Choosing your profile

Here is a little guideline to choosing your profile.

Participation in every workshop and profile is flexible.  I realize that most of you have a limited timetable and diverse interests in dance.

However, it is my goal to make the wide range of dance as simple as possible, so I have constructed a few options in terms of approach.  This might help you to discover which type of dancer you are.  Also, which of the five profiles suits you best.

In general, dance can often be divided into pairs of opposites: slow and fast; big and small; right and left, or in rare cases, right and wrong! :-)

I suggest, however, the most helpful: shape and intention

Every movement can basically be explained by these two words.
Shape is either:

  • given by someone ( a teacher gives material) or
  • created by yourself (improvisation)

Also, every movement has a certain intention, reason, and context.  An emotional state, if you will, which often shapes the dynamic of the movement. This intention can also be set by:

  • a music/mood
  • a relation to another dancer
  • a focus on a certain body part

And another pair might help, which concerns your own approach:

  1. The inner approach
  2. The outer approach

The inner approach means that you like to improvise and work on topics or techniques from your own desire and inner urge to move. You are creative and are interested in being given tasks and advice, rather than fixed choreography.  You like to go dive into the principles of understanding the body.

The outer approach means that you enjoy it when a technique or style is taught to you.  You want to improve an existing foundation or begin to learn a new technique.  You enjoy going into the details of a movement, in order to make your body understand it properly.  Also, you like to see results at the end of a session.

So, we now have four little tools to play with:

  • shape                      (S)
  • intention                (I)
  • inner approach   (IA)
  • outer approach  (OA)

Of course, all profiles include every aspect of dance, but here is a small list of the different emphases:

  • Profile 1: Art of movement:                               S/I and OA
  • Profile 2: Contact improvisation:                     I and IA
  • Profile 3: Choreography /Improvisation:       S/I/IA/OA
  • Profile 4: Ballet:                                                   S and OA
  • Profile 5: Release Awareness:                           I and IO