The 2013 IEATA Conference is fast approaching! I wanted to share a description of the workshop I will be presenting. Hope you enjoy it!
Abstract
Since the advent of agriculture, the human hunger for change has caused
us to accelerate survival technologies more rapidly than we can
assimilate. Proponents of ecopsychology suggest that industrialized
societies produce lifestyles that are addicted to continuous stimulation in
order to dissociate from the feelings of alienation from the natural world,
leading to many environmental, social, and mental health crises of today
(Glendenning, 1994). Our perverted drive for greater comfort and security
has placed us so out-of-step with the natural rhythms of the world that a
different kind of change is needed to restore our sense of belonging to the
Earth as a member species.
The perspectives of indigenous peoples of the world have largely been
disregarded as primitive, nonsensical, or irrelevant in academic discourse, but
this imperialistic mindset has thwarted our ability to integrate their ancient,
time-tested knowledge into our current perception of health (Blanchard,
2011). Every human being is indebted to ancestral origins in tribal
hunter-gatherer groups who successfully survived in the wild. Endangered
rituals of descent into the underworld are the legacies that have continually
renewed our intimate relationships with the natural world (Plotkin, 2008).
Dance and movement have held a wide range of functions in non-industrial
societies, including mental and physical healing for individuals, resolving
social conflicts, and honoring the forces of nature.
In my twenty-year exploration of dance and movement, I have
distinguished nine valuable intentions or orientations that serve to activate
the primary characteristics of a healthy, wild human animal. The first
three, Meditative, Ecstatic, and Mystical, are focused on transcendent,
universal, or divine realities culminating in a state of harmony with the
natural world. The next three orientations, Relational, Social, and
Activist, provide structures for communities to maintain an internal balance and
constructively participate in local ecologies. In the last three
orientations, Physical, Expressive, and Trance, the dancer becomes a tracker in
the wild, imaginal realms of the human body, the personal or collective
unconscious, and nature, respectively.
While all of these orientations are valuable, the Trance orientation is
our least developed area of competence due to our troubled history with the
humans and land on which we find ourselves. Most of the residents in the
United States are relative newcomers to this continent, and our dominant society
has been founded in momentously destructive changes to the native people and
their ancestral covenant with the land. Unresolved transgressions and
growing estrangement with nature have resulted in the loss of our capacities to
skillfully contribute to the unfolding story of humanity’s role in the “dream of
the Earth” through revelatory experiences (Berry, 2006). I will suggest
that the Trance orientation of dance is perhaps the most promising method of
establishing unsentimental, historically-conscious relationships with the
more-than-human world.
Dance Orientations for Re-wilding the Self and the World is a treatise
on the importance of reprising the benevolent role of the human species in the
web of life. The interwoven segments of lecture, discussion, and engaging
creative processes are intended to convey a heartfelt invitation to deepen our
personal and professional awareness of the power of dance. My hope in
mapping these embodied intentions is to re-imagine a model of health that is
interconnected with the health of the larger community of life. In this
way, we not only respond to the changes of the past, but also direct change
toward a hopeful future.
References:
Berry, T. (2006). Dream of the Earth (2nd ed.). San Francisco,
CA: Sierra Club Books.
Blanchard. G. (2011). Ancient Ways: Indigenous Healing Innovations for the
21st Century. Holyoke, MA: NEARI Press.
Glendenning, C. (1994). My Name is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from
Western Civilization. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Plotkin, B. (2008). Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness
and Community in a Fragmented World. Novato, California: New World Library.
us to accelerate survival technologies more rapidly than we can
assimilate. Proponents of ecopsychology suggest that industrialized
societies produce lifestyles that are addicted to continuous stimulation in
order to dissociate from the feelings of alienation from the natural world,
leading to many environmental, social, and mental health crises of today
(Glendenning, 1994). Our perverted drive for greater comfort and security
has placed us so out-of-step with the natural rhythms of the world that a
different kind of change is needed to restore our sense of belonging to the
Earth as a member species.
