A Guide to a Somatic Movement Practice

An introduction to embodied movement through the work of a dance education pioneer In this introduction to the work of somatic dance education pioneer Nancy Topf (19421998), readers are ushered on a journey to explore the movement of the body through a close awareness of anatomical form and function. Making available the full text of Topfs The Anatomy of Center for the first time in print, this guide helps professionals, teachers, and students of all levels integrate embodied, somatic practices within contexts of dance, physical education and therapy, health, and mental well-being. Hetty King, a movement educator certified in the Topf Technique, explains how the ideas in this work grew out of Topfs involvement in developing Anatomical Release Techniquean important concept in contemporary danceand the influence of earlier innovators Barbara Clark and Mabel Elsworth Todd, founder of the approach to movement known as ideokinesis. Featuring lessons written as a dialogue between teacher, student, and elements of the body, Topfs material is accompanied by twenty-one activities that allow readers to use the book as a self-guided manual. A Guide to a Somatic Movement Practice is a widely applicable entry point into the tradition of experiential anatomy and its mindful centering of the living, breathing body.