Begin class by trying to embody the main movements demonstrated in the videos below.
I. Warm Up
Warm Up
Balance
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II. Research Work
The following video gives an overview of Horton's technique.
Genealogy and Review
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III. Choreographic Work
Each one of this movements below contributes to your acquisition of new vocabulary. Using the videos, your own instincts and creativity, try to recreate the movements listed below.
LESTER HORTON TECHNIQUE
Flat Back
Lateral Strectches
Primitve Squat
Coccyx Balance
Lateral T
Twists
Back Bends
Plies (first and second positions)
Arms Position
Lateral Torso Bends
Forward Torso Bends (with and without plie)
Activity:
After observing videos on Horton Technique create 4 moves in order to choreograph a phrase that you will add to your solo phrases.
IV. Written Component
a) What is the main difference between Dunham's and Horton's techniques?
b) How did it feel in your body to switch from one to the other?
c) What do you think is the main function of Horton's technique?
Each one of
this movements below contributes to your acquisition of new vocabulary. Using
the videos, your own instincts and creativity, try to recreate the movements
listed below.
LESTER HORTON TECHNIQUE
Flat
Back
Lateral
Strectches
Primitve
Squat
Coccyx
Balance
Lateral
T
Twists
Back
Bend
Plies (first and second positions)
Arms
Position
Lateral
Torso Bends
Forward Torso Bends (with and without plie)
Activity:
After observing videos on Horton Technique create 4 moves in order to
choreograph a phrase that you will add to your solo phrases.
IV. Written Component
a) What is the main difference between Dunham's and Horton's techniques?
Dunham
is much less stiff than Horton´s technique. She allows the body to flow more,
but Horton´s technique is much more about alignment such as straight arms,
legs, extending to infinity, etc. Dunham plays a lot more with undulating
movements and chest and hip movements that don´t rely so much on a stiff axis
like Horton´s technique does.
b) How did it feel in your body to switch from one to the other? It
was very interesting to experience the difference. One, Dunham´s, felt freer
and airier. You are able to add a little more of your own rhythm to it. It is
more grounded, about legs being bent, and rounder arms. Horton´s movement felt
much stiffer on my body. It forced me to think about my flexibility and to
focus on stretching my body parts as much as I could. It has a very centered
axis in the center of the body. Horton´s technique definitely felt harder on my
body.
c) What do you think is the main function of Horton's technique? I
think that the main function of Horton´s technique is to develop strength and
flexibility in the body. It is about stretching and keeping a connection
between all the different parts in your body for you to be able to move them
smoothly through the constant energy in motion. It is about working the body as
a whole into a solid instrument that can be used in any way due to its strength
and knowledge of how each body part moves and the effects that has on the
body´s balance, movement, etc.
d) What did you like best about it?
What I like the best about it is that after doing it
you feel the same feeling that you get after the stretching sessions that we
did in class every day. Your body feels stretched out and ready to be moved.
You also feel relaxed and with much less tension, which increases your range of
motion. After doing it I was more aware of my body and alignment, and about
keeping my back straight and my head up high.
Let us try an African Dance based isolation warm-up routine in preparation for Dunham's Technique:
Focus on: Pelvic Isolation and Limb Throws
Warm Up (8:52 min)
Focus on: stepping around the imaginary clock, pivoting and shoulder/arms/hip movement
--------------------------------
II - Alignment (2:00 min)
Close your eyes
Imagine a string pulling you from the top of your head up towards infinite
Elongate of your neck
relax your shoulders
Imagine gravity is pulling you towards the ground, from the bottom of your feet downward
Inhale and on the exhale press your abdomen against your spine
Flatten your back
Tuck in your rib cage
Rotate your shoulder so that the align with your hips
Bring your tailbone slightly forward
Soften your knees
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III - Breathing and Stretching:
Pablo Imani's African Yoga
(3:06 min)
(8:52 min) --------------------------------------------- Research Work
IV - Origin
Afro-Caribbean Influence: Haitian Voudun
(11:50 min)
Aschenbrenner explains that although Dunham had distanced herself to some extent from the practice and belief system of voudun, "Dunham maintains an attitude of respect toward it and much of its essential content is preserved in her worldview and in her conception and execution of dance" (78,79).
Question:
a) What do you think Aschenbrenner meant when he explained that Dunham maintained "an attitude of respect toward it and much of its essential content is preserved in her worldview and in her conception and execution of dance"?
-----------------------------------------
V - Examples of Katherine Dunham's Work
Carnival of Rhythm, 1941 (1:18 min)
Negro Ballet (1948) (1:21 min)
Ballet Creole (1952) (2:15 min)
After watching the West-African dance, Haitian voudun dance, and these last three videos, you can appreciate to what degree African and Afro-Caribbean dance influenced Dunham's work and technique.
Question:
b) Please, give at least tree examples of how one can appreciate the African influence in Dunham's work.
Go to the following link, scrawl down to page 225 and readthe two middle paragraphs (2nd & 3rd). LINK: Katherine Dunham: Dancing a Life by Joyee Aschenbrenner Answer the following questions:
1) According to Tommy Gomez, what is the main problem with Dunham Technique today?
2) What is missing from the recreations of Dunham Technique?
3) How did Dunham described her own dance technique?
4) How do you feel Dunham Technique has affected your own understanding of modern dance?
