A New Spin On Pirouettes

By Andrea Higgins

Using somatic education techniques to teach turns

As any dance teacher will tell you, some students are natural turners and some constantly struggle to perform a clean double pirouette. I have witnessed many approaches to solving this problem in my years as a dance student, professional dancer, and teacher. Perhaps some of these frequently used corrections echo in the halls of your dance studio:

“Take a wider fourth; take a smaller fourth; pull up; push down; place all your weight on your front foot; distribute your weight evenly on both feet; change the dynamic of your head turn while spotting; keep your shoulders and hips square; press your shoulders down; bring your arms in quicker; bring your arms in closer; don’t bring your arms in so close.”

I have tried it all, but it wasn’t until I began studying the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education that I began to think about the elements of dance technique in terms of human function. After all, a double pirouette is simply a stylized way of turning, and the act of turning is central to our collective human experience.

During early infancy we all share a kinesthetic learning experience that eventually leads to turning, which first manifests in our lives as rolling over. But prior to that first roll, we must learn to focus and track our eyes. Thus it makes perfect sense that before learning turns in dance, the first thing we study is how to spot, or track our eyes. I am sure that many of you were told that the purpose of spotting is to help you turn without getting dizzy. But the connection between eye function and turning is more involved than that. Understanding this may forever change the way you address your students’ struggles with turns.

The movement of the eyes tracking right and left becomes linked over time with the activation of muscles that rotate the spine. This linkage becomes so ingrained in our experience of our body’s movements that we don’t notice the connection. But try the following experiment, drawn from one of Moshe Feldenkrais’ Awareness Through Movement® lessons.

[Please note: You may wish to lie on a mat or carpeted surface. If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you can listen to the two lessons in this article in streaming audio by visiting www.KinestheticEdge.com. Look for the sound links for Goldrush readers, which will be available at no charge during the month of October 2006.]

Feeling the Eye & Spine Connection Through the Head and Neck

1 Lie quietly on your back for a few moments with your eyes closed. (You can extend your legs or keep them bent with your feet flat on the floor, whichever is more comfortable.) Notice your breathing, and feel how it begins to quiet after a minute or so. You may notice your breaths becoming slower and deeper and sense how the muscles in your legs and back begin to relax.

2 Notice how your body makes contact with the floor. Can you sense that there are places where your body makes definite contact with the floor and other places where your body disconnects from it? Start down at your feet and slowly work your way up to your head, simply observing where you feel contact with the floor and where you don’t.

3 Pay attention to your neck. Does the back of your neck contact the floor, or is there a space? Does one side of your neck feel longer than the other?

4  Now sense the point of contact between the back of your head and the floor. Does it feel centered on the back of your head, or does it feel like the contact is a little to one side, as if your head were turned very slightly?

5  Now, still with your eyes closed, notice where your eyes are resting. Does it feel as if they are directed front and center, or to the left or right? Are they directed a little upward or is your gaze downward? Does there seem to be a connection between where your eyes are resting and what you sensed about your neck and head?

6  Slowly and gently roll your head to the right and left—just a little bit in each direction. This is not to see how far you can turn your head but to feel the quality of that turning. Do you sense a difference when you roll your head to the right vs. the left side? Would you describe one side as being somehow easier, perhaps smoother? Rest for a few seconds.

7 Keeping your eyes closed, slowly and gently bring your eyes from their resting position to what feels like front and center. Then let them relax back to their resting position again. Repeat this a number of times; go slowly and pause for a few seconds between each repetition. As you continue, begin to notice the contact of the back of your head against the floor. When you move your eyes, does the contact point change for you, even the tiniest bit? Lightly rest your fingers on the back of your neck and continue to bring your eyes front and center. Do you observe any sensation of movement in your neck muscles as you move your eyes? Rest for a few moments.

8  Bring your eyes to center once again, and begin to slowly and gently track them right and left. Don’t strain your eye muscles; be sure to keep within a comfortable range of motion. As you do this, can you sense any change in the place where you feel contact on the back of your head? Does it feel like your head rolls a little as you move your eyes? Place your fingers very softly on the back of your neck and notice if you feel changes in the musculature. It will be very subtle; the more softly you touch the muscles the more likely it is that you will feel something. Rest for a few moments, and then slowly bring yourself to sitting and then standing.

If you didn’t feel anything, don’t worry. The observations I asked you to make were quite subtle and it takes some people longer than others to begin to sense that deeply. But if you were able to feel something, you may be thinking (as I did when I first started studying Feldenkrais) how unaware we are of the fundamental and unconscious patterns that affect everything we do as dancers—and human beings. It was that realization that made me rethink my role as a teacher in the dance classroom. How, I thought, could I get my students to experience the connection between dance movement and human movement, and learn how, at the deepest level, to self-correct patterns that might not be serving them? I began to use the following exercise, also drawn from Awareness Through Movement, to help students who were struggling with pirouettes. I was amazed, as were they, at the results.

