1. Descriptions of the FREE FLOW: physicality toward musicality
– What Is Dance?
– The Principles of the Biomechanics of the Human Body toward Freedom of Movement
– The Imperativeness of forming a New Educational Basis in Preparation for the Future

2. The Analyses of the Movements of Individual Dancers
(1) Adrian Carlo Bibiano Wollpert
: Improving the restricted foot movements, caused by the imbalance between the overly dominant quadricep and the underworking hamstring muscle group
: Being aware of the breathing patterns to strengthen the posterior chain
(2) Inesa Indurinaite
: How the Habitual posture of staying on her tiptoes as the primary way of generating tension while dancing, induces thoracic breathing patterns limiting the range of her movements

3. References

1. Descriptions of the FREE FLOW: physicality toward musicality

What is Dance?
Dance is the most explicit form of artistic expression toward freedom of movement. Freedom is the concept based on the physical state to be acquired by the volitional choices and actions, in which to satisfy the physiological and psychological requirements that the individual body continually generates. Thereby, the inherent impetus of dance is in the spontaneous movements toward the attainment of the total freedom of the individual body.

FREE FLOW: physicality toward musicality is a new physical education/ training method focused on biomechanics for the actualization of the total freedom of the individual body and its integrity by maximizing the physiological rhythmicality and musicality, in which the body continuously generates with its spontaneous movements.

In the biological context, the human body is to sustain itself spontaneously by its continual movements of which to balance between inflows and outflows. Respiration is responsible for generating the rhythmic flow that initiates all types of physical movements occurring within the body, in satisfying the requirements in which the individual body continuously produces for its survival. Furthermore, freedom is the concept based on the physical state to be acquired by one’s volitional choices and actions in attempting to address the physiological and psychological demands that undermine the balance of one’s body; so the balanced state obtained by one’s voluntary actions facilitates the further development of one’s body. The body functions and performs best, when balanced, for gratifying the inherent urges which are critical for the attainment of the total freedom of one’s own. Hence, the organic musicality manifests itself in the individual body with its innate respiratory flow, oriented toward reaching the optimal balance within itself.

In specific, the connectivity between the diaphragmatic breathing and the foot movements as the base of support is to enable bipedalism which is the typical quality of human movement; thus, this physical education method focuses on the evolutionary drive which is to propel the human body onward. One respiration comprises one inspiration and one expiration. During inspiration, the body takes oxygen to generate energy, there-by becoming stretched and tensed; whereas, during expiration, the body releases and expels the energy and by-product of carbon oxidation produced during inhalation, so becomes relaxed and bent forward to the ground. These up-and-down motions manifest in the body breathing diaphragmatically. The diaphragmatic breathing leads the abdominal muscles to contract eccentrically from the pelvic floor muscles, thereby producing the sufficient tension which is transmitted upward and downward. The foot primarily functions as the base of support in the upright standing posture which is the ready position to propel the body forward. Hence, the interaction between the foot and the contact surface converts the energy produced by respiration into the kinetic energy; this energy transfer, which occurs in various degree of velocity and intensity, from the innumerous variation of stances, determines the qualities of all types of the upstream movements.

-The Principles of the Biomechanics of the Human Body & the Total Freedom of the Individual

-The human body is to sustain itself spontaneously by continual movements of which to balance between inflows and outflows.
-The physical state of being balanced refers to the fundamental condition, which drives the body to move for fulfilling its needs in which the body generates.
-The urges of which the human body produces, define humanity in two qualities: the requirements necessary to reach the physical state of being balanced and the abstract desires wholly dependent on the individual’s creativity.
-The individual body unconditionally and independently generates the needs of which to form the basis of the individuality rooted in itself.
-Freedom is the concept based on the physical state of which to be acquired by one’s spontaneous choices and actions to satisfy the requirements of its own.
-The human body is the organic entity driven by the constant desire toward attaining the total freedom of the individual to survive as it is.

– The Diaphragmatic Breathing and the Forefoot Movements as the Base of Support <Two Determinants of Promoting the Connectivity of the Human Body>
-Breathing movements initiate and regulate all types of movements and physical actions, which happen in the human body.
-Diaphragmatic breathing is to produce sufficient energy to sustain the body in motion. Notably, diaphragmatic contraction is critical for maintaining the upright standing position. During inhalation, the body takes oxygen to produce energy, thereby becoming stretched upward and tensed; whereas, during exhalation, the body releases the air and energy thus becomes relaxed and bent forward to the ground. The diaphragmatic breathing causes the up-and-down motions, in which the kinetic energy originates.
-The mouth plays a role as the primary gateway in activating the diaphragm directly; the much deeper breath, than which commonly considered as a deep breath, can appropriately contract the diaphragm without inducing unnecessary tension in the neck, shoulders, and chest.
-The abdominal breathing is to stabilize the body thus produce a little stress; in doing so, all body parts remain relaxed, including abdominal muscles associated with respiration.
-The nose plays a role as the vital path in regulating calm breathing. During inhaling through the nose, the abdomen rises, and the other body parts become somewhat tensed not at a significant level. During exhalation, the abdomen falls and flattens, and the body becomes more relaxed, including facial muscles; therefore, the mouth softly opens; so expiration occurs through the mouth and the nose simultaneously.

