The Dance Technique Of Doris Humphrey And Its Creative Potential

A pioneer in the making of American modern dance, Doris Humphrey is renowned as a great choreographer and teacher. Her book The Art o f Muking Dances is the standard work on choreography. Her theories of movement, based upon the principles o f Fall and Recovery, are no less well-known by reputation and by their pervasive influence. For the first time, these theories are presented and analyzed to acquaint dancers and dance students with the technical and creative resources o f the Humphrey Technique, which constitutes a unique vocabulary of movement. More than sixty exercises, geared t o the beginning and intermediate student, are described and illustrated. The historical and philosophical background of the technique is discussed, and descriptions of Doris Humphrey's dance compositions show how she ingeniously wedded theory and choreography. Purr One. The Background of rhe Technique reveals how the technique evolved, inspired by the writings of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; Purr Two. The Technique as Pracrice contains chapters on CENTER WORK for basic, full body warmup, FLOOR WORK for concentrated leg, back, and center body stretching and strengthening, BARRE WORK for extensions, turn-out, and the successional motions involved in falls and turns, and SPATIAL SEQUENCES for complex coordinations; Part Three. The Creative Porentiol of the Technique describes how the three basic ingredients of dance movementrhythm, dynamics, and design-can be used t o create an infinite variety of patterns. The Epilogue analyzes the choreographic concepts underlying four of Doris Humphrey's dance works: Air for the C Stririg, La Valse, Two Ecsratic Themes, and Passucoglia. This milestone in the development of modern dance has been recalled, researched, and written by former Humphrey student and dancer, Ernestine Stodelle, who wilnessed the creation o f the Humphrey Technique and who has been teaching it to her own students for over forty years. The Dance Technique of Doris Humphrey AND ITS CREATIVE POTENTIAL The Dance of Doris Humphrey AND ITS CREATIVE POTENTIAL ERNESTINE STODELLE Line Drawings by Teri Loren PRINCETON BOOK COMPANY, PUBLISHERS Princeton,NewJersey 1978 The photographs on pages 23 and 265 are by Barbara Morgan. The photographs on pages 77 through 233,251, and 253 are by James Meehan. The photographs on pages 239, 242, 243, 254, and 255 are by Susan Perry. The frontispiece photograph is by Soichi Sunarni. Copyright 0 1978 by Princeton Book Company, Publishers All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78-5124 Printed in the United States of America Design by Emily Harste Typography by Backes Graphics ISBN 0-87127-278-4 To my colleagues of The Little Group -Eleanor King, Letitia Ide, and J O S ~ ~ i m d -with n whom I first explored the rich creative potential of Doris Humphrey's technique. E.S. PREFACE At first glance, the dance technique of Doris Humphrey, as presented and analyzed in this book, may appear t o be surprisingly simple. After all, its theories are based on experiences which we all have every day and hour of our lives. For a healthy person, what is so difficult about breathing? For an energetic person, what is so amazing about "changing weight" as one walks or runs? And t o a dancer, what is "Falling and Recovering" all about? Everyone knows that gravity rules our universe, that nothing is accomplished without coordination of mind and body, that our most ordinary gcsturcs havc purposc, conscious or unconscious. These are ohvious and inescapable verities. Even the functioning mechanisms of one's body are taken for granted-if one is not a dancer, or a poet, or a philosopher, or a scientist. Because Doris Humphrey was not only a dancer, but also a poet, a philosopher, and a scientist in spirit, she felt compelled to examine the fundamental