Point of View: My Technique/Movement Vocabulary
Technique synthesizes the cognitive knowledge about the body and the experiential embodiment. My technique seamlessly integrates and internalizes movement principles from diverse movement styles such as somatic principles, corporeal mime (abstract mime), modern, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and improvisation. In this process, I give more focus on movement fundamentals of conditioning, spatial concepts, weight transfer, internal and external awareness, breathing, connectivity, isolation, locomotion, timing, level, dynamics, musicality, and anatomical knowledge than acquiring a certain style. Besides, I apply the concepts of two-dimensional space, negative space, and the kineseological rhythm that corresponds to the physicality of the body as an artistic object to movement composition. Though the whole idea is not new, I find my originality in dance in that I distinctively synthesize disparate disciplines into another voice. I strongly feel that creativity in a dance piece is related to technical expertise (Be careful here not to think close-mindedly and ignorantly technique is the synonym with ballet, X-roll, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, intense stretching, tumbling, acrobatic skills, etc.). Technique can help to better embody creative ideas and thus to better convince the viewers. Therefore, my technical rehearsal or class emphasizes exploring the body as a whole to the possible range of movement of each individual and appreciates artisanship and progressive repetition.
Photo by Woo-Hee Kim