Irene Dowd

Irene Dowd I. Notes from Ideokinsis Website

- Majored in philosophy at Vassar College

(where she completed a thesis on body image in relation to movement for her Bachelor of Arts degree.)

In 1968,

- After she graduated from Vassar, she was into the Juilliard School As a special studies student focusing on choreography. → Became a student → Assistant of Dr. Lulu Sweigard.

- She also undertook class the study of human anatomy and neuroanatomy at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School.

In 1974 (The year of Swigard's death)

- She established a private practice in neuromuscular training.

60's~90's,

- Her personal study of dance and choreography was a constant through the 60's,70's and 80's when she studied with Merce Cunningham, Lucas Hoving, Antony Tudor and Viola Farber.

Into the 90's

- She also became a student of the movement sciences exploring the areas of motor control, brain lateralization, motor development, sensory motor integration, the neurobehavioral basis of locomotion, biomechanics and individualized fitness training.

1984-1986,

- She was co-principle investigator in a study on the “Effects of Neuromuscular Retraining on the Mobility of the Elderly,” with Judy A. Smith, PhD. R.N.

Dowd's record of professional activity since the 1970's includes the teaching of dance, composition, functional and kinesthetic anatomy and neuromuscular re-education.

Her articles and drawings have been published in many journals.

Now

- She teaches in Juilliard School.

- She has also designed a course for high school summer study students devoted to “Understanding

Technique.”

- In Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto.

- The National Ballet School has produced a series of videos the Dowd choreographed, directed and edited, including:

(1) Spirals

(2) Warming up the Hip: Turnout Dance and Orbits

(3) Trunk Stabilization and Volutes.

- Book: Taking Root to Fly: Articles on Functional Anatomy for Dancers.1981

From Ideokinesis.com→http://www.ideokinesis.com/dancegen/dowd/dowd.htm

II. From Dance Magazine-- Irene Dowd: Teacher's wisdom

Irene Dowd has developed a unique approach to injury prevention using neuromuscular reeducation.

She is an the dance faculty of The Juilliard School and The National Ballet School of Canada.

HOW IS ANATOMY VALUABLE FOR DANCERS?

- Anatomy doesn't tell us what to do, but how we're doing it.

- It is a way of describing what we're doing in great detail.

SO, YOU CHOREOGRAPHED WARM-UP SEQUENCES LIKE "SPIRALS"?

- Yes. They're designed to take our joints through all their possible motions and our muscles through all their possible length ranges, a sort of "equal rights" for all movement choices.

- I call it a warm-up because it's a starting place in which my mind and body are one.

- Dancing is about a constantly changing relationship with gravity.

HOW DOES VISUALIZATION HELP?

- We all use visualization. We have to have an idea of the movement we are going to perform in order to perform it.

- Our brain talks to our muscles constantly, so if they're not getting the message, our concept is blurry.

- The clarity with which we enter into the movement and the richness of our visualization will be constantly growing throughout our lives.

DO OUR HABITS HELP US AS WELL AS HINDER US?

- It's much more functional to think of them as strategies than as "good" or "bad" habits.

- Our body is our instrument. A guitar is tuned in different ways to serve different music. It's not that one tuning is wrong and the other is right--there are many possible tunings.

- If a strategy achieves certain goals effectively, that's magnificent! However, a particular strategy that worked so well for one goal may not be the best strategy for another goal. So, let's just add to our strategies.

DO WE GET INTO TROUBLE BY HAVING A "RIGHT" IDEA OF HOW TO MOVE?

- "Right" varies according to the movement goal.

- "Right" is constantly changing.

- Mabel Todd used to say, "The mind is an instrument of thought, not a museum."

From: Dance Magazine, June,2005-- Irene Dowd: teacher's wisdom

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_6_79/ai_n13803451

* Video: Irene Dowd “Resonance”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrlOFep5AqA