The perspectives of indigenous peoples of the world have largely been
disregarded as primitive, nonsensical, or irrelevant in academic discourse, but
this imperialistic mindset has thwarted our ability to integrate their ancient,
time-tested knowledge into our current perception of health (Blanchard,
2011). Every human being is indebted to ancestral origins in tribal
hunter-gatherer groups who successfully survived in the wild. Endangered
rituals of descent into the underworld are the legacies that have continually
renewed our intimate relationships with the natural world (Plotkin, 2008).
Dance and movement have held a wide range of functions in non-industrial
societies, including mental and physical healing for individuals, resolving
social conflicts, and honoring the forces of nature.
In my twenty-year exploration of dance and movement, I have
distinguished nine valuable intentions or orientations that serve to activate
the primary characteristics of a healthy, wild human animal. The first
three, Meditative, Ecstatic, and Mystical, are focused on transcendent,
universal, or divine realities culminating in a state of harmony with the
natural world. The next three orientations, Relational, Social, and
Activist, provide structures for communities to maintain an internal balance and
constructively participate in local ecologies. In the last three
orientations, Physical, Expressive, and Trance, the dancer becomes a tracker in
the wild, imaginal realms of the human body, the personal or collective
unconscious, and nature, respectively.
While all of these orientations are valuable, the Trance orientation is
our least developed area of competence due to our troubled history with the
humans and land on which we find ourselves. Most of the residents in the
United States are relative newcomers to this continent, and our dominant society
has been founded in momentously destructive changes to the native people and
their ancestral covenant with the land. Unresolved transgressions and
growing estrangement with nature have resulted in the loss of our capacities to
skillfully contribute to the unfolding story of humanity’s role in the “dream of
the Earth” through revelatory experiences (Berry, 2006). I will suggest
that the Trance orientation of dance is perhaps the most promising method of
establishing unsentimental, historically-conscious relationships with the
more-than-human world.
Dance Orientations for Re-wilding the Self and the World is a treatise
on the importance of reprising the benevolent role of the human species in the
web of life. The interwoven segments of lecture, discussion, and engaging
creative processes are intended to convey a heartfelt invitation to deepen our
personal and professional awareness of the power of dance. My hope in
mapping these embodied intentions is to re-imagine a model of health that is
interconnected with the health of the larger community of life. In this
way, we not only respond to the changes of the past, but also direct change
toward a hopeful future.
References:
Berry, T. (2006). Dream of the Earth (2nd ed.). San Francisco,
CA: Sierra Club Books.
Blanchard. G. (2011). Ancient Ways: Indigenous Healing Innovations for the
21st Century. Holyoke, MA: NEARI Press.
Glendenning, C. (1994). My Name is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from
Western Civilization. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Plotkin, B. (2008). Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness
and Community in a Fragmented World. Novato, California: New World Library.
Dance Orientations Video
This video provides examples of dance styles from each of the nine orientations. Many dance practices do not reside in any one orientation and combine several of the orientations, such as Trancedance, Dance Meditation, the 5Rhythms and SoulMotion. I do not mean for this to be a rigid configuration, but rather a way to identify the constellations that guide our way. I don't doubt that there are constellations in this vast sky that I have not experienced and so haven't thought to put them on the map, but I didn't let that deter me from making it anyway. I feel it is useful to reflect on ways of developing competence in all of the nine intentions to fully embrace the power and beauty of our humanness.
