Slamfest | Writings

History is the record of human observations and achievements. The evolution of our consciousness can be surmised by what we document and how it is characterized. Our basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing as well as our aspirations for culture, art, and spirituality all vie for prominence within our chronology. War and art are the proverbial favorites in terms of our current fascinations. By chance and/or design, my life has become in tandem with art related endeavors. To the extent possible, I am honored to contribute toward the record of human inquisitiveness and cooperation.

My artistic goal is to seek-out and be exposed to a wide range of quality work and seriously involved people so that I can fully develop my potentials as a creatively expressive person. I have been lucky enough to have worked with many talented and idiosyncratic creators. As I maintain a focus on intuition and flux within my creative process, I have been able to employ the various approaches to craft and technique that I have learned by working with others.

My own creative process is informed by the values of collaboration. Sometimes the performers may act primarily as interpretive artists because the impetus for a particular work has come from my own wondering. However, I emphasize sharing the creative process so that the various permutations are more mutually inspired. Each new work is an experiment motivated by a different set of concerns and so the expressions vary according to which tools best suit each creative process. I am constantly surprised by what results from each journey.

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Palatine conference: ‘Dancing in the now’
Keynote speech by Karl Anderson: ‘Propagating Maturity’
Liverpool John Moores University, I. M. Marsh campus, England
Wednesday October 25th 2006
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Good afternoon, my name is Karl Anderson. I am a dancer, choreographer, and Skinner Releasing Technique instructor based in NYC. I believe that integrating and propagating somatic techniques, specifically Skinner Releasing Technique, within the context of academia creates smarter and more mature dancers.

Quite by accident, I began dancing at the age of 19. After 2 years of fumbling about at a junior college, I attended the California Institute of the Arts and received a BFA in Dance. CalArts had a fairly well-rounded dance program but the emphasis was still primarily on instruction as opposed to discovery. Since graduation, I have had the pleasure of dancing for a bevy of talented choreographers. I have also been making my own performance events for more than 20 years now and Skinner has become perhaps my most valuable technical and creative tool.

I was introduced to Skinner in 1987, while dancing with Stephanie Skura. In 1989, I sustained a severe impact injury to my knee and taking Skinner classes allowed me to dance for several more years without pain. From 1990 to 1998, I took a hiatus from dance while I returned to school to study architecture. When I started dancing again my muscles had atrophied and my movement skills were rusty but I unwittingly pursued performing again as if no time lapse had occurred. Eventually, I did have to have knee surgery and once again Skinner was the keystone of my healing and rebuilding process. I decided to become a Skinner instructor so that I might share the many benefits that this discipline has to offer.

Joan Skinner was a principle dancer in the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. As a result of a severe back injury, Joan began experiments in 1963 that evolved into the Skinner Releasing Technique. For many years she was the Dean of Dance at the University of Washington and Joan is now constantly redefining, teaching, and disseminating her technique around the globe.

The Skinner Releasing Technique is a movement-based and imagery-based process of discovery. Skinner classes have five basic components: Partner Graphics, Movement Studies, Checklists, Image actions, and Totalities. The Partner Graphics are hands-on tactile suggestions of how our alignments might be in a releasing state. Movement Studies are focused on experiencing certain awarnesses and qualities while one is still in a fairly rational state of mind. Checklists are preparations for either Image Actions or Totalities, they can be sequential and directional or wholelistically spontaneous and they focus on allowing the self to let go of tension and habitual holding patterns. Image actions are deep states where the possibility of embodying an image usually leads to movement. And Totalities are deep states where the possibility of embodying and image usually does not lead to movement so the student can relate to an image as more of a meditation.

Skinner is a technique class and as such the skills-set given in Skinner can cross pollinate with other technique classes and allow the dancer to refine their overall technical base. For example: Ballet can tend to be springy and fast, a Partner Graphic on opening the shoulders and dropping the ribs and a Movement Study on streams of energy suspending the skull could add to efficiency; Graham is grounded and sturdy, Partner Graphics which focus on suspending the torso and floating the skull would broaden an awareness of opposites, as a source of mutual enhancement; Cunningham is segmented and positional, Movement Studies focusing on dynamic multi-directional focuses could improve alignment and a deeper understanding of the old adage ‘less is more’; Limon emphasizes large movements with a focus on the breath, Partner Graphics that give assisted deep squats and gliding exercises and the various breath related aspects of Skinner could build a broader awareness the Limon approach; and Ailey is virtuosic and precise, Movement Studies focusing on dynamic stillness and on simultaneous autonomy of various parts of the physical self would be most beneficial.

