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As a dance educator, you might be familiar with the term somatic movement. You may have seen social media posts extolling the benefits of trendy somatic workouts, you may even have some experience with somatic movement practices, like Alexander Technique. However, you may be curious about what the term 鈥渟omatic movement鈥� actually means, or how to incorporate somatic movement practices into your dance lesson plans or personal practice.

According to The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA), somatic movement is a term for a range of movement practices that 鈥渆nhance human functioning and body-mind integration through movement awareness.鈥� The term is derived from the concept of the soma, or an individual鈥檚 own first-person, internal perception of their body, rather than what is observed or described of it by external sources. In somatics, there is an emphasis on internal sensation and perception of how movement feels and is experienced.

Examples of somatic movement practices include tai chi, Body-Mind Centering 庐 , Bartenieff Fundamentals, Alexander Technique, The Feldenkrais Method庐, and Rolfing Structural Integration. While these and other somatic movement practices differ greatly in their origins and approach, they do share common underlying principles. ISMETA identifies some of the shared intentions of somatic movement practices as increasing awareness of the sensations of the moving body, recognizing habitual patterns in the body, and discovering new possibilities for movement, posture, and perception. In each somatic movement practice, the focus should be on how the movement feels and is sensed in the body, not how it looks.

Depending on your dance background, the concept of moving based on perception instead of form may seem foreign to you. In many genres of dance, such as ballet, the focus is on the outward form and aesthetics of the movement as viewed by an audience. However, somatic movement practices prioritize the mover鈥檚 experience, sensation, and perception of the movement over its appearance. There are some dance forms, sometimes called somatic dance, that derive from the principles of somatics or have their roots in a somatic approach to movement. These include BodyMind Dancing developed by Dr. Martha Eddy, Skinner Releasing Technique developed by Joan Skinner, and Contact Improvisation originated by Steve Paxton. Somatics-based approaches to movement have influenced many dance styles, including creative, post-modern, and contemporary dance.

Dance and somatic movement practices have been interconnected in many ways since the early 1900s. Early modern dancers emphasized the sensation and expressive potential of movement over strict adherence to codified postures and techniques. In doing so, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan tuned into the somatic aspect of dance movement. Duncan鈥檚 focus on natural movement, improvisation, and the bodily expression of emotions all helped to pave the way for a somatic approach to dance technique. Educators like Margaret H鈥橠oubler, choreographers like Mary Wigman, and innovators like Rudolf Laban would further explore approaches to dance that could be considered somatic in nature. Laban Movement Analysis, developed by Laban as a way to describe and document human movement, is used today by both somatic practitioners and dance educators.

As a dance teacher, you may be incorporating some concepts or ideas from somatics in your classes without even realizing it. Somatic movement principles have influenced teachers of many dance genres, from postmodern movement to classical ballet. There has been a movement in dance education to integrate somatics into dance training. In some instances, this may mean the inclusion of somatic movement practices, like Alexander Technique and Gyrotonics庐, as part of students鈥� dance training. Other teachers are including concepts from somatic movement practices into their lesson plans, such as using concepts from Bartenieff Fundamentals in their warm-up. Still others are teaching from a somatic perspective, with an emphasis on kinesthetic awareness and internal perception rather than or in addition to the outward form and appearance of the movement.

Students can benefit from a somatic approach to dance training in many ways. Focusing on the feeling of movement rather than its appearance can be empowering for students. It can validate the way that they experience dance, not just how they look performing a certain movement. In particular, incorporating somatics into dance training may prove helpful for students who are experiencing body image issues or low self-esteem, or those who are processing trauma. For all students, infusing somatics into dance training can increase kinesthetic awareness, proprioception, posture, and movement efficiency. They can be used to inform improvisation explorations and help students discover new ways of creating movement and choreographing.

As a dance educator, as well, you might find somatic movement practices beneficial in your personal practice. They can be used as a warm-up or cool down, as recovery on days that you don鈥檛 teach, as part of your creative exploration and choreographic process, or to help facilitate creative rest, relieve stress, and fight burnout. Learning more about somatic movement practices and finding ways to explore them in and through dance can be transformative for you, personally and professionally.

Interested in learning more? Join NDEO and the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA) this summer for a Somatics Special Topic Conference in New York, NY at Gibney: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center from July 19-21, 2024.聽聽 Register by July 10th: Register by Clicking Here!