Dance Better Now

A technique for better dance movement: what is the Alexander technique?

For the past couple of months I have been seeing an Alexander to help improve my mobility for general benefit and to improve my dance. This post is about the benefits I had on doing this so that you can decide if it is something for you.

The Alexander Technique

The Alexander technique is a system that helps you move more efficiently so that you can perform your tasks (whatever they be) more efficiently. It was developed by Frederick Matthias Alexander who was a stage actor who had troubles keeping his voice throughout a play despite all doctors at the time telling him he was in sound health. After watching himself in the mirror as he practiced acting he noticed oddities in his posture. By focusing on his posture he found his issues was resolved. He later saw others with the same issue and noticed that by focusing upon posture and self awareness that anyone could improve their efficiency and their overall well-being.

He developed a system that could be used by what he called 'teachers' to impart better habits of movement upon his 'students'. I am unsure why he did not call them patients, but it might be because it is about teaching people better habits.

The typical session involves you taking various positions, standing or sitting or laying down, while the teacher will place hands on you to encourage the relaxation of certain muscle groups. They will also ask you to conduct certain movement as they guide your body. There will also be some imaging techniques, which are very familiar to most dancers. Finally, in my case at least, you get some exercises to do at home.

The best thing about the technique for most is that the method is very easy on you. You spend much or your time laying down so you get the benefits with little effort. 

Benefits

As a dancer I like to think I am fairly aware of my body and movement. I have been working on that to improve my dance for some time now. However, I still found more awareness from these sessions. Especially with parts of my body my teachers of the past have mentioned. Especially letting my shoulders drop. Since doing these sessions I have:

• Felt less pain when in general - we all have aches and pains at times
• Been able to adjusts what I do to limit the onset of fatigue and strain - most notably when walking while on holiday in  Tasmania, which is where Frederick Matthias Alexander was born, so that was poetic
• Felt more grounded in my feet - I have some pronation, which now feels reduced
• Felt less aches when dancing
• Felt more control over my posture when dancing

Recommendations

I would recommend this to anyone - it worked for me so it should work for you. Even if you do not get benefit from it, you at least know you have worked out that you're in good shape. However, you will probably have some issues that can be resolved. For dance I would especially recommend it if you have any of the following issues:

• Contracted shoulders
• Hunched posture
• Poor hip movement
• You fall into steps at times
• You ever feel pain from dancing for longer periods
• Stiffness in your back
• Poor head position

Where to find a practitioner

In these days of the internet it is very easy to type Alexander technique and you local area into a search engine and find someone near you. I found one a block away. 

More information

This is a pretty good article on how to be a better dancer from the perspective of an Alexander teacher - The Biggest Mistake Dancers Make. It shows both what Alexander teachers know and gives advice on how to dance better.

How can surfing make you a better dancer?

Just before writing this post I was at a conference on engineering education at the Gold Coast in Australia. Before the actual conference started in earnest, I went for a surfing lesson. It had been a while since I had last been surfing so I thought it would be good to start with a lesson.

While I was surfing I was struck by the similarities between dance and surfing.

It also occurred to me that surfing could be a good hobby for developing attributes that would make you a good dancer. In this post I will explain why I think this and how you could use surfing to improve your dance.

There are obviously differences between dance and surfing, but there were two major similarities that I noticed:

• The use of small balancing muscles
• Extended awareness beyond my body

Balancing muscles

As time progressed while surfing, I noticed that my balance was starting to drop off along with my ability to move smoothly from one position to another. I looked like I was tired, but I felt fine. The reason for this was that my large muscles were fine, but the smaller muscles that were now being worked harder had fatigued. Because they were small, they did not make me feel tired. Even though I didn’t feel I needed it, a short rest before paddling out to try catching another wave helped a lot. I stood with better posture, I was better balanced and I was able to move more smoothly from laying on the board to standing on it.

The first lesson here is that when practicing dance it might be worth taking a break even if you do not feel tired. This need not be a break where you do nothing. You could try another dance or even just another figure so that different muscles are used. Then when you go back to the first dance or figure, you will be physically recovered. This will then help you put appropriate effort into working on mastering whatever you are working on – you will not be held back by fatigued muscles.

The second lesson for me was that there is another activity that can help develop good dance attributes. I frequently talk about how important it is to develop attributes for dance by engaging in other activities. I have spoken about yoga, martial arts and aerobics, but until now I had never thought of surfing. If you want to improve the strength in your feet and ankles so that you have better balance, then I can easily recommend surfing.

Awareness

When you’re surfing, you need to feel the wave through the board. By feeling the wave through the board, you are able to determine how hard you need to paddle, when you can stop paddling, when you can lift yourself up and when you’re ready to stand. This kind of awareness is much like following a lead or feeling a follow respond to a lead.

However, it is a little different and this is where the benefit comes from.

If you have trouble extending you awareness to your partner’s body, then you might find that surfing shows how you to do this. The reason is that while not feeling your partner really is of little practical consequence, it’s just not great dancing. Surfing is very different. When you can’t feel the wave, you fall and often find yourself underwater. This is good motivation to start paying attention to the kinaesthetic signals as opposed to visual or auditory signals – motivation you will not have when dancing.

However, the signals form a wave are also more significant and there is no doubt in your mind what it is (you do not ever try to guess what the wave is thinking). This can make it easier to simply focus on the signals, and increase your ability to extend your awareness. Once you know what it’s like to feel these kinds of signals, you will be better able to feel them when dancing. This will make you a better lead and a better follow.

What to do now

If you don’t surf and thought about it, then you now have another reason to give it a go. If you are ever on holiday by the beach and there are surf lessons, then take one. Notice what it’s like to feel the wave so that you can expand you awareness. Notice also how you feel extra muscles working around your ankles and feet. Noticing these two things will help you identify the muscles that you need to work on for better balanced dancing and what it is like to be fully aware of something (or someone) that you’re physically connected to.