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A Comparative Study on Body Re-education Between Bartenieff Fundamentals and Topf Technique -Focusing on Floor Work-

Cho, Eun Sook 1 이경희 2

1중앙대학교
2서울여자대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, approaches to physical movements have centered on the monistic unification of spirit and body. It is the field of interest of professionals pursuing for pure arts and is also widely extended in overall society, emphasizing movement for both preventive and therapical purpose for maintaining a person's healthy spirit. Proper physical education is necessary in order to improve ability of self-expression and personal acceptance. In other words, only when a performer makes expressions by means of concrete movements coinciding with inner perception, spirit and body form integrational harmony, enabling sound life. Body Movement Therapy being extended as new field of study, somatics began in the Western society from the beginning of 1990's and has been applied in all fields of study dealing with movements. For the purpose of rich expression and activities of movements through physical arrangement and balance, the Body Movement Therapy ultimately means re-education of body that awakens kinesthetic perception. In other words, its purpose is to stimulate one's sprit and sense and then make stimulated internality expressed as proper outer behaviors. Bartenieff Fundamentals devised by Irmgard Bartenieff: 1900-1981 are methods of body re-education to develop personal expressions both in psychological and movement functional aspects and suggest Floor Works, which are composed of 6 basic exercises. Bartenieff's floor work has much similarity to the series of movements that are made while lying down among Tapf Techniques devised by Nancy Topf, 1942-1998. Just as Bartenieff studied body re-education on the basis of Laban's theory, Tapf developed movement series for body re-education on the basis of Ideokinesis theory. These two techniques are based on anatomical structure and functional study, and have a thread of connection in the aspect of pursuing physical arrangement through unification of body and soul. In addition, they are similar in the aspect of making the performer find right movements voluntarily rather than directing him of exact postures. Purpose of this study is to research Floor Works of Bartenieff Fundamentals and Topf Technique comparatively. Floor works of Bartenieff and Topf Technique are composed of simple movements and have been performed continuously for several years, to which all performers can easily approach. Nevertheless, at present, researches related to them are not sufficient. Therefore in this study, the researcher intends to argue principle and composition of movements through floor works performed in the two techniques. In order to achieve purpose of this study, the researcher intends to argue the concept of body re-education and floor works of Bartenieff and Topf Technique.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.