[Please note: The following lesson calls for you to stand with your eyes closed. If this causes you to lose your balance, do the lesson with your eyes open.]

Eye Differentiation as a Means to Improve Spotting Technique for Dancers

1 Stand with your eyes closed and feet comfortably apart. Feel how your weight is distributed over your feet. Does it feel evenly balanced between both feet or do you stand with more weight on one foot? Does your weight feel forward over your toes or back over your heels?

2  Let your shoulders relax. Notice whether one shoulder feels higher than the other. If you imagine a line extending from your shoulder up to your earlobe on each side, which of those lines is longer, the right or the left?

3  Keep your eyes closed but notice where your eyes are resting, are they center, or does it feel as if they are directed off to one side? Are they looking up slightly, or is your resting gaze more downward?

4  Keep your eyes closed but bring them front and center. Very gently, begin to move them right and left. Keep the movement soft and smooth. If you notice that your eyes tend to jump over places, see if making the sweep of the movement smaller helps to smooth it out. Now, notice if your head turns slightly as you sweep your eyes right and left. Don’t try to change anything—just observe. Take it a few more times, feeling for even the slightest degree of movement in your head. Rest for a moment.

5  Again bring your eyes front and center, but this time keep your eyes directed forward as you turn your head right and left. Turn only a little bit, so that you don’t strain in an effort to keep your eyes directed front and center. Sense the movement of your eyes in your eye sockets. Is it challenging for you to keep your eyes center when they are closed? You have to find a different way to be aware of your eyes; you have to sense and feel them through the movement rather than relying on your vision. Do that several times. Let it go, and take a rest.

6  Once again, bring your eyes front and center. This time see if you can move your head and eyes in opposite directions. This may feel very strange at first. Don’t force it; go very softly, but see if you can turn your head right while your eyes sweep left and then vice versa. The movement should be very small; don’t strain your eye muscles by turning your head too far. If you cannot figure out how to do it, stretch one arm out in front of you at eye level. Make a fist with your hand but stick your thumb up so that it points toward the ceiling. Now open your eyes and, as you turn your head to the left, carry your arm to the right and look at your thumb. Then do the reverse—move your head right and look at your thumb as you simultaneously move your arm to the left. Try it a few more times this way. Let your arm rest and close your eyes. See if it is any easier now to move your head and eyes in opposite directions by feel alone. Don’t struggle with this; be very soft. It is OK to fail. Rest and try again—as long as you try very gently. Whether or not you have figured this out yet, I would like you to rest.

7  Notice how your weight is balanced over your feet. Does your placement feel different now than it did earlier?

8  Slowly open your eyes and take a walk around the room. When you feel ready, and in your own time make your way back to your spot, take your preparation, and do a double pirouette. Don’t worry about succeeding; just see how it goes.

In my experience, it usually goes very well, and I hope this will be your experience too. But keep in mind that whatever happens, the pirouette is less important than the fact that the Awareness Through Movement process facilitates a reconnection with the natural ability to learn kinesthetically. This can be an empowering experience for the student and a humbling one for the teacher.

The study of the Feldenkrais Method has taught me that the most meaningful learning cannot be explained or demonstrated; it must be experienced. A good teacher can facilitate the learning process, but the learning itself must be internalized, processed, and expressed by each student in their own way. The Feldenkrais Method offers dance teachers a pedagogical tool, a means for leading the student away from the familiar teacher-led learning model and enabling them to embark on a more personal journey that will help them reconnect with their natural ability to learn. This ability is part of the human legacy, of our genetic code.

Since the Feldenkrais Method utilizes movement as the context for learning, on one level the knowledge gained would seem to be limited to the kinesthetic realm. It is true that the lessons offer a direct link to the underlying patterns that support the most complex movement challenges. It is also true that when students learn to experience those patterns with heightened awareness, their nervous system will integrate and in many cases improve the patterns in a way that is optimal for the body. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. It is the learning process that is facilitated through these lessons and can find expression in the student’s life both in and beyond dance. This kind of personal knowledge teaches us who we are as human beings and as artists. And although this may lead to a perfect double pirouette on some days, it will lead to a healthier, happier, more intelligent dancer, always.

Excerpted from the book IntelliDANCE: Explorations in the Feldenkrais Method® and Dance Education, which will be released by Kinesthetic Edge in 2007. Printed with the author’s permission. © Andrea Higgins 2006. All rights reserved.

Photo captions:

Bottom photo by Rosalie O'Connor