Comments on: Bartinieff Fundamentals

By: Natalie Horween

Natalie Horween — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:00:49 +0000

I really liked the guest artist, she really interacted well with us, and was very informative. Her energy made it a lot more interesting. I think that Bartinieff movement to the eye seemed really simple, but when we began to learn about all of the connections and where to place the “energy” in our body it became much more intense. I really enjoyed how she was explaining to move, it made me really focus on what my muscles were doing. Being more conscious of my body while I dance; or move in general will incorporate the techniques that she explained to us. The concentration on breathing really helped me, I have a tendency to not focus on my breathing. When it is your main focus to supply oxygen to your body it really keeps you more energized, and being winded is not as much of a problem. I really enjoyed how we began slowly and worked into the fundamentals of the technique, but she didn’t move so fast that we couldn’t remember what we had done the day before. It was really well taught, and it helped me with my presentation of pieces afterwards.

By: Tessie Herbert

Tessie Herbert — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:14:14 +0000

I was surprised at how much the Bartinieff Fundamentals are used in daily life. Everything from walking, bending over, turning, running, driving. I felt that these six categories were well translated to us and I had a really easy time remembering them. The guest artist gave a lot of good visuals (such as when you turn, you are pushing and pulling) and that helped me to fully understand each of the six categories. I think that these Fundamentals are used in everything we do in dance. Yoga really jumps out to me because that is all focused on breath and the Bartinieff Fundamentals work with that. Yoga also focuses on posture and therefore head-tail connectivity.

By: Paige Brubacher

Paige Brubacher — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:59:09 +0000

I liked the guest artist. She was energetic and you could tell that she really loved what she was doing. She wanted us to be interested and excited as well. I don’t think everyone liked her intensity but she got the message across. When she was explaining each body connection, she would do one at the same time. We got to see what it was while we heard her explain it. It always helps to have a visual to understand what is being said. I think we use all of the connectivities everyday and just don’t recognize them. We reach for things on shelves or stretch our bodies first thing in the morning when we wake up. It’s just human nature to move our bodies in certain ways and if we can apply the different connectivities to dance then we could be very productive. People may use these motions and not know it but we certainly don’t breathe the same way. It’s important to use our breath to move and when we do then the movement is able to fill the space and create a much more whole and appealing motion.

By: Chelsie Batko

Chelsie Batko — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:49:02 +0000

I found these Bartinieff techniques to be very effective in improving my movement. When the guest artist told us to pick just one of the six fundementals and to think about it while we were doing the combination i chose to do chore distal. It helped me so much with my balance and it also helped me to stay more focused through out the combination. I felt that this guest artist was very helpful and since this class i have tried to make a concious effort to incoroprate some of this fundamental techniques in my dancing. It has helped me already so much with my turns. Now whenever i dance a feel like all of my movements are much more connected and i feel that this guest artist overall has improved my dancing.

By: Diana Jo

Diana Jo — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:37:58 +0000

I didn’t really enjoy the guest artist, i felt that she treated us like we were five. However, i did like the whole concept of using breath while you are dancing, or in any type of movement. It all seemed to be greatly connected with yoga except with more spacious movement.

By: Julie Huck

Julie Huck — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:48:18 +0000

After those few days of the Bartinieff fundamentals I realized how important it is to use your breathing during dance. I didnt ever notice how I would hold my breath during certain moves but in reality it was holding me back and wasnt allowing me to release the move completly. For example, during my turns I tend to hold my breath, but when we were being taught to breath, my turns flowed more and became easier. The fundamentals also help distract you from some of the harder moves, it makes your body relax more and not notice how hard its working. It also helps you over-expand your moves, because breathing relaxes your body so much, its a very important factor.

By: Annie Zahour

Annie Zahour — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:47:44 +0000

I thought the Bartinieff Fundamentals were very interesting. As dancers, we are constantly being told to lengthen our lines and use more connectivity in our movements but, we don’t always know how to do so. The way the guest artist used imagery really helped me understand how to use the principles in a way that I will actually be able to apply throughout my dancing career. Because when you think about it, the Bartinieff ideas are applicable in all areas of dance. Being connected to your movement is what makes a good dancer great. I was so happy to have been given the oppurtunity to explore these ideas with the guest artist becuase it really is something that I have already applied to my dancing and will continue to do as I progress forward with it.

By: Kelsey Trotta

Kelsey Trotta — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:54:59 +0000

I mostly think of connectivity in terms of yoga because that seemed to be the most appropriate place where it fit in. It was generally fun to learn about all the ways of body movement through Barteneiff fundamentals. I especially remember how it can be applied to other things besides dance, for example singing. Posture is essential and the fundamentals help with that.

By: Kruti Vekaria

Kruti Vekaria — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:42:42 +0000

Although I was only able to participate in the second day of this guest artist coming in and teaching our class, I was able to really pick up quickly on all of the new concepts and ideas she was explaining. I thought the way she connected the Bartinieff Fundamentals to the movements she was teaching really demonstrated them well. As others have mentioned above, the biggest thing I took from her was the breathing aspect. Her constant reminder to focus on our breathing really opened my eyes to when I was inhaling and exhaling, and really helped me to expand my movement better. I even noticed a change in my breathing in my everyday movements after class.

By: Naomi

Naomi — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:56:09 +0000

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy having a guest speaker come in to talk about how dance could connect to our “mental wellbeing”. I have to admit, I went in to class the first day a little close-minded. But after the guest artist started to explain HOW everything in dance could actually be connected to pretty much everything about our everyday lives, I became significantly more interested.

I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed this style of dance. It was easy to follow, and I actually found it to be very beautiful and flowing. After the guest speaker left, I realized that that is exactly what the Bartenieff Fundamentals were invented for: making everyone’s life styles more “flowy”, enjoyable, and relaxing.