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Arts & Communication Digital somatic arts: Choreographing autonomy

4. Neuroplasticity: A transformative need to develop—or relearn—when we’re in a learning
process situation. This is very important because the principles of
the Feldenkrais method are based on this acquisition of
Germain continues her testimony as follows: autonomy, and it is precisely this principle of autonomy
Feldenkrais believed that we can continue to learn that the technological environment of video conferencing
at any age. He rejected the notion, prevalent at the time, enabled me to exacerbate.
that after the age of 25 the brain no longer changes. Let me explain. When we’re children, we gradually
Recent research confirms that neuroplasticity continues acquire independence in locomotion, i.e., we learn to
throughout our lives, though it may take longer in the crawl, to go where we want, and then we learn to walk.
adult brain, 26,38 Feldenkrais himself learned to draw later In this way, autonomy and independence are created in
in life and observed the changes in adults he worked with. tandem with motional maturity. But sometimes, parents
Thus, neuroplasticity occurs at any age, which is crucial for will encourage their children to move faster than their
my work with adult subjects. natural mechanisms, so that they skip stages in their
Central to this transformation process is neuroplasticity development—such as crawling—and walk upright
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(Appendix 3). It is a process of neurogenesis. This straight away. This will cause coordination problems,
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is linked as much to learning through the exploration as the child misses stages of motor development. The
of movement, as to the ability to discern differences consequence is that this child develops a need for
between one’s internal sensations—a form of sensory approval. He or she will develop a need to perform to
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differentiation 41,42 —or to the subsequent interaction at attract parental attention, a need to please, rather than a
potentiated rest that enables neuronal programming or natural curiosity for exploration itself. In this situation,
reprogramming. Neuroplasticity is therefore at the heart the child learns to rely more on external factors than on
of the findings reported in this article. It implies the internal ones: internal sensations. He loses his connection
development of maturity, adaptability, and autonomy in to his body and no longer values the information his
learning, underpinned by awareness of the new sensations sensations provide (sensory authority). Consequently, he
brought about by the various factors involved, including develops a lack of autonomy, which is itself closely linked
the different immediate and technological environments. to this lack of maturity and to the difficulty of adapting to a
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Our approach to neuroplasticity is not merely cognitive, given situation. As adults, the teacher or specialist replaces
but involves a more anthropological vision in which the parent figure. For example, we want to please by being
different contexts, including environments, are taken into a good student, and we want to do the movement exactly
account. It is also an ecological approach linked to the as the specialist tells us.
transformation of our various contexts and environments, In these experiments, and in my practice in general,
and how they affect each other reciprocally, that is, as a I’ve found that a lack of autonomy and maturity will lead
co-evolution. This evolutionary phenomenon, a positive to a state of frustration. But neuroscientist Huberman
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complexification of the self, of our relationship to others suggests that frustration should be seen as part of learning.
and to the environment (including the technological He suggests approaching what we consider an error (pain,
environment), requires us to be aware of and consider for example) as information for our learning process. In this
(with sensory authority) the changes in our inner reference way, by redeveloping our maturity, we regain our autonomy
points. We are required to take into account sensory by listening to our internal sensations. By exploring for
differentiation, the sensation before, and the sensation themselves the different choices I propose or that students
after, in a new situation during the lesson. discover for themselves, by trying out different things
following my instructions, they rebuild confidence in
5. From frustration to creation: An their own ability. So it’s sensory authority that guides and
approach to learning promotes autonomy. This is what I mean by “self-reliance.”
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Germain explains: Gradually, my students will rebuild their confidence in their
own sensations, rather than relying on me as an outside eye.
When I talk about autonomy, I’m talking about another
autonomy than the one we introduced upstream, which 6. The body as a perceptual environment
concerns the ability to self-organize movement internally. within a plurality of environment, including
Here, I’m talking about autonomy and the maturity technological environments
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associated with it, which I became aware of during the
video-conference transfer provoked by the pandemic. In this article, the notion of environment is plural. It
The one I want to talk about here is the autonomy we is also one of the foundations of somatics. In forms

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/ac.4477