-The foot takes a decisive role in supporting all types of upstream movements by transducing the energy generated by respiratory movements driven by abdominal muscles, into the kinetic energy in interacting with the contact surface as the base of support in the upright standing posture. In other words, the foot is the fundamental foundation, where the movements based on human locomotion begin and shape the physical characteristics of them. Thus, the features of one’s movements are cohesively relevant to how one’s foot moves and distributes the weight of its body upon itself.
-In fact, the flow of breathing is the first determinant, which modulates foot movements, from at any aspects; hence, these two factors have to be considered as one set of movements for the comprehensive understanding of one’s body and its way of moving.
-Technically speaking, the foot itself provides the more concrete clues for the further development of the individual than the respiratory movements do; because respiration is the activity associated with most of the abdominal muscles; whereas, foot movements are simple and clear to figure out its biomechanics.
-Accordingly, being aware of the physical characteristics of one’s foot is critical to attaining one’s freedom of movement. Furthermore, it should be the fundamental principle of the dance training methods, in which to protect and foster the spontaneity rooted in the individual body. Thereby, enhancing the understanding of the flat foot is integral to form a new educational basis of which to facilitate to develop the personalized training programs for each individual’s needs; because the physical symptoms related to the flat foot vary, according to the physical characteristics of individuals.
-Addressing those issues requires a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentality of the human body. In principle, the human body is to move spontaneously to fulfill the needs of its own; freedom is the concept based on the physical state, in which the body can obtain when meeting its needs; thus, the individual requirements, derived from its body, are the essential element to be addressed naturally for retaining the spontaneity of the individual.
-The education system, which is unable to renew itself with the new knowledge oriented toward reviving humanity, necessarily impedes the natural development of the body, thereby affecting significantly on the persons with physical vulnerability caused by the distinctiveness of their bodies.
-The foot with fallen arches are the typical features of the flat foot, which induce uneven weight distribution over the foot. From the technical viewpoint, an arch is a structure that sustains itself by its semicircular structure compressing itself to radiate the supporting force outward, converted from the downward pressure of the weight above.
-The human foot has three arches formed by tendons, ligaments, and bony structures, which shape the form of a half-dome together. In fact, the core of the biomechanics of strengthening and reviving the flat foot lies in maintaining this half-dome shape.
-The human body is supposed to stand on feet which support the mass of the body upon themselves; in the position in which feet stand apart and slightly point outward, the feet can optimally maintain the half-dome shape by distributing the body weight along the line of the fat pad. The arches in the foot become naturally activated with the body weight pressing downward in the right places. So walking in an opened posture can strengthen the forefoot and toes by promoting the forward-leaning motion of which to propel the body forward in delivering the sufficient amount of the body weight to feet, thereby revitalizing the foot slowly.
-In fact, walking is a simple movement, but, by focusing on keeping the right posture regulated by the diaphragmatic breathing, it can turn into the most effective tool for reviving the flat feet. The elementary movements always ensure the best result in addressing physical issues, but the process takes concentration, consistency, and spontaneity. One with flat feet tends to place one’s feet in parallel; because of the collapsed arches filling the space which is supposed to be lifted by arches; so one can hardly perceive the difference between two positions, a parallel and a slightly opened. Despite this handicap, one can figure out one’s innate angle for an unlocked position of the feet when being entirely relaxed in the supine position. In principle, all body parts naturally recover their original places when relaxed; hence, one’s feet are opened outward as wide as one’s pelvis opens.

-The followings are the basic exercises, which suggest the fundamental principles to address the foot-related issues; the flat foot is the issue to be dealt with by the personalized approach based on the fundamentals of the foot mechanics. The point of activating the foot lies in enhancing the forward-pushing motions in the upright standing posture; the pushing-motion begins with the forward-leaning posture, which allows the forefoot to bear the most of the body weight upon itself. Most importantly, the natural position to push forward comes with expiration which causes relaxation.

-Stand with feet slightly opened outward – all toes to stay on the floor
-Inhaling then squeeze the foot to activate the arches
-Exhale then relax the foot to increase the contact area of the forefoot by exhaling deeply through the mouth to induce relaxation
-Exhale deeply and slowly until the foot pops out to prevent the body from falling forward
-Squat on the forefeet, not on tiptoes
#If necessary, hands can touch the floor to support the body.
#The posterior muscles in the leg become activated.
-Bounce in the squatting position in various directions
-Crawl with the diaphragmatic-breathing flow (inhale to stretch upward and forward, exhale to relax downward)
-Exhale then drop and land on the forefoot
#Landing in order of ball-toes-heel according to the landing techniques to minimize shock
#When landing on toes, shock directly transmits and affects the kneecaps.
-Drop and jump (keeping the body leaning forward)
-Run with the forefoot strike (landing on the forefoot, not on the heel)
#The heel strike impedes the use of the posterior muscles, in which to push forward; knee joints cannot appropriately work to absorb shock
-Run with the diaphragmatic-breathing flow due to the postural deficiency

