IADMS Madrid 2001   [back to the Category]

Exploring right and left bias in dance movement   [read the french version]

Author :   Marliese Kimmerle, PhD

Saturday 3 November 2001
9:00 – 10:00 am

Exploring right and left bias in dance movement

Marliese Kimmerle, PhD, Department of Kinesiology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Karen Bowes-Sewell, PhD, Department of Dance, York University, Toronto; Ontario, Canada

Traditionally, dance teaching tends to have a right bias (Kimmerle, 2001, Puretz, 1984). Vocabulary and movement phrases tend to be taught and practiced initially on the right leg/side. Combined with a population bias for right hand and foot dominance, this is likely to produce asymmetrically trained dancers.
This practical workshop will help participants identify their own lateral preferences and proficiencies in simple dance movement. Differences in postural alignment, strength, flexibility, balance, and amplitude will be explored through somatic practice, warm-up exercises, lower body movement, turns, and locomotor skills. The ease of learning new skills and combinations on the preferred and non-preferred sides will also be explored. Participants will learn to recognize the inherent difficulties in transferring movement patterns and evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies to assist with this transferring process.
As a follow-up to the practical work, a self-evaluation checklist will be provided to help participants examine their own practices as teachers/therapists/dancers.