The Nine Orientations
The Nine OrientationsUPPER WORLD ORIENTATIONS
The goal of the Meditative Orientation is to achieve a state of balance in the body and mind. The mover directs and controls the energy, sometimes with pre-determined forms from ancient schools of wisdom. The focus is on actively calming or concentrating the mind to express qualities of clarity, transcendence, or non-attachment. This dance expresses the human gift of mirroring and affirming the harmony of nature and all of existence. E.g.: Tai Chi; Yoga. Access: Good
The intention of the Ecstatic Orientation is to surrender to the pulsing, generative force of the universe so completely that the body becomes like a conduit for high voltage currents of energy. This dance dissolves the ego to the point that propriety is lost and noticeably involves a loss of control and a break from familiar movement vocabulary. It can pop out suddenly when the mover transitions from dancing from the individual soul to “being danced” by something much larger. This dance generates a profound experience of fullness and eliminates feelings of psychological hunger, the root of consumer culture. E.g.: Chaos rhythm of the 5Rhythms; Sufi Whirling; Rave dance. Access: Poor
The Mystical Orientation is an intimate dialogue between the individual self and the Divine Beloved. This form has a wide range of emotional modes within it, such as longing, joy, separation, ferocity, flirtation, seduction, etc., and may lead to a state of union if the boundary between lover and beloved becomes blurred, though that is not necessarily the goal. The dialogue itself is the method through which the dancer is purified and recognizes her place in the cosmos. This practice endears us to the Universe and places us in sacred relationship with life by resonating with the love that sings from the core of all things. E.g.: Praise dance; classical Indian dance; devotional or worship dance. Access: Good
MIDDLE WORLD ORIENTATIONS
The Activist Orientation is distinct from other orientations in that the dancer is consciously trying to communicate an important message to her people to bring about a necessary social adjustment. The message may be drawn from the desires of the individual dancer, or the dancer may be able to express the desires of others whose voices need to be heard. The intention is to harness the power of dance to motivate one’s community to consider new possibilities and alternative responses to a current predicament. E.g.: Flash mob; thematic performances about issues of women’s rights, environmental awareness, race and identity, etc. Access: Fair
The Social Orientation is a wild way to feel a sense of belonging in a larger group through community dancing. Here, the ego is welcome, and in fact, a little healthy competition also stimulates creativity and cultural pride and may highlight certain shared values in the culture, such as complexity, toughness, or sensuality. The healthy form of this dance glorifies the uniqueness of every individual within the community, including old and young, male and female, and all body types. By learning and utilizing the gifts of each member of a community, dancers cultivate the inclusivity and sensitive witnessing necessary for a human community to function sustainably. E.g.: Dance off’s; community celebrations; folk dances. Access: Good
The primary focus of the Relational Orientation is the interaction with another human dancer to express feelings of connection, trust, and intimacy. This dance expresses our mammalian need for closeness with others through a visceral and vulnerable exchange of mutual support. At the height of this form, dancers merge into one body and appear to be telepathic. The Relational Orientation fulfills an important element of emotional health in humans and minimizes aberrant behaviors that stem from isolation. E.g.: contact improvisation; tango. Access: Good
UNDERWORLD ORIENTATIONS
The Physical Orientation includes movement practices that focus on a conversation with the wild body with the intention of following its natural energetic patterns by listening and receiving, not directing the movements. Dancers are magnetized by the innate wisdom and guidance available to us through heightened kinesthetic awareness. This dance is an affirmation that we are a conforming feature of the earth’s body, and erases the line that divides the human world from “nature.” E.g.: Continuum; Feldenkrais; Body-Mind Centering. Access: Poor
In the Expressive Orientation, the dancer journeys through the inner landscape and tracks themes of personal depth and mystery. Dances in this orientation may include mythical or poetic images, original patterns or movement structures, or impulses guided from an unconscious source. These dances invoke revelatory experiences that heal and nourish the soul and transform wounds into strengths to offer the world. E.g.: Authentic Movement; Body Tales. Access: Fair
Perhaps the wildest dance orientation, the Trance Orientation is also the most endangered due to the widespread brokenness of the human-earth covenant. When the covenant is intact or repaired, the Trance Orientation culminates in a direct interaction with nature or nature spirits. The dancer attunes with the ecological reality of her immediate surroundings by cultivating ancestral relatedness, exploring the psychosocial history of that ecosystem, and slowly building empathy with non-human perceptions and experiences. This dance is the inter-species language by which humans can participate in the more-than-human community and gain insight into our role on the biosphere. E.g.: possession dance; shamanic dances of indigenous peoples. Access: None