– FOREFOOT VARUS: the inverted forefoot
-The forefoot varus likely causes overpronation while compensating for supination prompted by inward angulation of the forefoot; thereby, the foot with a fully compensated forefoot varus exhibits the fallen arches.
-When entirely compensated, the forefoot is hypermobile to prevent itself from returning to the state of being angulated inward. Hence, the foot barely can extend and relax; the forefoot is unable to fully contact the ground and bear the body weight upon itself for the motion to push forward.
-The tension induced by the forefoot in compensating for its deformity is necessarily transmitted upward and impedes the relaxation caused by expiration.
-The tensed foot prevents the body from transducing shock into the kinetic energy, which makes the body leap upward (the bouncing motions).
-The shortened expiration is susceptible to developing the thoracic breathing, which eventually debilitates overall physicality by undermining the natural balance between the anterior and the posterior muscles.
-The thoracic breathing increases the dependency on the anterior muscles in compensating for the lack of activities of the diaphragm; hence, the muscles in the neck, chest, and shoulders abnormally overwork to keep the body breathing.
-The stiffness in the neck and shoulders is what the combination of the stifled movements of the foot and the thoracic breathing patterns; thus, educators/ trainers should address physical issues in the foot for further development.

– The Imperativeness of Developing the New Educational/ Training Method to Nurture the Inherent Creativity Rooted in the Individual Body

The human body is to attain its independence and spontaneity by retaining its inherent traits rooted in itself. Dance is one of the human activities to acquire the total freedom of the individual. The dance training, which only promotes duplication to learn specific movements without regard for the individual body, is not paradoxically adequate to retain traditions and methods; furthermore, it stifles the natural manifestation of one’s creative potentials by restricting one’s freedom of movement.
Dance techniques and training methods should not play a role in dictating and restraining one’s way of moving before one is aware of one’s body and its innate and organic breathing flow. Collecting information as to dance forms the basis of one’s archive; however, to make the accumulated data useful and accessible, data has to be selected from one’s authentic perspective in determining the link between the fraction of the whole and one’s body. Thereby, the individual has to be capable of evaluating and filtering data in relation to oneself. And naturally, the selective data by the individual cannot cover all aspects of which to be addressed, but it can compensate for its deficiency by communicating and collaborating with other individuals collecting and translating information from the viewpoints of their own; because humans are independent individuals but simultaneously social animals born interdependent each other.
The dance educator is the person in the position that conveys the selective knowledge of the body according to the purpose of the class; selection is the act which is determined by how one interprets the information in the given situation. Hence, the dance educator has to be capable of reorganizing the knowledge in which to be delivered, for designing the optimally personalized way to the educator’s body. By doing so, educators can obtain the essential abilities to foster the spontaneity of each learner, and the profound understanding of their task to overcome the limitation as an independent individual being unable to sense the bodies of others. The possible best selection manifests itself in the course of translating the knowledge of dance for the particular purpose then becomes one’s own.

2-1: The Analysis of Adrian Carlo Bibiano Wollpert’s movements

written by Wooguru Kw

: Improving the restricted foot movements, caused by the imbalance between the overly dominant quadricep and the inactive hamstring muscle group
1: Characteristics of A.C.B.Wollpert’s movements
2: How to improve foot movements and to enhance the functionality of the foot
3: How the restricted foot movements increase the dependency on the anterior muscles of the body
4: Suggestions for strengthening the posterior chain

1: Characteristics of A.C.B.Wollpert’s movements
Adrian Carlo Bibiano Wollpert is outstanding at using his tremendous strength for his unique movements. In specific, his upper body driven by the anterior chain is what defines the characteristics of his way of moving by facilitating his powerful and creative moves.
Conversely, his foot movements automatically follow and repeat the same patterns apart from the energetic flow driven by his arms, shoulders, and primarily by his neck. Moreover, his forefoot barely contacts the floor while dancing, which means that the foot does not hold the sufficient amount of the weight upon itself, of which to activate its function as the base of support in the upright standing.
However, the moves popping out from the squatting positions come more naturally than any other moves he does; because his forefoot becomes active as he comfortably leans forward while squatting. Otherwise, his foot movements are necessarily and frequently incompatible with the dynamic flow led by the upper body parts; thus, as his moves become intenser while dancing, his body must focus on not losing the balance instead of finishing the robust and authentic moves entirely.
On that point, improving his foot movements is the highest priority to restore the balance of the body in forming the basis for developing the inherent creativity rooted in his body, which can entirely manifest in his naturally balanced body.

2: How to improve foot movements and to enhance the functionality of the foot
-The foot is to serve as the base of support in the upright standing position; hence, the interaction between the foot and the contact surface is decisive to modulate all types of the upstream movements. So enhancing the connectivity between the foot and all extremities of the upper body is paramount to maintaining the overall balance, activating all body parts as the unified one.

