Page 175 - AC-3-3

Arts & Communication Digital somatic arts: Choreographing autonomy

etc., in order to get the most out of them. During their from the field of neurophenomenology: internal sensory
trials, I talk to my students continuously to get feedback mapping, 10,28 (ii) those from the field of neuroscience:
on the sensations they are experiencing and on the level the internal mappings of our body image related to
of pain relief or efficiency in movement that is being sensory and motor maps, and (iii) those from the field
29
sought, as the case may be. I avoid talking to them about of social psychology: the mapping of our contemporary
their pain because pain, at this stage, is a limit for them. subjectivities. 30,31
Instead, I bring their attention to what works well, direct
them to other possibilities, and make them aware of them, In this article, we only deal with the complexification
25,32
so that the brain learns from what works well, what the of our internal sensory mapping (Appendix 2). A
neurophenomenological posture is developed based
body can do without pain. I seek to clarify or confirm on the recognition of multimodality (different ways
the perception I have of their body in movement, of the
bodily situation to be worked on, given that perception of learning, including through sensation) and on the
33
via video conferencing is not the same, either for me or complementarity of varying intelligence, which is
for them, as if I were in the same physical space as them. one of the foundations of the strategy for revaluing
It’s a kind of destabilization. So I ask them to explore small and reprioritizing bodily intelligence. It is most closely
or large variations, according to my instructions, but also linked to somatic intelligence, which is characterized by
those they feel for themselves. And it’s here, in this more a heightened ability to feel, perceive, and connect. 34,35
personally led exploration, directed by sensation, which Sensory authority is the foundation of the three somatic
becomes the overriding information to follow (sensory principles enunciated earlier and, more specifically, of
authority), because they’ve agreed to adapt to this new sensory attunement.
learning situation (via video conferencing), that they’ve These interconnected principles, that is, sensory
acquired more autonomy and the maturity that goes harmonization, new learning context, and potentiated rest,
with it. It is therefore by developing their initiative (i) in seek to awaken individual autonomy, focusing attention
increasing the quantity of exploration choices through on the body’s sensory stimuli, its breathing, its tensions
movement, (ii) in becoming aware of the new sensations and successive muscular releases, and its contact with the
that are linked to these explorations, as well as (iii) ground, with another part of the body, or with another
through a better knowledge of themselves, that this great person. In our practical research, this means working with
improvement has developed and appeared. This initiative dancers (or students) to develop a state of total presence,
is linked to the acquisition of maturity, related autonomy, receptivity, and awareness of the moments when movement
and the ability to adapt to all these changes. My approach takes shape. Sensory attunement is therefore a particularly
focuses on the process, and the positive results emanate useful tool for developing movement that integrates new
from that, as focusing on the goal often makes us bypass learning environments, including technology, as it puts:
some crucial steps.
... emphasis on sensory awareness (paying attention
In these experiments, we paid particular attention to to feeling) rather than motor action (doing)... Giving
the notion of sensory authority, an important organizing dancers the opportunity to explore—and make sense
principle. Sensations are the first information considered, of—their deep sensations (neural signals) promotes
shaping the body’s internal organization, “They not “sensory authority,” which is a reference to autonomous
only provide the mind with material to organize, they orientation and control. Proponents of the sensory
are themselves a major organizing principle.” 11,27 By method insist on the principle of movement
incorporating new sensations, these are reorganized: in autonomy (the ability to self-organize movement
other words, our sensory cartography—the interrelation internally) in contrast to the methods usually used in
of sensations—within our body is restructured. Here, learning to dance..., kinesthetic awareness acts largely
these new sensations will be of several kinds: those felt as a powerful agent of change—a powerful means of
and experienced through new explorations of the body modifying habits. 36
in movement, and those provoked by the new learning
context linked to the video conferencing system (which we It is therefore an excellent tool for developing
termed “mediated sensations”). This is the phenomenon awareness of deep sensations and the introspective focus
of positive self-complexification, which is, in large part, a that participates in the process of transforming sensory
complexification of our internal cartography. Throughout mapping and self-complexification linked to the many
this collaboration, and thus in our interaction as researchers sensory-perceptual destabilizations at play in these
in different related fields, we became aware that several experiments, “It is, as Feldenkrais would call ‘efficiency of
types of cartographies are interrelated, namely: (i) those sensibility,’ a basis for learning how to learn.” 37(p201)

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 5 doi: 10.36922/ac.4477