The images used in Skinner act as metaphors for a feeling state. A student is invited to participate in the qualities imbued within an image. For example: a cool white mist swirling through our vast cavernous inner-spaces. At first, one might move the white mist; then, the white mist might move them; and finally, perhaps the self and the white mist might become one. The feeling state is therefore not merely a dramatic interpretation of an image but rather an experience of immersion or complete identification with the imagery. The primary goal is an improved ease of movement so that one can increase their range of motion while becoming more available for making aesthetic choices.

At times, Skinner classes might seem vague because anatomical terms are strictly avoided; many specific words, such as up, down, work, body, and style are never used; certain Newtonian-based concepts of cause and affect or gravity are disregarded, and the methodology is unrelentingly indirect and oblique. This seemingly passive pedagogy allows the student to be enveloped within and an associative experience so that the cognitive mind can take a break while the intuitive self flourishes.
There are three main things to consider while taking a Skinner class. Firstly, there is no right or wrong: the teacher is not a model, other students are mot models, and in the absence of judgment Skinner attempts to generate empathy which in turn can lead toward compassion. Secondly, Skinner is experiential and not analytical: the ‘why’ questions can be put aside for a while so that a sense of mystery can prevail. And lastly, Skinner is about process and not product.

Unfortunately, many of the standard movement techniques focus on muscling through routines so as to attain a properly codified example of an aesthetic correctness. The resulting accumulated tension and blocked energy leads to injuries and a distorted sense-of-self. The medium of dance has simply become too intelligent for this. Somatic techniques enable one to discover their own human idiosyncrasies: their own specific mechanical logic, the intuitive awareness of their own neuro-muscular system, and the existence of their own imagistic realities.

Chorographers have so many tools available to them: compositional and formulaic structures such as theme & variation, duration, and kinetic fluctuation; movement techniques functioning as stylistic signatures; literalism and abstraction; mood, tone, and feel to name just a few. And yet, while in school, we are often taught that these external roadmaps, used for the process of crafting and shaping choreography, can actually pass for choreography itself. However, without methods of discovering how to create from within, choreography tends to lack depth.

For me, dance that overtly represents compositional integrity or delineates aesthetic taste is impersonal and uninteresting. Intuition and inspiration are the catalysts for my various processes. The participants in my creations and the audience are invited into a more personal and perhaps multi-faceted world. When I use Skinner as part of my creation process, the performers can fully embody and perfect their own corporeal intelligence and idiosyncratic expressions with more efficiency and ease. I believe that this results in a more sophisticated foundation which can withstand the rigors of choreographic discovery and expression.

When we are young, we are more likely to be open-minded and able to experience those realizations and epiphanies which define our character and level of awareness. As we participate in the often-times difficult ‘lessons of life’, realize our limitations, and accumulate concessions to our ideals; we can tend to become more conservative and reactionary. As we age, we must continuously strive to remain supple, available, and spontaneous. For the young adult; however, this receptivity is fairly immediate.

In the United States, most academic institutions tend to languish in their own inertia. Changes and developments occur at a much quicker rate in the professional world. As a result, recent graduates present themselves to the dance community; with archaic notions of ‘Dancing in the Now’. Most become disillusioned and stop dancing after a few brief years while a small minority is able to unlearn their formalized perspective and embrace the actual realities of the current dance situation.

In order for academia to avoid becoming irrelevant to the profession and life-choice of dance it must reduce its emphasis on traditional skills and training and balance their curriculum by integrating more of the learning options available from working dancers and working choreographers. It is an issue of proportionality. If you take a look at the ‘idealized curricula’ chart, you will see that the ‘skills and training’ columns are significantly scaled back where as the ‘learning from within’ columns include disciplines that are rarely found in higher education. Typically in the United States, dancers would receive four years of Ballet, four years of Modern, some Pilates, and perhaps a few electives like world dance or improvisation. In this chart, however… [Elucidate and discuss]

Skinner can be offered within an academic setting as long as certain ideological and procedural conflicts are addressed. If you take a look at the ‘compatibility’ chart, you will notice that there are six primary disconnects. In all of these cases, the solution relies on the academic institution being flexible, so that the Skinner experience can maintain its integrity. [Elucidate and discuss]

The very nature of somatic techniques is such that a student may or may not fully integrate the various concepts within a given time frame. By contrast, academia serves to educate students within fairly rigid parameters. In both cases; however, the intended result is a mature artist who is a self-motivated and self-propelled critical thinker.