-The human foot is the most complex body part, which comprises 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and this complexity is to interact with the contact surface in converting the shock and stress caused by breathing movements into the kinetic energy. Furthermore, most of these functional structures are in the forefoot, not in the heel, which is the rigid bony structure without joints, built to stabilize the body; therefore, the level of connectivity increases proportionally to the contact area of the forefoot in bearing the weight of the body upon itself.
-The human feet are supposed to be slightly angled outward as the arch of the human foot is in the shape of the half-dome, which subsides outward along the fat pads surrounding the bottom of the arc. Also, all toes can stay on the floor when feet open slightly outward. By putting feet apart and somewhat open outward, the arch of the human foot can sustain the body optimally with the lord upon itself, which compresses downward.

3: How the restricted foot movements increase the dependency on the anterior muscles of the body
-The knees collapse inward when the arch of the foot is unable to distribute the stress outward; this is the typical symptom caused by the habitual posture to keep feet together and parallel, which impairs the natural function of the arch of the human foot. While standing on feet parallel, the knees turn slightly inward, the longitudinal area lying between the big toe and the rearfoot holds most of the body weight upon itself without the sufficient support from the half-dome-shaped-arch connected to other four toes. Thus, the lateral muscles of the front thigh (the quadriceps) overwork in compensating for the lack of support from the arch, whereas, the inside and backside of the leg (the hamstrings) become inactive thus weakened as well as the lower abdominal muscles.
-The lowest abdominal muscles (the pelvic floor muscles) plays a decisive role in regulating the diaphragmatic breathing, thereby providing the foundation of the upright standing position. So the inactivation of the lowest part of the torso debilitates the respiratory ability of which to hold up the lower spine, causing the loss of the natural curve of the lower spine.

-Flat back syndrome (the loss of the curve) and lordosis (the hyper inward curvature) are the typical symptoms in the lower back, in which the abnormal breathing flow to inhibit expiration, induces and aggregates in principle. The tension arisen from respiration is supposed to be released in maintaining the balance between inflows and outflows, in conjunction with expiration, in which to unconditionally cause the relaxation throughout the whole body during the event.
-Expiration is the process of releasing the air and energy, generated by inspiration. As the diaphragm relaxes, the level of the tense in the abdominal muscles decreases; then the abdominal muscles descend from its lowest part (the pelvic floor muscles), which plays a role as the fundamental foundation in sustaining the body in the upright standing position. Therefore, the descending motion, which takes place in the lowest abdominal muscles, catalyzes the relaxation throughout the whole body. The body automatically leans forward as the abdominal muscles release the tension from the muscles around the bladder (the middle of the body) to the gluteus muscles (the backside of the body). The lower abdomen slightly pushes itself backward; that force makes the upper body bend and pushes forward. In doing so, the organic breathing flow plays a role as the driving force of which to propel the human body forward. The human foot is what evolved to support human locomotion led by the force to push forward. Thus, the human foot is unable to function when the abdominal muscles do not allow themselves to relax during expiration.
-Upright walking is the particular movements to exhibit how the human body maintains the balance by continuous movements. First, the diaphragmatic breathing propels the body forward and regulates the continuation of movements. Secondly, the posture to slightly lean forward is what diaphragmatic breathing promotes to boost the efficiency of human gait. While walking, the body must set itself to shift its center of gravity forward; in other words, the heel should be functional as the starting point of the pushing motion. The position to slightly lean forward enables the foot to roll from the heel to toes in phase.

4: The suggestions for strengthening the posterior chain
-Exhale then lean forward until the foot pops out
-Exhale then drop down then land on the forefoot
-Exhale then lean forward + Inhale then jump forward
-Exhale then squat + Inhale then jump in various directions
-Squat then bounce
-Squat then crawl
-Run with the forefoot strike
-Sprint with the forefoot strike
-Exhale then crouch + Inhale and stretching out
-Crawl to relax the shoulders and the neck
-Exhale and roll
-Swing in hanging on the high bar

2-2: The Analysis of Inesa Indriunaite’s Movements

written by Wooguru Kw

: Improving the habitual posture excessively dependent on the tip-toeing for maintaining the balance while dancing

1: Characteristics of Inesa Indriunaite’s Movements
2: How to Maximize the Functionality of the Foot& The Use of the Heel
3: How the Thoracic Breathing Impairs the Balance of the Body
4: Suggestions for Enhancing the Mobility of the Knee and Ankle

