I will be living in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh as of September!
I am already accepting new students for lessons beginning in September, so if you’re interested in signing up, now’s the time! Contact me to schedule your free lesson today!
Also, on a side note, I am finally in possession of my copy of Becky and Luc’s book, and am eagerly reading through it. I’ll have a detailed review post in a few weeks, once I’ve had time to “read, mark, and inwardly digest,” as my teacher says.
Hi folks!
Well, it’s time! Becky Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier’s book, Dance and the Alexander Technique, has finally been released! I’ll post on the blog with my thoughts on it once I get back to Illinois and read my copy.
Apparently Amazon hasn’t gotten hold of them just yet, so if you pre-ordered it’ll probably be a bit longer. But in the meantime, you can go buy it here.
Hi Everyone!
Just a quick update for you; some of my colleagues have a new book coming out! My college dance teachers Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier have written a book called Dance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link. In it, Becky and Luc use their many years of experience as both dance teachers and Alexander teachers to explore the basic principles of the Technique as they apply to various activities from simple everyday movements to complex dance vocabulary. The book is accompanied by a DVD featuring demonstrations of the concepts and applications.
Dance and the Alexander Technique is set to be released mid-June, but you can pre-order it now via Amazon. I just pre-ordered my copy, and I can’t wait for it to arrive!
AT Featured on NPR!
The Alexander Technique was featured on NPR this morning! You can listen to the story and read the transcript here.
Woot!
Freedom to Move Conference
The second annual Freedom to Move Conference on Dance and the Alexander Technique will be held May 20 – 22 in New York City! The conference is presented by Balance Arts Center and will be held at Pearl Studios NYC.
Two of the organizers and presenters are my previous dance teachers, Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier (who incidentally are in the process of publishing a book on dance and AT, set to be released in May). They’ll be doing several workshops during the weekend relating to the material in their new book. Sounds like a fun weekend, and if I had the time, you bet I’d be there. Hopefully they’ll do another one next year that I can go to.
Pre-registration is available, as is a pay-by-session option. Visit www.balanceartscenter.com for session details and presenter bios, and to pre-register for the conference.
