The vision in the teaching of Visceral Motion Technique ™ (VMT) is to promote a kinetically intriguing, intellectually responsible and spiritually awake mover. For these particular classes there are also specific goals, all of which are equally important: to provide a foundation in movement which is anatomically healthy, dynamically aligned and spontaneously available; to promote an appreciation of many different ways of moving, both in dancing and in coping with the daily environment; and to encourage the individual style and soulful kinetics of each participant.
We begin with the premise that dance, consciousness and the human species arose on this planet simultaneously. This means for us now that dance is indeed consciousness itself and that dancing can create a human being. We proceed with the idea that our study must always begin with the laws, qualities and nature of kinetics itself and that kinetics is motion that contains its own intelligence. By this means we side-step narcissism, egotism and the terminally shallow because attention at every nanosecond must be given to the integrity of the passing kinetic event, however tiny or huge, subtle or loud. Therefore, dance first is one kinetic perception after another and then a precise form embodied in specific moves. First comes sentience, the mind as the body. Second comes the stepping into the steps. Third comes the after-glow of joy and well-being.
The floor warm-up for the individual classes progresses from somatic re-patterning to aerobic conditioning to qualitatively rich combinations. The standing work asks the mover to be comfortable on their own two legs, or maybe just one, while amplifying dynamics and fancy footwork. The across-the-floor combinations either eat up the space or bounce the building to its foundations, or both.
The content of any given exercise or combination will at all times be understandable by the participant as equal to the natural ingredients in motion itself, that is, that no motion occurs without a physical Body component, a containing Shape component, a geometrical Space component and/or a qualitative Energy component. The pleasure of Visceral Motion Technique ™ resides precisely in the second-by-second juggling of different kinetic perceptions in the same phrase of movement.
The vocabulary in the classes is Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), which is the most comprehensive system that exists for examining the essential nature of movement. The classes for “Beginners” are designed for the immediate understanding of those with little or no experience as well as more advanced movers who wish to hone their core organization. The “Beyond Beginners” classes are designed for several levels of experience as well as more complicated steps and shades of feeling. The live drumbeat promotes a liberation from Western decorum in art-dance while unifying the communal experience as grounded and passionate. The recorded music can lead the soul to new and imaginative moods. The experience is always deep dancing.
Visceral Dance Training for Performance and Living