1: Characteristics of Inesa Indriunaite’s Movements
Inesa Indriunaite has her authentic rhythmic flow, which brings the vital energy onto her dancing moves; bouncing motions naturally develop into the notable explosive movements. She seems to instinctively be aware of how to promote the connectivity between the lower and the upper body and enjoy the spring that she generates.
In specific, staying on her tiptoes as the regular posture is what characterizes her way of dancing. When standing on tiptoes, the center of gravity shifts forward; therefore, the body naturally leans forward; this slightly leaning forward position increases the connectivity between the lower and the upper body.
However, while staying on tiptoes, the muscles in the legs and torso remain tensed; notably, the knees and ankles are unable to bend, thereby restricting exhalation which unconditionally induces relaxation throughout the entire body. Moreover, the stifled expiration inevitably shortens the subsequent inspiration so disrupts the aerodynamic process to produce energy; evidently, this is the typical cycle to prompt the thoracic breathing (a.k.a shallow breathing).
In doing so, she bends her knees to change her position from the standing into the lying-sitting on the floor when being unable to sustain the posture to stand on tiptoes while dancing; this is the recurrent pattern caused by her habitual posture. Therefore, her body usually has not much strength to explore other possibilities of her creative potential in another dimension. Thus, training to use all parts of the foot would broaden the range of motion of her body.

2: How to maximize the functionality of the foot& The use of the heel
-The human heel is the rigid bony structure covered by fat pads, in which to support and stabilize the human body upon itself in the upright standing posture. In specific, the heel bone, which is the largest among elements constitutes a foot, is responsible for stabilizing the body, not for absorbing the shock prompted by intense physical activities. Therefore, the role and function of human heels in motion is limited. However, human heels are the unique and essential feature of the human locomotion, in which human evolution toward standing upright results in its development.
-The upright standing is the primary posture of humankind, which requires lots of tension and energy to maintain; thus, the body automatically sustains itself by promoting the diaphragmatic breathing, in which to produce the necessary amount of power for human locomotion.
-The deep inhalation through the mouth naturally and directly activates the diaphragm to contract (to move downward); the tension generated in the course of contracting the abdominal muscles is transmitted downward and upward throughout the whole body. Hence, the diaphragmatic breathing induces the body to stretch lengthily.
-As the tension heightens, the center of gravity shifts back to heels and rises as the body becomes erected and extended upward. Thereby, when being fully stretched thus tensed, the body stands on heels, so most of the body weight is concentrated on heels, and the dependency on heels is highest. However, this state of being entirely erected, in which to gaze forward at a right angle only happens momentarily at the pick of inhalation. Therefore, there are two ways to stay in this position: keeping inhaling or holding the breath. However, the human body does not employ either one of these or both in the natural breathing flow, in which exhalation subsequently takes place as long as inhalation does; also, during exhalation, the body behaves oppositely in maintaining and restoring the balance in itself.
-The body continually breaths to sustain itself and cannot stop moving while breathing. One respiration comprises one inspiration and one expiration. So during exhalation, the body becomes unconditionally relaxed and bent forward down to the ground naturally. The balance of the human body lies in the constant motions led by breathing movements; in doing so, the body spontaneously moves forward and backward, upward and downward for what is optimal for itself. Also, the center of gravity shifts continuously so does not stay in the same spot, and the degree of intensity or the quality of movements is wholly dependent on how breathing movements flow.
-On that point, to stand longer on heels than one’s natural length of inspiration, one’s body has to keep up the tension either consciously or unconsciously. While holding the tension, expiration cannot take place naturally in preventing the body from being relaxed. Hence, one’s expiration necessarily becomes shortened thus induces the thoracic breathing, in which the upper chest muscles barely regulate respiration.
-The human heel can appropriately function when playing a supportive role in distributing the weight, not in carrying the most of the body weight in standing. The interaction between the forefeet and the knees is critical maintaining the spring and connectivity of the kinetic chain, which converts the tension generated by inhalation into the kinetic energy. Above all, sufficient ground contact ensures natural and efficient energy conversion. In line with the biomechanics of the foot, the contact area of the forefeet increases while relaxed that can happen quickly or slowly during exhalation. Conversely, the forefeet can hardly contact the ground while the heels hold most of the body weight upon themselves; if that tendency lasts long enough to turn into the habitual posture, the kinetic chain cannot avoid from being stifled in the end.

