Name of teacher/supervisor
Vivianne Rodrigues de Brito
Period, duration
Block 1, 7 weeks
Study load
32,5 contact hours
Competencies:
1, 2, 3 & 4
Summary
As we move, we are always making the connection between body parts and creating relationships within ourselves, between ourselves, and with the world. Functional Movement Exploration is a practice that highlights different body parts and explores their function, their range of motion, and their connections with other body parts to express a sensation, a feeling or to design a specific pathway of movement within our bodies and in space.
This discipline is meant to give students a sensorial experience of and knowledge about their body structure, augmenting their proprioceptive awareness and their ability to be and stay present in their movements. Its practice will also provide students with a frame from which to improvise, explore and expand their movement vocabulary.
Content and design of the class
In these classes we will withdraw information from the Feldenkrais Method, focusing primarily on the function of the axial skeleton (tail, sacrum, spine, ribs, and head), from Improvisation practice, and Hands-on work (touch.)
Students will direct their attention to a specific body part within a given function. By moving it slowly and with minimum effort, students will have the time to sense, feel and perceive all the different components (breathing, initiation, coordination, timing, sequencing, and muscular effort) involved in that movement.
After investigating, differentiating, and integrating the given body part in the given function, students will work in pairs, and through touch, they will increase the proprioceptive awareness of each other’s body by either sensing, following, or manipulating that body part with their hands.
Students will use the interactive chain of body parts and the functional pathways as a frame from which to improvise, adding intention, dynamic, musicality, phrasing, different movement qualities, spatial levels, and degrees of tension in their dances.
Students will witness each other’s dancing, discussing, and reflecting on their own experiences using non-judgmental language.
Towards the end of the course, students will be asked to set movement phrases, using the material collected from their improvisations.
Learning goals
Students:
- Gain awareness of body parts and their integration into full movement functions.
- Have more insight and knowledge to better organize movements in their bodies.
- Acquire a more accurate and holistic self-image.
- Use functional movement pathways as a frame from which to explore movement and improvise.
- Know to access different movement qualities, spatial levels, eye focusses, and degree of muscle tension to inform their choices in improvisations.
- Gather tools to sustain intention, awareness, and presence while improvising and dancing set phrases.
Working method(s) used
Practicing functional exploration of the body, using touch (manipulation), improvisation, peer feedback, and reflection.
Used study material
ATM lessons, and music.
Assessment criteria:
Attendance, attitude, participation, physical and artistic personal development, insight, and communication.
Method of assessment
Continuous feedback, self-reflection and assessment, and teacher’s evaluation