Somatics in Contemporary Dance:

Body-informed modern dance methods blossomed around the same time as somatic psychology theory.

Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, choreographers who broke from the norm of traditional dance and ballet and infused psychological processes to create complex choreographed arrangements that redefined dance in the 20th century

Isadora Duncan, who is considered the godmother of modern dance, both practices use somatically-informed methods of expression. The basis of Duncan’s method involved moving from “source”, essentially moving from an intuitive energetic force emanating from the solar plexus.

Butoh is a method of contemporary dance that leaps beyond the methods of Isadora Duncan as the dance unfolds through an internal transformation via intuitive movement.​ The dancer is guided by forces from within, making the practice inherently somatic. Its inception is credited to dancers Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazue Ohno where it developed in mid 20th century post-war Japan.

Somatic movement:

defined as being aware of the internal sensations and the feelings of the body that occur during movement practice rather than focusing on an external result from the physical movement.

somatic expression infers that the participant intuitively draws the movement out of their body without conscious thought

during somatic movement practices, it is encouraged to feel emotions fully and express them through movement

Somatics focuses on the mind-body connection cultivating awareness, willpower and self-acceptance.

Somatic movement history:

Intuitive, ecstatic dance is the oldest form of somatic healing movement as it invites the individual to engage in self-expression.

Holistic movement systems like yoga and qi gong blossomed out of India and China over the last over 5000 years

Yoga uses hybrid methodologies for well-being, utilizing a mixture of chanting, breathwork, meditation and stretching via the practice of the asanas, or the yoga postures,

These methodologies also focus on care of the whole body, mind and spirit and do not aim to focus on one specific ailment

Somatic Psychology & Movement:

Somatic psychology arises from the concept of body-psychotherapy theorized by Wilhelm Reich, who argued that the mind and body were connected and that psychological issues could manifest physically, such as muscle tension due to stress.

The technique of Somatic Experiencing by Dr. Peter Levine asks the participant to notice inner body sensations while discussing trauma during therapy sessions. The therapist then guides the patient through body-informed movement, breathwork and/or awareness techniques to aid in the release of trauma or energy

This work influenced the emphasis on body-mind connection found in current somatic technique.

Somatic movement methods incorporate some of these psychological techniques to promote healing and/or self expression through the act of inner awareness.