Group Motion in Practice

Brigitta Herrmann is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and movement educator. As co-founder and co-artistic director of Motion in Berlin, Group Motion Multimedia Dance Theater, and of Ausdruckstanz Dance Theater in Philadelphia, she is a leading force in the arena of dance/movement improvisation and choreography. The late Manfred Fischbeck was co-founder and co-artistic director of Group Motion Multimedia Dance Theater. A performer, teacher, choreographer, musician, and innovator in improvisation and dance technology, he taught dance at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and theater at the University of Pennsylvania. Elia A. Sinaiko, PhD, is an independent researcher in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Anna Beresin, PhD, is a play researcher and professor of liberal arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

The Origins of Group Motion

Group Motion in Practice

Dance Is My Life: Brigitta’s Story

Running into Dance: Manfred’s Story

Group Motion Performance Stories

Part I. Group Motion Game Structures

Solo/Duet

Active-Passive

Activation

Mirror

Closing Your Eyes

Self Portrait Dance

Solo Dance/Writing

Dialogue

Connected to Strings

Self-Activation

Breathing Movement

Final Reflections on Solo/Duet Forms

Circle

Impulse

Name Game

Adding

Final Reflections on Circle Forms

Space

Areas

Crystallization

The Grid

Shadow Dance

Exchange Game

Moving or Being Still

Triangle/Diamond Dance

Group Dialogue/Trialogue Dance

Final Reflections on Space Forms

Sound

Time Dance

Message Dance

Receiving Sound Energy

Conducting Sound Energy

Sound Activation/Soundscapes

Words into Sounds

Final Reflections on Sound Forms

Word

Traveling Landscapes

Say What You Do

Word/Movement Mirror

Chat Room

Writing Process and Activation

Textography

Storytelling Dance

Alter Ego Monologue

Alter Ego Dialogue

Final Reflections on Word Forms

Ritual

House or Village Square Dance

Object Dance

Group Activations

Tableaux Stills

Group Tableaux Travel

Evolution Cycle

Past Lives Circle

Doing Nothing: The Dance of Stillness

Game Sequences

Introduction to the Friday Night Workshop

Model of Group Motion on a Friday Night

The Significance of Ritual Dances

Part II. Group Motion Practices

Eight Therapeutic Principles of Group Motion

The Partnership of Dance and Music

A Process of Collective Creation

Community Performance Project

Monday Night Improv Lab

Moving Beyond the Games

Reflection on the Practice of Free Improvisation

Practice of Interaction with Technology

Part III. Closing Conversations and Meditations

Cooperation: The Universal Creative Principle

Dance as a Vehicle for Understanding Human Nature

The Awakening of the Body in the Technological Age

The Art of Dance and Transformation

The Art of Free Improvisation

From Then to Now and There to Here

Dance as an Art Form

Dance Is a Way of Life

Appendix I: Dance Chronology: Brigitta Herrmann

Appendix II: Theater and Dance Chronology: Manfred Fischbeck

Bibliography

Index