Description
Book SynopsisThe Natural Body in Somatics Training looks at what happens in the dance studio as dancers learn physical skills and in doing so also assimilate aesthetic, ethical, and political values. It takes us backstage so as to show how dancers come to share certain beliefs and opinions and thereby come to form community
Trade ReviewThe Natural Body is a long overdue and much needed investigation into the emergence and historical development of the broad category of practices known as "Somatics". George's insights into Somatics as a simultaneous disciplining and liberatory physical practice, choreographic tool, and pedagogical intervention will be illuminating and important for artists and scholars alike. * Clare Croft, Associate Professor of Dance & American Studies, University of Michigan *
Doran George brings a wealth of theoretical, kinaesthetic, and political thought to the impact of Somatics in contemporary dance. They do crucial work in undoing assumptions of Somatic training regimens and their influence on choreographic process. Through well-researched interviews and analysis, George does the long overdue work of de-naturalizing notions of individual autonomy and democracy in dance training and relationships between choreographer/dancer and performer/spectator. In highlighting how race, gender, and sexuality have been eclipsed by the force of Somatics within a contemporary transnational context, this book opens expansive, radical spaces for political and historical bodies to move in new ways. A groundbreaking book that will have a profound impact on the field. * Jennifer Monson, Professor of Dance, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign *
This book would be of interest to those who want to understand the beginnings of somatics, its connections to dance, and how it spread beyond the US. * Sandra Minton, Journal Of Dance Education *
Table of ContentsEditor's Note Introduction: In Search of the Natural Body Chapter 1. Renewable Originality: The Natural Body & Late Twentieth Century Social Change Chapter 2. Contradictory Dissidence: Somatics and American Expansionism Chapter 3: Somatics Bodies on the Concert Stage: Processing, Inventing, and Displaying Conclusion: Understanding the Focus on Natural Authenticity Endnotes Appendix: Brief Biographies of Some Key Somatics Practitioners Bibliography
