The Feldenkrais Method in Creative Practice - Dance, Music and Theatre

Bringing together scholars and researchers in one volume, this study investigates how the thinking of the Ukrainian-Israeli somatic educationalist Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-84) can benefit and reflect upon the creative practices of dance, music and theatre.

Since its inception, the Feldenkrais Method has been associated with artistic practice, growing contiguously with performance, cognitive and embodied practices in dance, music, and theatre studies. It promotes awareness of fine motor action for improved levels of action and skill, as well as healing for those who are injured. For creative artists, the Feldenkrais Method enables them to refine and improve their work.

This book offers historical, scientific and practical perspectives that develop thinking at the heart of the Method and is divided into three sections: Historical Perspectives on Creative Practice, From Science into Creative Practice and Studies in Creative Practice. All the essays provide insights into self-improvement, training, avoiding injury, history and philosophy of artistic practice, links between scientific and artistic thinking and practical thinking, as well as offering some exercises for students and artistic practitioners looking to improve their understanding of their practice.

Ultimately, this book offers a rich development of the legacy and the ongoing relevance of the Feldenkrais Method. We are shown how it is not just a way of thinking about somatic health, embodiment and awareness, but a vital enactivist epistemology for contemporary artistic thought and practice.

List of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures
List of Contributors
Foreword by Garet Newell
Acknowledgements

Introduction by Robert Sholl, University of West London, UK

PART 1: Historical Perspectives on Creative Practice

Chapter 1: Feldenkrais and the Modernist Body - Thomas Kampe, Bath Spa University, UK

Chapter 2: Feldenkrais, Freud, Lacan, and Gould: how to love thyself not as thy neighbour - Robert Sholl, Royal Academy of Music, UK

Chapter 3: Learning Through Feeling: How the Ideas of Nikolai Bernstein and Moshe Feldenkrais Apply to Performer Training - Dick McCaw, Royal Holloway, UK

PART 2: From Science into Creative Practice

Chapter 4: The Work of Dr Mosche Feldenkrais: A New Applied Kinesiology and a Radical Questioning of Training and Technique - Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, University of Oregon, USA

Chapter 5: Radical Practice: Practising Performance and Practising Oneself is the Same Activity - Roger Russell, Feldenkraiszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

Chapter 6: Gaining insight on the impact of Feldenkrais Functional Integration in the context of piano playing: Considerations for measuring posture and movement quality: Part I: The Feldenkrais Method and Pianists: A pilot study of objective measurement of posture and movement - Jillian Beacon, University of Ottawa, Canada, Gilles Comeau, University of Ottawa, Canada and Donald Russell, Carleton University, Canada

Chapter 7: Part II: Considerations for measuring posture and movement quality - Jillian Beacon, University of Ottawa, Canada, Gilles Comeau, University of Ottawa, Canada and Donald Russell, Carleton University, Canada

PART 3: Studies in Creative Practice

Chapter 8: Mapping Body Awareness onto Piano Performance for Artistic Rejuvenation - Alan Fraser, Alan Fraser Piano Institute, France

Chapter 9: Building a Model for Injury Prevention in Music Pedagogy Rooted in Feldenkrais's Philosophy and Methodology for Learning - Lisa Burrell, Lone Star College, Houston, Texas, USA

Chapter 10: A Sense of Safety: Polyvagal Theory, The Feldenkrais Method and the Acting Process - Victoria Worsley, Feldenkrais Guild, UK

Chapter 11: Curing the Acting Habit - The Feldenkrais Method, Actors, compulsion, and the performing-arts industry - Mark Lacey, Independent scholar, UK

Chapter 12: Tuning the Body: dancing and singing from rehearsal to performance - Marcia Carr, Independent scholar, UK

Chapter 13: Food for no-thought . meandering between a personal somatic practice and Feldenkrais teaching - Sylvie Forth, professor at the Dance Department of University du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Bibliography
Index

About the author

Robert Sholl has published widely on twentieth-century music, including Stravinsky, Berio, Birtwistle, Ferneyhough, Messiaen, Arvo Pärt. He is the editor of Messiaen Studies (Cambridge University Press) (with Sander van Maas); Contemporary Music and Spirituality (Routledge/Ashgate); and is part of a Leverhulme–funded project on The Phantom of the Opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2016-17 he performed all of Messiaen’s organ works at Arundel Cathedral. In 2017, engagements included recitals at St John’s Smith Square and Notre-Dame de Paris, which included improvisations. He has released improvisation to silent film on YouTube and is currently editing volumes on James MacMillan and Messiaen for Cambridge University Press. Robert Scholl is a trained Feldenkrais practitioner.

Summary

Bringing together scholars and researchers in one volume, this study investigates how the thinking of the Ukrainian-Israeli somatic educationalist Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-84) can benefit and reflect upon the creative practices of dance, music and theatre.

Since its inception, the Feldenkrais Method has been associated with artistic practice, growing contiguously with performance, cognitive and embodied practices in dance, music, and theatre studies. It promotes awareness of fine motor action for improved levels of action and skill, as well as healing for those who are injured. For creative artists, the Feldenkrais Method enables them to refine and improve their work.

This book offers historical, scientific and practical perspectives that develop thinking at the heart of the Method and is divided into three sections: Historical Perspectives on Creative Practice, From Science into Creative Practice and Studies in Creative Practice. All the essays provide insights into self-improvement, training, avoiding injury, history and philosophy of artistic practice, links between scientific and artistic thinking and practical thinking, as well as offering some exercises for students and artistic practitioners looking to improve their understanding of their practice.

Ultimately, this book offers a rich development of the legacy and the ongoing relevance of the Feldenkrais Method. We are shown how it is not just a way of thinking about somatic health, embodiment and awareness, but a vital enactivist epistemology for contemporary artistic thought and practice.

Foreword

Offering both a scholarly and practical engagement, this edited collection looks at the benefits of applying the Feldenkrais Method to the artistic practices of dance, music and theatre.

Additional text

I encountered the Feldenkrais methodology alongside other postural methods to help performers such as, Alexander Technique and Grindea Technique as part of my Master of Arts degree. I was struck by the somatic techniques used in the learning of the FM, and how these sensory awareness skills learned, synthesized with the kinesthetic aspects of instrumental pedagogy/learning. In addition to my professional musical performance, I am a keen amateur golfer; I have found the technique useful in reordering my posture.

Product details

• Authors: Robert Sholl
• Assisted by: Robert Sholl (Editor), Sholl Robert (Editor)
• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2021
• EAN: 9781350203495
• ISBN: 978-1-350-20349-5
• No. of pages: 256
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Dance, PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / Direction & Production, PERFORMING ARTS / Dance / General, Theatre Direction & Production, Theatre direction and production