It is time for academia to become more inclusive. By offering a full component of somatic techniques, including the Skinner Releasing Technique, an environment can be created where in dancers are nurtured and taught how to be self nurturing.

The Skinner Releasing Technique: an elucidation by Karl Anderson
Performatica: Foro International De Danza Contemporanea Y Artes De Moviemiento, Universidad De Las Americas (Puebla, Mexico)
March/April 2008
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Joan Skinner is in her eighties and currently resides in Seattle Washington. She was a principle dancer in the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. As a result of a severe back injury, Joan began experiments in 1963 which eventually evolved into the Skinner Releasing Technique. For many years she was the Dean of Dance at the University of Washington as well as a prolific choreographer. Joan is now continuously redefining, teaching, and disseminating her technique around the globe.

I was introduced to the Skinner Releasing Technique in 1987, while dancing with Stephanie Skura. In 1989, I sustained an impact injury to my left knee. Participating in Skinner classes allowed me to dance without pain. From 1990 to 1998, I took a hiatus from dance while I returned to school to study architecture. Immediately upon graduation, I started dancing again. However, my muscles had atrophied and my movement skills were rusty. I was not sufficiently conscientious with my transition back into being highly physical once again. As a result, I had to have knee surgery. Taking the Skinner Releasing Technique was the keystone of my rebuilding process. In addition to the healing aspects of Skinner, I believe that participating in somatic learning creates smarter and more mature dancers. As a choreographer, Skinner has become perhaps my most valuable technical and creative tool. I decided to become a Skinner Releasing Technique facilitator so that I might share the numerous benefits that this discipline has to offer.

The Partner Graphics are hands-on tactile suggestions of how our alignments might be in a releasing state. As one person assists the other with their discoveries, the physical touching and verbal cues are conveyed as a source of information only. There is no judgment and the touch is never insistent or demanding. This approach allows the receiving student to make their own connections in their own time so that their awareness is holistic and changes can occur from a series of constructive choices. As an example, during a Partner Graphic, a giving partner might take the weight of a receiving partner’s arm and gently move their partner’s arm around in space as they also gently press on their partner’s shoulder. The receiver might notice if they have any habitual holding or gripping in the shoulder or neck. The receiver now has a choice of how to respond to these signals. They might simply become aware of certain restrictions or limitations and rest assured that this awareness in-and-of-itself is the first step towards change, or they might allow for a releasing response to the stimulus and begin a mutual deconstruction of their learned inhibitions, or perhaps they might also begin an ongoing behavioral modification process which could eventually lead to a re-patterning journey, healing process, and newfound ease and grace within the self.

Movement Studies are designed so that the student might experience certain physical sensations or conceptual notions while still being in a relatively rational state of mind. The student might be invited to move freely while experimenting with certain alignment principles which will in-turn influence their movement choices and qualitative range. If, during a Movement Study, a student is allowing their skull to be suspended and floating-with-ease while also allowing for streams of energy to emanate through and along their legs and then out into space so that they are counterbalancing then the alignment of the self becomes automatic and intuitive. Balancing no longer necessitates muscling through different held-positions as a result of a mental effort. Rather, it can become a series of dynamic multi-directional focuses which improve the moving alignment and can foster a deeper understanding of the old adage ‘less is more’. By employing numerous suggestive cues such as dynamic stillness, or simultaneous autonomy of various parts of the physical self, or gazing out into space from deep behind the eyes; the student is able to engage within a cognitive process while also being on the verge of immersion within a given sensation. The result is a free flowing yet thorough series of explorations where in the student discovers increased precision, articulation, and overall efficiency.

Checklists are usually preparations for Image Actions or Totalities. They can be sequential and directional or they can be instantaneous and holistic. Although they might be given while the student is standing or moving around in the space they are usually given while the student is lying comfortably on their back. A quality or action is identified and then it is applied to the student in such a way that the student can personalize the releasing aspect of the signal. The following is an example of a Checklist given toward the beginning of Class One.

As we are lying gently on our backs once again we can explore the possibility that no one part of the self compresses or congeals against any other part of the self. So we can cultivate maximum freedom of movement.