3: How the Thoracic Breathing Impairs the Balance of the Body
-The thoracic breathing (a.k.a shallow breathing) is the abnormal breathing pattern commonly found in individuals ranging from the normal to the professionally trained. In fact, the upright standing is susceptible to developing the thoracic breathing due to its postural instability; first of all, all kinds of the abnormal breathing patterns take place when the body is unable to maintain the natural position, which ensures postural balance. From the technical viewpoint, when the center of gravity stays in the area that lies between the forefoot and the heel, the body in the upright standing position remains balanced.
-Furthermore, organic breathing means the respiratory pattern to initiate the body into the position of which to be regulated by each of inspiration and expiration. In specific, each of inspiration and expiration physically affects the whole body regardless of its length, depth, and intensity; every part of the human body moves and reacts simultaneously as one organic entity at all time in the natural position. Hence, regarding the upright standing, the natural position promotes the connectivity of the body between the lower and the upper parts, which facilitates transmitting the tension and the relaxation, in which respiration produces and induces. Thus, the overall balance of the human body is dependent on the interaction between foot and respiratory movements.
-The diaphragmatic breathing is entirely responsible for maintaining the stability of isometric and eccentric contractions, in which the vertically erected posture requires; also, the diaphragmatic contraction regulates the movements of the lower spine (the lumbar spine), which is critical supporting the body.
-The thoracic breathing occurs when the eccentric contraction led by the upper chest muscles is dominant over the isometric contraction initiated by the abdominal muscles in regulating respiratory movements. Various variables cause the abnormal breathing patterns related to the thoracic breathing; however, all patterns are relevant to the following two symptoms: the impaired capacity of exhaling and the high dependency on heels in sustaining the body in standing. The upper chest muscles become highly activated to compensate for the lack of the abdominal movements, in which to generate the power to stand upright, thereby not collapsing downward.
-Technically, the upper chest muscle groups linked to the muscles of the shoulders and neck, involuntarily pull upward in making lungs move; this circuit of inefficient and artificial motions inevitably and continuously produce the unnecessary tension on the chest, the shoulders, and the neck. However, paradoxically, holding the abnormal tension induced by the thoracic breathing is necessary to sustain the upright standing posture when the diaphragm is unable to contract at a sufficient level. In short, the thoracic breathing refers to the disconnectivity in which stifled breathing patterns and uneven weight distribution cause.

4: Suggestions to enhance the mobility of the knee and ankle
-Increase the weight-bearing area of the foot
-Exhale then relax the facial muscles (closing eyes)
-Inhale then open eyes
-Inhale then stand on tiptoes in phase + Exhale and relaxing the foot
-Exhale then lean forward
-Exhale then lean backward
-Exhale then drop and bounce in the squatting position
-Walk forward in rolling the foot from the heel to the big toe
-Walk backward in rolling the foot from the big toe to the heel
-Squat in various ways
-Kneel to stretch the anterior muscles in the leg
-Stepping up and down
-Exhale then crouch + inhale and stretch
-Exhale and roll
-Crawl to release the tension in the lower back and the neck

Jack Kahn & Susan Elinor Wright, Human Growth and the Development of Personality:

Social Work Seriesvon (Pergamon Press Ltd. 1965)

Andy C. Pratt, Resilience, locality and the cultural economy (Department of Culture, and Creative Industries, School of Arts and Social Sciences, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK)

Culture and the Behavioral Manifestations of Traits: An Application of the Act Frequency ApproachA. Timothy Church, Marcia S. Katigbak, Lilia G. Miramontes, and Alicia M. del Prado (Journal in US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health)

I will participate in the IDOCDE symposium in the ImPulsTanz festival 2018 as an invited guest for its annual discussion forum “Kitchen Table.”
(International Documentation of Contemporary Dance Education)

3. A brief analysis of the movements of the dance teachers in the MTD lab in Budapest 2018

: The Compressed Lips While Dancing

1. Subject: Why Do We document Dance?

Documentation is the human trait in principle. Each of individuals documents one’s life on one’s terms. All types of documentation are to pass down the accumulated and refined knowledge to posterity in the hope of providing the better ground to start and enrich their lives. Dance documentation is also in line with the eventual goal of human activities.

1.5. What is dance? Why does dance deserve to be documented?

One’s spontaneous, and thus free movements are the origin of all kinds of the dance styles. The core of which to define the concept of the contemporary dance is the unweary yearn toward attaining the total freedom of the individual. Dance is the most explicit form of expression for individual freedom. Thereby, dance documentation can contribute the progress of humankind by fostering the awareness of the human body and its meaning.

2. Premises: What is the human body? How can dance be documented?

The human body is to sustain itself by continuous movements, which balance between inflows and outflows until the end of its life. Breathing movements initiate all physical actions of the body in principle. During inhalation, the body intakes oxygen to generate energy and becomes stretched upward and tensed to retain energy. Conversely, during exhalation, the body releases energy from itself and becomes relaxed and bent forward to the ground. Thereby, breathing control means being capable of adjusting the body freely during both inspiration and expiration. Each of human bodies has distinguishing features, which constantly generate the requirements of its own; the body moves automatically and naturally to satisfy its urges for its survival as it is. The human body is to attain its independence and spontaneity by retaining its inherent traits rooted in itself. Dance is one of the human activities to acquire the total freedom of the individual. The documentation of dance, which promotes duplication to learn specific movements without regard for the individual body, is not paradoxically adequate to retain traditions and methods; furthermore, it stifles the natural manifestation of one’s creative potentials by restricting one’s freedom of movement. Dance techniques and training methods should not play a role in dictating and restraining one’s way of moving before one is aware of one’s body and innate and thus organic breathing flow. Collecting information in dance forms the basis of one’s archive; however, to make the accumulated data useful and accessible, data has to be selected from one’s authentic perspective in determining the link between the fraction of the whole and the core of one’s body. Thereby, the individual conductor has to be capable of evaluating and filtering data in relation to oneself. And naturally, the selective data by the individual cannot cover all aspects of which to be addressed, but it can compensate its deficiency by communicating and collaborating with other individuals collecting and translating information from the viewpoints of their own; because humans are independent individuals but simultaneously social animals born interdependent each other. The dance educator is the person in the position that conveys the selective knowledge of the body according to the purpose of the class; selection is the act which is determined by how one interprets the information in the given situation. Hence, the dance educator has to be capable of grasping how the knowledge of the body works in the educator’s body to overcome the limitation in which one can only sense the body of one’s own as it is. In doing so, the possible best selection manifests itself in the course of translating the data of the body movement for the particular purpose into one’s own. In conclusion, the essential quality of the dance educator lies in the ability to sense the educator’s body as it is.

