Shannon Stead and Professor Caroline Prohosky, Contemporary Dance

Harmony and balance are critical for health and well-being. Many contemporary dance practitioners and advocates have long recognized the importance of integrating somatics (mindbody connective practices) into their art in order to help dancers find connections and harmony within their bodies and minds. As dancers explore connections within themselves, they find a connection with the world and a better understanding and appreciation of it. Because of the fastpaced western lifestyle that many people live, there is an abundance of stress and disjunction where the body and mind are concerned. Somatics has been known help dancers. Additionally, studying eastern practices such as t’ai chi can help individuals by showing them the principles of somatics from a different perspective and culture. Understanding the philosophy of t’ai chi and learning its movement as a somatics practice can benefit dancers today in their search for greater health and performance. Therefore, studying t’ai chi can help dancers feel connections within themselves as well as with the world.

The first part of my creative project was to conduct research regarding t’ai chi and to write a paper on how it relates to somatics and dance. Somatics are practices that focus on mind-body connections to encourage well-being, and most are also referred to as movement therapy. Among such practices are the Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method, Yoga, Pilates and the Bartenieff Fundamentals. The Bartenieff Fundamentals are essential principles of movement that release tension and help the body to kinesthetically work more efficiently, and is the practice referred to as somatics in this paper. Many people have studied somatics and t’ai chi separately, but I did not find written work connecting the two. Therefore I did research on the history, principles, methods, and practice of t’ai chi, and after gaining an understanding of it I was able to connect its principles with somatics and dance, of which I already had a broad foundation. Under the direction of my mentor, I wrote and revised an eight-page paper and submitted it to the BYU Writer’s Symposium. Unfortunately it was not chosen to be published, but I continued to revise it after I went to China and was able to include insights from my experience there.

The second part of my creative project was to go to China with my mentor and a group of BYU dancers to experience both t’ai chi and Chinese dance first-hand, and to choreograph a solo. We left on April 26, 2010 and arrived home on June 15, 2010. In China I was able to spend time at three different dance schools in the cities of Xi’an, Beijing and Hohhot. We spent ten days at the Xi’an Physical Education University. I took martial arts classes from native teachers including t’ai chi, and we also had a culture exchange concert where dancers from both our group and their school were able to perform.

Next we traveled to the Beijing Dance Academy, one of the largest dance schools in China. We spent three weeks taking dance and culture classes with Chinese students and participating in another culture exchange performance. I was able to immerse myself in culture and dance including Chinese dance and t’ai chi. I became friends with many students and teachers at the university and learned a lot from them. I did the majority of my choreography in Beijing as I choreographed a solo embodying fundamental principles of t’ai chi including breath, balance and fluidity, which correlate to the somatic principles of breath, core-distal and head-tail movements. This contemporary solo was choreographed under the close supervision of my mentor and revised multiple times. I was able to perform it for a panel of teachers at the Beijing Dance Academy. Each teacher took notes and evaluated the performance and choreography as to how well the movement conveyed authentic Chinese culture.

In Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, I finished the choreography and performed it at our final culture exchange concert with the College of Fine Arts of Inner Mongolia. It was performed on a stage with professional lighting and with a Chinese costume I purchased in Beijing.

Going to China to experience the eastern culture and dance forms including t’ai chi enabled me to gain a greater appreciation for their culture. I saw incredible dancers that were focused and dedicated to their art and had a good sense of chi or energy in their movement. Their abilities come from a legacy of focusing on the mind and body. In China, older people practice t’ai chi in parks and even on the streets in the mornings and one can see that it is something that is part of their lifestyle and beliefs. It has helped them to find balance in their lives.

This trip was extremely informative and has helped me to gain a greater appreciation for and skills in t’ai chi and dance, and has given me a greater love and understanding of the Chinese people. I think that I have benefited by experiencing and observing this in their culture and I will hopefully take these principles into my life and my dancing as well. It is important to experience a different point of view to enhance understanding. I already had a basic understanding of dance and somatics, but being able to experience t’ai chi and other eastern arts and dance forms has helped me to be able to expand my understanding.

Upon my arrival in Utah I performed the t’ai chi solo in a performance at the Dixie State College Tanner Amphitheater third annual St. George Contemporary Dance Concert. This performance allowed me to share with people at home the creative project I had been doing in China and allowed me to share my newfound knowledge and appreciation of Chinese culture with others. The concert was performed June 25 and 26, 2010. In addition to the performances, I also made a video recording of the t’ai chi solo in China, and compiled it with many pictures from China, making it into a DVD here in Utah.

I have just graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in dance from BYU and I will commence teaching professionally next month. As a teacher, I will continue to use the principles I have learned through this project as I teach and I hope to help others gain a greater appreciation of their bodies as a whole, and help them to find joy, understanding, balance and harmony through movement and learning correct principles. I feel that learning t’ai chi principles in China has helped me to be a better dancer and teacher. Through this creative project I was able to hone my writing and choreographic skills through constant creation and revision. I gained a better understanding and appreciation of dance, somatics and t’ai chi. It has also been a way to share love with the Chinese people through performing, as well as allowing me to share love and knowledge of the Chinese people with people here. In short, it helped me to make connections not only through the body with dance, but through connecting ideas and culture from the east and the west.