The Erick Hawkins Modern Dance Technique

by Renata Celichowska, Leon Belokon (Illustrator)

Overview

The Hawkins dance technique embodies the philosophy that dance should integrate the body, mind, and soul while always following scientific principles. This system of dance training—an approach that continues to influence dancers around the world—is examined through a variety of illustrations. Photographs of dancers illustrate the technique in action. Drawings demonstrate the relationship between movements of the body and everyday objects, such as the similarities between a spiral action of the spine and a barber’s pole or winding staircase. This vibrant text examines Hawkins’s originality, philosophical thinking, and teaching methods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780871272133
Publisher:	Princeton Book Company
Publication date:	09/01/2000
Edition description:	50 line drawings and 35 photographs
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Renata Celichowska became a member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company in 1989 and is currently adjunct professor for the dance education program at New York University. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	List of Illustrations	x
	List of Photographs	xii
	List of Labanotation	xiv
	Acknowledgments	xv
	Tribute	xvii
I.	Historical Background	1
II.	Technique: Toward the "Normative"	13
	The Normative Ideal	13
	What Is Technique, What Is Style?	15
	About Ideokinesis and Movement Imagery	16
	Think/Feel	19
	Who Is the Teacher?	21
III.	Principles	23
	The Body's Center of Gravity: the Pelvis	23
	"Teeterbabe,"	29
	The "Thigh" Sockets	30
	Shifting Weight	32
	"Undercurves" and "Overcurves,"	34
	Gravity, Weight, Balance and Alignment	36
	The Spine and Spinal Alignment	36
	Leg Alignment	42
	"Hierarchy" of the Legs	43
	Contraction and "Decontraction"	44
	"Tassels,"	51
	Arcs, Curves and Momentum	54
	Loops and the "Figure 8,"	56
	"Boomerangs,"	57
	Spirals	57
	Flow and Transitions	58
	Flow	59
	Form	63
	The "Chalkline,"	65
	"Cobra" Hand	67
	Normative Form and Aesthetics	67
	What Is Rhythm? Is Music Sound?	69
	Dynamics	74
IV.	In the Classroom	79
	Floor Warm Up	82
	Seated Movement Sequences	83
	Bounces	83
	Side-lifts	85
	Contraction-Swings	88
	Overcurves	89
	Contractions	90
	Leg Flexions	91
	Fourth Position	92
	Quarter Turns	93
	Back Leg Extensions	96
	Three 3s	98
	Swing on 5	100
	Movement Sequences on the Back	100
	Thigh Socket Flexions	102
	Rolling on 4	103
	Boomerangs	104
	Contractions	105
	Figure 8s	107
	Arching	107
	Preparing to Rise from the Floor	108
	Leg Lifts	109
	Rising to Standing	110
	Center Floor	112
	Plies	112
	Sensuous Feet Against the Floor	114
	Principles Expanded	115
	Using the Thigh Socket Crease and the Boomerang Leg	116
	Moving the Pelvis and Upper Body Together Through Space	117
	Turns and the Spiral Staircase	118
	Letting the Movement Happen: Staying in Coenesthetic Experience	119
	Traveling	121
	Use of the Dance Space	122
	Vertical Space, Jumps and Leaping "Over the Moon,"	124
	Ending Class	127
V.	Beyond Technique: the Aesthetic Dimension	129
	F.S.C. Northrop and the 1st and 2nd Functions of Art	131
	The "Hawkins Aesthetic"	134
	Dance Education and the Role of the Dance Teacher	139
VI.	Hawkins Choreography	143
	Works Choreographed by Erick Hawkins	149
	Labanotation	161
	About the Notation Process	161
	Reading Labanotation	162
	Recommended Reading	165
	Bibliography	166
	Videography	167
	Index	169

Editorial Reviews

Offers a detailed explanation of a system of dance training developed by American modern dance artist Erick Hawkins, covering its history and its basic philosophy based on a belief in the integration of body, mind, and soul. Hawkins' collaborator and wife sets the tone with a passionate personal tribute; then author Celichowska, a former Hawkins Company member, captures both the expansiveness of Hawkins' philosophy and the precision of his scientific approach to movement. B&w photos and drawings illustrate techniques and exercises. Concludes with a chronology of works choreographed by Hawkins, and a videography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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