The Place of Dance. Andrea Olsen

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      THE PLACE OF DANCE

      Publication of the book is funded by the

      Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund

      at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

      Dancer: Susanna Recchia An Instant of Form Greenwich Park, Canary Wharf, and Southbank

       Photograph © Christian Kipp

      A SOMATIC GUIDE TO DANCING AND DANCE MAKING

      THE PLACE OF DANCE

      Andrea Olsen, with Caryn McHose

      Wesleyan University Press

      Middletown, Connecticut

      Wesleyan University Press

      Middletown CT 06459

       www.wesleyan.edu/wespress

      © 2014 Andrea Olsen

      All rights reserved

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      Designed by Katherine B. Kimball

      Typeset in Minion and Quadraat Sans by Passumpsic Publishing

      Wesleyan University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative.

      The paper used in this book meets their minimum requirement for recycled paper.

      Publication of the book is funded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Olsen, Andrea.

      The place of dance: a somatic guide to dancing and dance making / Andrea Olsen, with Caryn McHose.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 978-0-8195-7405-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)—

      ISBN 978-0-8195-7406-0 (ebook)

      1. Dance—History. 2. Dance—Psychological aspects. 3. Somesthesia. 4. Senses and sensation. I. Title.

      GV1601.O57 2013

      792.8—dc23 2013024221

      5 4 3 2 1

       For the next generation of dancers,

       especially Lucas and Tula Isabel, Caitie and Arleigh,

       and all the young ones

       who deserve dancing as part of their lives.

      Drawing by Helen Ingle, age eight

      Contents

		Preface xv
		Introduction xvii
		About This Book xxi
PART 1	MOVING
DAY 1 Basic Concepts	Dance is both universal and highly personal. 3
		To Do: Orientation 4
		To Dance: Familiar-Voice Dancing 5
		To Write: Personal Orientation 5
		About the Tonic System 5
		Studio Notes: Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen 6
DAY 2 Attitudes	People have complex views about the dancing body. 7
		To Do: Finding Your Calcaneus 9
		To Dance: Opposite-Voice Dancing 10
		To Write: Why Dance? 10
		Studio Notes: David Dorfman 11
DAY 3 Flow	Flow is our oceanic heritage. 13
		To Do: Rolling and Pouring 14
		To Do: Spherical Awareness 15
		To Dance: Plumb-Line Falls 16
		To Write: Letting Words Flow 16
		Studio Notes: Kathleen Hermesdorf 17
DAY 4 Fire	Sometimes we need fire. 19
		Bone Marrow 20
		To Do: Vessel Breath 21
		To Dance: Dancing through the Body Systems 22
		To Write: Fire and You 23
		Studio Notes: Caryn McHose 24
DAY 5 Getting Started	You can only dance where you are. 25
		To Do: Three Long Walks 27
		To Dance: Presentations 28
		To Write: Creative Conditions 29
		Studio Notes: Penny Campbell 30
DAY 6 Training and Technique	We train for the unknown. 31
		What I Look for in a Performer (Tamar Rogoff) 32
		To Do: Hip Reflex 34
		To Dance: Light-Touch Duets 34
		To