Teaching Dancing with Ideokinetic Principles

Chapter 6. Imagery and Habit

Chapter 6 Imagery and Habit In the last chapter, I argued that there are different kinds of imagery important to the teaching of dancing. I focused on an important distinction between mirror imagery (outside the body) and kinesthetic imagery (internalized imagery) inside the body. Of the three definitions of image we began with, we have dealt with two: 1. mirror images and 2. the notion of idea or mental picture. The third definition of the word image in Webster’s International is the following: 7. Something concrete or abstract introduced (as in a poem or speech) to represent something else which it strikingly resembles or suggests (as in the use of ‘sleep’ for ‘death’). Compare EMBLEM, SYMBOL. Or a figure of speech (as a metaphor or simile—a ‘trope’). Here is a definition of image as metaphor frequently used in dance classes. This is the most common use of images with reference to the aesthetics of dancing, where students are encouraged to move “like” something else or “as if” something else. Keen students will notice that Dr. Sweigard also uses metaphors with reference to anatomical imagery, but we will talk about that later. I arbitrarily use metaphor to distinguish aesthetic from bodily imagery, in the following table. It should be clear by now that my usage of anatomical imagery means using imagery while the physical body is not moving. It should also be clear from the ‘thought exercise’ to follow that Sweigard’s use of metaphors for anatomical parts arose because many of her students were not able to visualize the actual bodily parts to which the image was attached—for example, a turtle in place of the distal end of the first metatarsal bone of the foot. For the sake of clarity, I have devised a brief exercise in images for readers that is meant to elucidate the differences between anatomical and aesthetic imagery. Sweigard’s use of anatomical imagery in the CRP forms the basis of i-xiv_1-130_Will.indd 90 7/8/11 12:28 PM Anatomical “Mental Practice” “Aesthetic” Mirror 1. Used in Ideokinesis sessions, with tactile sensations supplied by a teacher, utilizing no outward movement, meant to change the subcortical pattern of response with reference to posture. 2. Used in dance classes connected with standard verbal labels, i.e., ‘thigh joint, ’ ‘rib cage, ’ and such. Meant to locate specific points or areas within the body connected with specific moves. 1. Images of whole sequences of moves (i.e., high jump, a passage in a dance, a vault in gymnastics, a particular tennis swing, etc.) also visualized internally without moving the body. 2. These are internalized (kinesthetic) images of the whole body, meant to increase precision and accuracy of a sequence in performance. Similar to images necessary to movement-writing. 1. Used in dance classes to aid performers in producing movement. Generally metaphorical, meant to improve the appearance of the performer’s moves with reference to desired aesthetic qualities of specific moves. 2. Self-made images of dancers constructed to help them perform, such as “Push the floor down” to achieve lightness and a “floating” quality. These are also internalized or kinesthetic images. 1. A reversed image of a person, seen in a mirror, that is apart from the individual’s moving body. This image is not connected with a kinesthetic, internalized, image. 2. These images are often derived from a person’s selfassessment that tend to be one-dimensional, masking much more than they show. In some sense, they are the kinds of images an audience has. i-xiv_1-130_Will.indd 91 7/8/11 12:28 PM the exercise: she used the ‘turtle,’ meant to shorten the distance between the big toe and the heel (see Sweigard 1974: 243–44). How different is this from many aesthetic images of the foot (or feet) that may occur in a dance class, such as, say, “a bird flying through the air” or the foot “fluttering against the supporting ankle like the rapid beating of a heart”? The first time (and every time) I encountered Sweigard’s image of the turtle,* it was accompanied by the pressure of her right thumb and index finger on the top and underneath the distal end of the first metatarsal and the proximal end of the phalange of my big toe on my right (or left) foot. The turtle crawled from the toe to the heel (never the other...