2.5. How to sense one’s body as it is

Breathing is prior to all types of body movements, which means that all dance techniques regardless of the styles unconditionally originate in breathing movements. To master a specific technique, one should be aware of which to enable the intended movements to happen in one’s body. One respiration comprises one inspiration and one expiration, which induces the continuous up-and-down motions. As mentioned above in paragraph 2, the body automatically regulates itself by balancing of inputs and outputs, tension and relaxation. During inhalation, the body becomes stretched and produce tension to retain energy. In contrast, during exhalation, the body becomes relaxed and bent forward to the ground and releases energy to recover its loss and fatigue in preparation for the next move. In fact, the importance of expiration in motion, which causes relaxation, is evidently neglected; therefore, most of the people feel the difficulties to control their bodies during exhalation and rather hold their breath to keep up the tension. However, to maintain the body in balance, the ability to exhale and relax during exercise has to be regained. The conscious mind controls the tension and contraction of the body; conversely, relaxation is the physical state of being not consciously controlled in which the gravitational force takes a role in maintaining the body in motion. The body does not collapse in standing while exhaling inducing the relaxation; because the body automatically regulates and protect itself; meaning, one should allow the gravitational force to pull the body downward, not obsessing with controlling by oneself during exhalation against the organic flow of the body. Accordingly, one can restore the inherent balance of one’s body and sense oneself as it is when breathing naturally.

3. The brief analysis of the movements of the dance teachers in the MTD lab in Budapest

I carefully watch people’s movements to understand how they feel and what they genuinely want. The following is the outstanding tendency found among teachers during the seminar in Budapest in March 2018.

: The compressed Lips While Dancing

The compressed lips while dancing appear with the facial muscle groups highly tensed, which stifles the natural process of expiration inducing the relaxation across the body. Evidently, facial muscles are supposed to become relaxed as one exhales to open itself; the mouth is naturally open to release the air as well as the nose, regardless of ways of breathing, e.g., the abdominal and the diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing through the nose naturally links to the abdominal breathing, which directly inflates the abdomen during inspiration. As the stomach swells, the center of gravity shifts downward to stabilize the body, and the body does not produce enough tension to sustain itself for intense physical activities of which to require the frequent shifting of the center of mass, ranging from walking to swimming. Keeping up the tension on the facial muscle groups during expiration is the determinant of inducing the thoracic breathing, also known as shallow breathing, which necessarily impairs the connectivity of the body and movements. More accurately, the body can intake air as much as it releases out of lungs; hence, breathing becomes more frequent and shallow in compensating the lack of oxygen; the range of motion is significantly limited. One can inflate lungs by breathing through the nose; however, it requires to generate the unnecessary tension during the entire process. In doing so, one has to concentrate on sustaining one’s body not to collapse and thereby cannot avoid being distracted continuously due to the lack of energy. The upright standing is the basic position of the human body in which to be supported by the diaphragmatic breathing. In maintaining the erect posture, the core muscles contract and narrow the abdominal space during inspiration; in succession, the lower back is inflated and stretched upward. In general, breathing is carried out through the mouth and the nose at the same time according to the natural process of respiration comprised of tension and relaxation; all body parts are interdependent to be cohesively connected as one organic entity of which to be affected and driven by the same determinant. The dependency on whether the mouth or the nose in breathing is entirely dependent on one’s purpose and way of moving, for instance, the response speed of the diaphragmatic breathing is much quicker than the abdominal breathing takes. Thus, the mouth plays a primary role in conducting the task which requires either the instant reactions or much power. Conversely, one can benefit from breathing through the nose to slow down the velocity of motion, and to move in place for physical activities like yoga and singing.