There is a natural directional pattern of energy for the skull. Allow our focus to return to the skull for a moment as it moves gently. Feeling its separation from the neck, it floats free of the neck and away from the neck, and it opens lots of space around the neck.

And turning our focus to the shoulders. They too have a directional pattern. They are not only softening, but dropping away from the skull and opening to the side.

And then the ribs in front, they too are softening and dropping away from the shoulders, towards the feet.

And the back. The back can melt into the floor and spread in all directions.

No one part of the self compresses or congeals against another part of the self. So we have maximum freedom to move.

Once the Checklist has been given, a certain amount of time is allowed so that the sensations can be fully personalized and experienced. Then there is a gentle transition into another aspect of that particular class.

Image actions are deep states where the possibility of embodying an image usually leads to movement. As the student is still lying on their back and existing within the kinesthetic resonance of a Checklist, the Skinner facilitator guides the student through the creation of a fanciful image. The images used in Skinner act as metaphors for a feeling state. A student is invited to participate in the qualities imbued within an image. For example: a cool white mist swirling through our vast cavernous inner-spaces. At first, one might move the white mist; then, the white mist might move them; and finally, perhaps the self and the white mist might become one. The feeling state is therefore not merely a dramatic interpretation of an image but rather an experience of immersion or complete identification with the imagery.

Totalities are deep states where the possibility of embodying an image usually does not lead to movement so the student can relate to an image as more of a meditation. The following Totality is given in Class Nine:Let’s spend a moment with an image of a pool.

A lovely crystal-clear pool.

And the whole self can float in the pool for a moment.

Some areas of the pool are shallow and other areas are deep.

As we are floating in our pool, we can perhaps begin to merge with the pool, and the outer edges of us become the outer edges of the pool.

Depending on what precedes a Totality or where the Totality exists within the progression of a particular class or the overall sequence of classes, it might last anywhere from twenty seconds to twenty minutes and each student has their own distinct experience within a Totality. Experiencing this complete identification with a feeling state allows the student to be fully receptive to existing within an actively releasing state of being. A completely safe environment for becoming fully vulnerable.

There are three main things to consider while taking a Skinner class. Firstly, there is no right or wrong: the teacher is not a model and other students are not models. In this absence of judgment, Skinner attempts to generate empathy which in turn can lead toward compassion. Secondly, Skinner is experiential and not analytical: the ‘why’ questions can be put aside for a while so that a sense of mystery can prevail. And lastly, Skinner is about process and not product.

At times, Skinner classes might seem vague because the methodology is unrelentingly indirect and oblique. Joan is interested in each student making their own discoveries in their own time and this evolutionary process can be both personal and profound. Anatomical terms are strictly avoided so that we can experience the self as an integrated being and not a set of parts. This omission seeks to allow the student to be enveloped within an associative experience so that the cognitive mind can take a break while the intuitive self flourishes. Many specific words are never used during a Skinner class. Up and down are not used because if a student associates a floating and suspended skull with an upward sensation then the experience of ease will most probably be interrupted if the student does a forward roll or finds themselves inverted for a moment. Suspension is a sensation that may or may not at times be related to gravity or direction. So a whole bevy of Newtonian-based language is avoided in favor of a more relativistic approach to awareness. Our perceptions are allowed to be more varied and multi-faceted within this post-Einstein world. Since Skinner is a somatic practice, words like mind and body are never used during class. More integrative language like self, whole self, or even physical self are used so as to avoid any association with the mind versus the body duality conundrum. Since Skinner is focused intuitively from within one’s own experiences, as opposed to structurally or formulaically from the exterior, words like style and work are never used during class.

Many of the orthodox movement techniques, especially at the college level, focus on the act-of-instruction. Instruction for its own sake is used as an authoritarian device. Students learn to become fully and unquestionably compliant as they muscle through various routines. They are expected as to fully attain the properly codified examples of aesthetic correctness. The resulting accumulated tension and blocked energy often leads to injuries and a distorted sense-of-self. The medium of dance has simply become too intelligent for this.

Somatic techniques enable the dancer to discover their own human idiosyncrasies: their own specific mechanical logic, the intuitive awareness of their own neuro-muscular system, and the existence of their own imagistic realities. The very nature of somatic techniques is such that a student may or may not fully integrate the various concepts within a given time frame. However, the intended long term result is a mature person who is a self-motivated and self-propelled critical thinker.