Written in the body: reflections on encounters with somatic practices in postgraduate dance training

Abstract

This article tracks my exploration of the somatic practices as a postgraduate dance student, set against the background of my previous experience and my journey to this place through conventional dance training. Personal reflections and journal writings are combined with a more formal definition and discussion of the somatic practices and their application to dance training and performance, with particular reference to the Alexander Technique and Body-Mind Centering. What emerges is a personal record of the shifts in my thinking/moving that were necessary to realize fully what the somatic practices have to offer, both in dance and life. It also charts the struggle and frustrations as well as the delights and discoveries that I encountered in this rite of passage.