Dance and the Alexander Technique: Exploring the Missing Link

Rebecca Nettl-Fiol and Luc Vanier utilize their ten years of research on developmental movement and dance training to explore the relationship between a specific movement technique and the basic principles of support and coordination. The Alexander Technique, developed in the early twentieth century by F. M. Alexander, can be used to enhance dexterity in all types of activities, from everyday actions as mundane as tooth-brushing to highly demanding dance movements. The authors offer a unique approach for using the Alexander Technique in dance and other activities. Amply illustrated and supplemented with a DVD that demonstrates the concepts and applications of the Alexander Technique, this book will be highly instrumental for dancers, teachers of dance, and anyone interested in giving everyday movements more efficiency, dexterity, and elegance. Rebecca Nettl-Fiol is an associate professor of dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-editor of The Body Eclectic: Evolving Practices in Dance Training. Luc Vanier is an associate professor in the dance department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts and a dance choreographer.

Table of Contents

Credits ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xvii part one Groundwork: Dance, Alexander Technique, and Dart Procedures 1 Introduction to Part One 3 1 Assumptions and Foundations 9 2 Alexander Technique: Overview and Basic Principles 17 3 The Dart Procedures: Overview and Key Concepts 27 part two From Crawling to Leaping: Dart Procedures Applied to Dance Training 41 Introduction to Part Two 43 4 Primary and Secondary Curves: Looking at Movement through a New Lens 45 5 Spirals for Connectivity and Lengthening 57 6 Discovering the Resiliency of the System 71 part three The Right Thing Does Itself: Alexander Principles Applied to Dance Training 83 Introduction to Part Three 85 7 The Whole Self 87 8 Becoming Aware of Habit 95 9 Head First: Facilitating Coordination 103 10 Allowing versus Doing 111 11 Releasing the Catch: Direction 117 part four Applications to Dance Movements 129 Introduction to Part Four 131 12 Applications to Ballet 133 13 Applications to Contemporary Modern Dance Technique 149 14 Applications for Teachers: Correction with Direction 165 Epilogue 177 Bibliography 181 DVD Contents 185 Index 187

Author Biography

Rebecca Nettl-Fiol is an associate professor of dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and coeditor of “The Body Eclectic: Evolving Practices in Dance Training.“Luc Vanier is an associate professor in the dance department at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts and a dance choreographer”