Aschenbrenner
explains that although Dunham had distanced herself to some extent from the
practice and belief system of voudun, "Dunham maintains an attitude of
respect toward it and much of its essential content is preserved in her
worldview and in her conception and execution of dance" (78,79).
Question:
a) What do you think Aschenbrenner meant when he explained that Dunham
maintained "an attitude of respect toward it and much of its essential
content is preserved in her worldview and in her conception and execution of
dance"?
I think that Aschenbrenner means that even though she might not
practice it, it still was a part of how she created movement. She respected it,
but didn´t live by it. From the video you can see the amount of movements they
use: bent legs, movement of hips, hops, arms, legs, isolations, which are all a
part of her execution of dance. Maybe it speaks of her ability to take from
other´s cultures amazing practices, and use them in a respectful way without
necessarily practicing them.
After watching the
West-African dance, Haitian voudun dance, and these last three videos, you can
appreciate to what degree African and Afro-Caribbean dance influenced Dunham's
work and technique.
Question:
b) Please, give at least three examples of how one can appreciate the African
influence in Dunham's work.
You can see it in her outfit, in the dress and head scarf she was
wearing. She was wearing a long skirt, just like the women in the Voudun video
as well. You can also appreciate the African influence in her hip movements:
side to side, front and back, in circles, it is very accentuated. You can also
perceive it in her shoulder movements and shimmies. The turns also speak of
this African influence. You can see the turning motion of going from slower to
faster. The beat of the music, the drums and rhythms can also be seen in
Dunham´s work, which are all from African influence. Finally, her movements are
very grounded, very tough, focusing on connection with earth and rhythm, and
not at all airy or delicate.
Go to the following link, scrawl down to page 225 and readthe
two middle paragraphs (2nd & 3rd).
LINK: Katherine Dunham: Dancing a Life by Joyee
Aschenbrenner Answer the following questions: 1) According to Tommy Gomez, what is the main problem with Dunham Technique
today?
He says that he has “lamented the distortions of the technique that he
had seen in
his classes.” He believes that schools are falling shot of her
standards. He says that
so many people “have taken some Duncan technique and that they think
that they are informed enough to teach it when it takes you years to grasp the
technique and the philosophy behind the technique.” This is a huge problem
because people are not being truthful to its true form. They have changed it
because they don´t know enough about it to do it or even less teach it.
2) What is missing from the recreations of Dunham Technique?
The mystery and the world-view of Dunham herself is what is missing
from these recreations.
3) How did Dunham
describe her own dance technique?
She described it as “It is about movement, forms, love, hate, death,
life, all human emotions… It is a way of life… about life in the Universe.”
4) How do you feel Dunham Technique has affected your own understanding of
modern dance?
Dunham has helped me understand that modern
dance is about a way of life. It is about how you carry yourself, how you use
your body as a whole and your experiences to express things through your dance.
It is about combining existence into the dance, about feeling. This makes dance
so much more real and raw to me. Dancers can understand that when they dance.
If you dance, you know how it feels. You know that it is about expression, and
not just movements. That is what I love about the way in which she describes
her own technique. She uses the word movement, but also includes strong feeling
such as love, hate, death, and life. She is trying to make us understand that
is about expressing life as you go. That is why dancing is a way of life. You
have to take care about your work, your movement, and practice and perfect it.
This way of viewing dance validates it so much more and gives it so much more
meaning. And that is exactly what modern dance is about. It is about the
technique, but it is so much more than just moves. It is about stories and
expression of emotions and feelings.
A)
What do you think Aschenbrenner meant when he explained that Dunham
maintained "an attitude of respect toward it and much of its essential
content is preserved in her worldview and in her conception and
execution of dance"?
Dunham
was able to embrace African dance culture without trying to really
change it. She incorporated her experiences and cultural background into
the African American dances to create the Dunham technique. She did not
want to change the African American dance because she respected it so
much. Rather she wanted to give light to it with her technique to get
the attention for African American dance.
B) Please, give at least three examples of how one can appreciate the African influence in Dunham's work.
By watching videos like the ones presented to us of Dunham’s work.
Trying to create dances as close to as possible to hers. We will all be doing this in our 8-phrase piece.
Looking up research not only of dance style, but about the culture behind this technique and African American dance.
1) According to Tommy Gomez, what is the main problem with Dunham Technique today?
The
main problem with the Dunham Technique is not so much the actual
technique but how people have learned it. Many people who have studied
it try to teach it thinking they fully understand it, but in reality,
most of these people have yet to master the technique. So, it does not
make sense to teach this technique if it is not mastered.
2) What is missing from the recreations of Dunham Technique?
What
is missing from the recreations of Dunham’s Technique is having people
understand the perspective of Dunham and use that to incorporate it into
this technique. Without understanding her background in the arts, it is
emotionally difficult to recreate Dunham's Technique.
3) How did Dunham describe her own dance technique?
She
described that the technique is derived from the emotions humans face.
Specifically, her technique came from the emotions she felt. Her dance
isn't just random movements, but rather movements created by the
feelings people have on a daily basis.
4) How do you feel Dunham Technique has affected your own understanding of modern dance?
I
have always known dance is impacted by culture and how you feel can
impact your style, but to be honest I have never applied that way of
dancing to the fullest. I think it's making me more aware that this is
how modern dance is and how I will be incorporating my emotions and the
things that affect me every day into my dancing.
