Directions in Dance

' Soma' is derived from the Greek word   σ ῶ μα ,  meaning 'the Living Body’ Somatics is a field of body-mind inquiry that allows the body's innate intelligence to guide movement for a deeper, more conscious awareness and experience of the moving body. At its core, Somatics is mindful movement. Sensory terms that are used in Somatics, to identify various areas of heightened awareness are: Interoception   - awareness of sensations within the body; Exteroception   - sensitivity to stimuli outside of the body; Proprioception   - awareness of the body’s position   and movement in space; Graviception   - how the body connects with, or senses, gravity. In Somatic practices, ‘embodiment’ is a term often used, and with it comes a sense of richness and fulfilment. Somatics is more about the ‘noticing’ than the judging of movement – as this is when patterns of resistance and flow can be identified. From this authentic space the truth of the b...

“Adult praise, focused attention that communicates approval and positive regard … is an abundantly available natural resource that is (all too often) greatly underutilised.”  Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham Dance has the potential to support every learner in a variety of ways, including people dealing with several common mental challenges that affect many nowadays, including Autism, ADHD or depression. Unless asked, participants may be reluctant to share this information with the instructor, so it is often left unspoken. In any dance class, the teacher may have participants living with these circumstances, so it is important to be aware of, and understand more about these conditions. Teachers can benefit from having some awareness of Autism and by teaching with compassion. Knowing that a participant has Autism is helpful for the teacher, so together, student and teacher can build their relationship with this insight. For teachers, it is respectful to maintain the...