3)Understanding breathing movements to enhance the spontaneity of the body

1)The human being is the distinctive species, which differentiates itself from the other living beings on earth. The human body shaped by its characteristic ways of moving provides the connotation to ponder the eventual aim of humankind. Thereby, the upright standing symbolizes the essence of the human evolution toward attaining the total freedom of the individual as it is. And human hands liberated from the function of locomotion takes a crucial role in enabling humans to satisfy their distinct needs for survival as human beings. In principle, the body of every life form constantly moves to maintain its life until it perishes, and each species optimizes its ways of moving to meet its requirements to survive. However, the upright standing necessarily reduces the overall mobility of the body and even increases the vulnerability to the gravitational stress, which perniciously erodes the physical balance; despite all the disadvantages that restrict physicality, humans can benefit from this physically imperfect position in fostering creativity and individuality. Weight shifting with four limbs requires full attention and consumes much energy; therefore, more frequent rest and longer recovery time are necessary to sustain the body than the upright standing needs. By contrast, the human body in the standing position is to stabilize itself with a high level of energy efficiency and thereby to accumulate the surplus energy more than for its survival. Hence, humans driven by the surplus energy can create the physical state that promotes the unique cohesion of brain activities and free hands. In doing so, the uniqueness of the independent body naturally manifests itself in its free movements oriented toward obtaining its sovereignty for meeting the desires of its own, and this moment of freedom is what humans pursue. Hence, the notion of freedom for humankind is inexplicable apart from the understanding of individuality formed by the needs of one’s own. The human being’s sense of individuality is more decisive in explaining humanity than any other creatures possess; thus, the freedom that humans pursue means the holistic state resulting from the actions to meet one’s requirements to survive as one is. Thereby, individuality is the critical trait that defines humanity.

2)Individuality is an inherent feature rooted in one’s body that drives one to attain the freedom of one’s own; thus, it is the virtue to be retained, not to be obtained. And one’s spontaneous movements materialize one’s individuality as it is; therefore, one can focus on one’s action when one is aware of oneself. In that sense, fostering spontaneity of the human body is a prerequisite to developing human abilities to meet human desires.

3)The human body spontaneously sustains itself by perpetual movements in which breathing performs an essential role in initiating all types of physical actions by regulating the internal energy circulation in interacting with nature. Respiration comprises one inhalation and one exhalation in balancing of inflows and outflows to maintain the state of equilibrium. In detail, during inhalation, the body becomes stretched in taking oxygen to generates energy. By contrast, the body becomes relaxed in releasing energy from itself. And the respiratory mechanism controlled by the abdominal movements induces the continuous up-and-down motions that affect every single cell in the body at the same time and thereby enable the body to react in unison. And the following factors; the condition of the body and the mental state are decisive to dictate how breathing flows; furthermore, these elements are entirely dependent on the state of the individual’s body and mind. On that point, contemplating what drives one to move in specific ways is vital in analyzing one’s breathing flow in which one’s movements originate. Thereby, the human respiration research encompassed the individualized approach to one’s breathing flow forms the basis that bolsters the holistic understanding of human movement and humanity.

: The Diaphragmatic Breathing and The Abdominal Breathing

The ways to produce tensions in the body differentiate between the diaphragmatic breathing and the abdominal breathing. Otherwise, both forms of respiration take the same role in maintaining the balance of the body.

: The Characteristics of the Diaphragmatic Breathing

-The diaphragmatic breathing is to generate more energy than the abdominal breathing does for locomotion and intense activities that require frequent weight shifting.

-Inhaling through the mouth causes the instant reactions of the diaphragm to contract abdominal muscles.

-During exhalation, the vertically stretched body releases energy and becomes relaxed and bent forward down to the ground; this passive descending motion driven by the body weight generates additional kinetic energy regardless of the degree of velocity.

-Breathing through the mouth to activate the diaphragm differs from the mouth breathing. The mouth breathing occurs when the abdominal muscle group related to respiration is incapable of producing enough power to control the diaphragm; therefore, the muscles in the chest, shoulders, and the neck are more engaged in respiratory movements than abdominal muscles to adjust the abdominal pressure regulating the motions of lungs. In other words, this abnormal breathing called the chest breathing or the thoracic breathing causes unnecessary tensions in the chest, shoulders, and the neck that restrict the organic movement flow. Thus, the abdominal muscles associated with the respiratory system remain loosened perpetually and eventually become incapable of regulating the breathing flow.

: The Characteristics of the Abdominal Breathing

-The abdominal breathing is to relax and stabilize the body.

-The nasal breathing is naturally relevant to the abdominal breathing. Inhaling through the nose causes the lateral expansion of the abdomen; thus, the location of the center of mass stays below the waistline.

-While breathing abdominally, all body parts except the abdominal muscles associated with respiration can relax; because the diaphragm does not contract hard to expand the body. Therefore, the level of tension caused by the abdominal breathing is low compared to the diaphragmatic breathing produces in general.

-Exhaling through both the mouth and the nose at the same time is beneficial to release the air entirely from lungs, and to relax the facial muscles as well. During expiration, all body parts are naturally relaxed, including the facial muscles; hence, the mouth becomes open slightly. The compressed lips necessarily produce tensions transmitted to the face, the neck, and the shoulders; thus, it impedes the natural breathing flow.

-The nasal breathing can lead the diaphragmatic breathing if the abdominal muscles can contract hard enough with a limited supply of oxygen; this way of breathing takes practice based on a proper understanding of breathing mechanisms and thereby does not occur spontaneously in the natural state of the body unless it may end up with the chest breathing.