Dance, theatre, musicians, voice and visual arts
Introduction
The Feldenkrais Method offers a unique and effective approach to supporting the development and well-being of artists in dance, theatre, music, and voice. The method enables individuals to enhance their performance skills, creativity, and overall presence. In this article, we will explore the various benefits of the Feldenkrais Method for dancers, actors, musicians, and vocalists, emphasizing aspects such as spatial awareness, versatility, and a sense of self and others.
What can the Feldenkrais Method offer ?
A. Developing Spatial Awareness and Global vs Local Attention
The Feldenkrais Method helps artists develop spatial awareness and the ability to shift between global and local attention. This skill allows performers to better navigate their surroundings, understand their position in relation to others, and adapt their movements accordingly.
B. Distributing Effort Effectively
The Feldenkrais Method teaches artists to distribute their efforts more effectively, reducing strain and tension in their bodies. This improved efficiency can contribute to better overall technique and prevent injuries, promoting long-term well-being.
C. Refining Movements and Enhancing Technique
Through the exploration of movement patterns and increased body awareness, the Feldenkrais Method helps artists refine their movements and enhance their technique. This refined technique can lead to more fluid, expressive performances.
D. Cultivating Skeletal Presence and Posture
The Feldenkrais Method encourages artists to develop a greater awareness of their skeletal presence and posture. This understanding can improve alignment, balance, and overall physical presence, contributing to more powerful and dynamic performances.
E. Encouraging Versatility in Action
By fostering curiosity and experimentation, the Feldenkrais Method promotes versatility in action. Artists can learn to adapt their movements and techniques to different situations, making them more adaptable and flexible performers.
F. Supporting Mindfulness and Presence
The Feldenkrais Method teaches artists to be fully present and mindful during movement, which can translate into a more powerful, focused stage presence.
Some key take-aways
The Feldenkrais Method provides a powerful and effective approach for dancers, actors, musicians, and vocalists looking to enhance their performance skills, creativity, and overall well-being. By developing spatial awareness and global vs local attention, cultivating a sense of self and others, distributing effort effectively, refining movements and enhancing technique, cultivating skeletal presence and posture, encouraging versatility in action, enhancing creativity and expression, and supporting mindfulness and presence, the Feldenkrais Method can make a significant difference in the lives and careers of performing artists.
Interesting resources
Musicians as Movers: Applying the Feldenkrais Method
Discusses how the Feldenkrais Method enhances physical and mental capacities for musical expression by improving movement efficiency and reducing unnecessary effort (Lee, 2018). Read the study here
Playing with the Entire Self
Highlights how the Feldenkrais Method helps musicians optimize movement and technique through somatic learning, focusing on reducing effort and increasing functional efficiency (Nelson, 1989). Read the study here
Feldenkrais Touch and Musical Practice
Explores the role of listening as a bridge between therapeutic and musical practices, emphasizing Feldenkrais principles in enhancing technique and expressive capabilities (Sholl, 2019). Read the study here
The Effectiveness of the Feldenkrais Method
Provides evidence of its benefits in improving body awareness and reducing perceived effort for efficient performance, relevant to musicians' physical demands (Hillier & Worley, 2015). Read the study here
Integration of Listening and Movement
Distributed Effort in Listening and Playing
Feldenkrais principles, when applied to musicians, enhance their ability to listen actively and distribute physical and mental effort effectively (Sholl, 2019). Read the study here
Physicality and Movement Awareness
Integrating Feldenkrais in Dance Education
This study explored how Feldenkrais Method principles enhance physicality and creative expression, particularly in transitioning students from rigid dance forms to contemporary, improvisational techniques (Roche & Huddy, 2015). Read the study here
Somatic Learning in Dance Training
Demonstrates how Feldenkrais and similar practices build proprioceptive and exteroceptive skills in dancers, improving technique and movement quality (Brodie & Lobel, 2004). Read the study here
Cultivating Presence Through Feldenkrais
Examined the effects of Awareness Through Movement (ATM) on dancers, reporting enhanced self-image, internal authority, and transference of movement awareness into other areas of training (Diaz et al., 2008). Read the study here
Feldenkrais for Puppetry Performance
Discusses the application of the Feldenkrais Method in puppetry, highlighting its role in improving coordination, movement fluidity, and creative physical expression (Fredricksson, 2015). Read the study here
Creativity and Artistic Exploration
Feldenkrais and Creative Inquiry
Explores how Feldenkrais-informed pedagogies in performance training foster embodied self-care, psycho-physical flexibility, and creative autonomy (Kampe, 2015). Read the study here
Expressive Dance and Creativity
Investigates how teacher educators integrate creative aspects of expressive dance into physical education to enhance experimentation and movement exploration (Engdahl et al., 2021). Read the study here
Enhancing Presence in Performance
Feldenkrais for Stage Presence and Voice
Discusses Feldenkrais-based sensory movement techniques for improving voice production and breathing in students preparing for stage careers (Gordon et al., 2007). Read the study here
Royal Shakespeare Company and Feldenkrais
Examines the integration of Feldenkrais Method in vocal training for Shakespearean actors, focusing on presence and acoustic adaptations (Cave, 2015). Read the study here
Interdisciplinary and Contextual Insights
Somatic Education in Contemporary Dance
Highlights how Feldenkrais principles integrate into professional dance settings to support self-awareness and movement inquiry (Fortin et al., 2002). Read the study here
Artistic Corporality in Opera
Explores somatic and neurobiological approaches to unify voice, body, and movement for expressive performance in opera training (Nikolaenko, 2022). Read the study here