Picture by Bibbie Friman
Kinetic Awareness® was developed by dancer and choreographer Elaine Summers in the 1960s in New York. She was part of the innovative group of dancers at Judson Church during the 60s - 70s. She has been honored by many grants, and her work has been presented internationally. Elaine began to show symptoms of osteoarthritis, a potentially crippling disease of the joints, early in her dance carrier. As a result she became interested in learning how to move without pain so that she could continue dancing. She studied with Carola Speads, whose system of Physical Re-education evolved from the work of bodywork innovator Elsa Gindler from Germany.
Kinetic Awareness® is a system of body discovery and therapy that calls attention to the simplest components of movement and explores emotional attitudes toward the body. Because one of its special features is the use of graduated rubber balls to enhance body awareness and release excess muscular tension, Kinetic Awareness® is often affectionately referred to as "the ball work."
The complete course of study takes several years and has five parts:
By the end of the first phase, the student has become aware of each part of the body and is able to articulate it. It should be possible to move each part of the body slowly and with little tension.
In the second phase, one becomes aware of total body systems such as breathing, circulation, tension, etc. The student should be able to articulate slowly and with little tension more than one part of the body simultaneously.
At the end of the third phase, the student should be able to change speeds and move extremely slowly through all his/her speeds to the very most rapid.
The fourth phase incorporates the first three phases and adds to them the ability to change tension levels at will, from minimum to maximum tension.
The fifth phase combines the previous four and adds the ability to relate to another person and be aware of them in a performance.
Who can benefit:
dancers, actors, musicians, and artists
those who wish to increase their technical and expressive range
educators, psychotherapists, and health professionals
those who are integrating the kinetic language of the body with the language of the emotions
those who wish to learn kinetic techniques of developing a feeling of well-being through understanding how to regain energy and lessen and/or eliminate chronic pain
those who want to heal existing injuries and avoid future ones
those who want a gentle way to develop coordination and physical self-confidence due to a history of abuse, eating disorders, or addictions
““The work is an everyday living and working tool. You learn to internalize an awareness, an understanding of everything about the inside of your body.” ”
““I did intensive, long-term study of another emerging form, Kinetic Awareness, founded by the Judson choreographer and filmmaker Elaine Summers.
From this work I started to focus on subtleties of elegant, relaxed alignment of the spine and limbs, I moved with ease and a spatial clarity that stemmed from innovative inner imagery. I began to initiate movement from a very different kinesthetic knowledge. From this new knowledge, a different virtuosity and creativity emerged, grounded in anatomically clear and efficient action. New sensations, perceptions, and energy developed within my body and between body, space, time, and geometry.” ”