Journeying as Amateur and Professional – A Somatic Movement Approach

Abstract

This account is an interactive case study co-authored by a teacher and her student on the topic of moving from amateur to professional. It highlights the role of somatic education in equalizing the experience of amateurs and professionals as well as pointing to specific curricula, public performances, participatory events and volunteer work that are made uniquely available to students of programs related to Dynamic EmbodimentTM Somatic Movement Therapy (known as the Somatic Movement Therapy Training – SMTT from 1991-2005). Written in first-person narrative style (Powdermaker 1966), this inquiry supports the primary methodology of somatic education – the process of self-discovery “from within” (Hanna 1976) emphasizing the physical body with a focus on bodily proprioception and kinesthetic awareness – as well as the humanistic nature of the student-teacher relationship and the value of each in performance and education.