The goal of the Meditative Orientation is to achieve a state of balance in the body and mind. The mover directs and controls the energy, sometimes with pre-determined forms from ancient schools of wisdom. The focus is on actively calming or concentrating the mind to express qualities of clarity, transcendence, or non-attachment. This dance expresses the human gift of mirroring and affirming the harmony of nature and all of existence. E.g.: Tai Chi; Yoga. Access: Good
The intention of the Ecstatic Orientation is to surrender to the pulsing, generative force of the universe so completely that the body becomes like a conduit for high voltage currents of energy. This dance dissolves the ego to the point that propriety is lost and noticeably involves a loss of control and a break from familiar movement vocabulary. It can pop out suddenly when the mover transitions from dancing from the individual soul to “being danced” by something much larger. This dance generates a profound experience of fullness and eliminates feelings of psychological hunger, the root of consumer culture. E.g.: Chaos rhythm of the 5Rhythms; Sufi Whirling; Rave dance. Access: Poor
The Mystical Orientation is an intimate dialogue between the individual self and the Divine Beloved. This form has a wide range of emotional modes within it, such as longing, joy, separation, ferocity, flirtation, seduction, etc., and may lead to a state of union if the boundary between lover and beloved becomes blurred, though that is not necessarily the goal. The dialogue itself is the method through which the dancer is purified and recognizes her place in the cosmos. This practice endears us to the Universe and places us in sacred relationship with life by resonating with the love that sings from the core of all things. E.g.: Praise dance; classical Indian dance; devotional or worship dance. Access: Good
MIDDLE WORLD ORIENTATIONS
The Activist Orientation is distinct from other orientations in that the dancer is consciously trying to communicate an important message to her people to bring about a necessary social adjustment. The message may be drawn from the desires of the individual dancer, or the dancer may be able to express the desires of others whose voices need to be heard. The intention is to harness the power of dance to motivate one’s community to consider new possibilities and alternative responses to a current predicament. E.g.: Flash mob; thematic performances about issues of women’s rights, environmental awareness, race and identity, etc. Access: Fair
The Social Orientation is a wild way to feel a sense of belonging in a larger group through community dancing. Here, the ego is welcome, and in fact, a little healthy competition also stimulates creativity and cultural pride and may highlight certain shared values in the culture, such as complexity, toughness, or sensuality. The healthy form of this dance glorifies the uniqueness of every individual within the community, including old and young, male and female, and all body types. By learning and utilizing the gifts of each member of a community, dancers cultivate the inclusivity and sensitive witnessing necessary for a human community to function sustainably. E.g.: Dance off’s; community celebrations; folk dances. Access: Good
The primary focus of the Relational Orientation is the interaction with another human dancer to express feelings of connection, trust, and intimacy. This dance expresses our mammalian need for closeness with others through a visceral and vulnerable exchange of mutual support. At the height of this form, dancers merge into one body and appear to be telepathic. The Relational Orientation fulfills an important element of emotional health in humans and minimizes aberrant behaviors that stem from isolation. E.g.: contact improvisation; tango. Access: Good
UNDERWORLD ORIENTATIONS
The Physical Orientation includes movement practices that focus on a conversation with the wild body with the intention of following its natural energetic patterns by listening and receiving, not directing the movements. Dancers are magnetized by the innate wisdom and guidance available to us through heightened kinesthetic awareness. This dance is an affirmation that we are a conforming feature of the earth’s body, and erases the line that divides the human world from “nature.” E.g.: Continuum; Feldenkrais; Body-Mind Centering. Access: Poor
In the Expressive Orientation, the dancer journeys through the inner landscape and tracks themes of personal depth and mystery. Dances in this orientation may include mythical or poetic images, original patterns or movement structures, or impulses guided from an unconscious source. These dances invoke revelatory experiences that heal and nourish the soul and transform wounds into strengths to offer the world. E.g.: Authentic Movement; Body Tales. Access: Fair
Perhaps the wildest dance orientation, the Trance Orientation is also the most endangered due to the widespread brokenness of the human-earth covenant. When the covenant is intact or repaired, the Trance Orientation culminates in a direct interaction with nature or nature spirits. The dancer attunes with the ecological reality of her immediate surroundings by cultivating ancestral relatedness, exploring the psychosocial history of that ecosystem, and slowly building empathy with non-human perceptions and experiences. This dance is the inter-species language by which humans can participate in the more-than-human community and gain insight into our role on the biosphere. E.g.: possession dance; shamanic dances of indigenous peoples. Access: None
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