embodied practice

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EMBODIED PRACTICE

is a registered Canadian trademark.Its initiator and Founder is Judith KOLTAI

Experience and Training in Embodied Practice is offered exclusively by Judith Koltai as

well as a few experienced professionals trained and authorized by Judith Koltai in theforms of: classes and workshops open to the general public; specialized workshops for

experienced professionals; Masterclasses - an experiential research and study collectivefor advanced students and experienced professionals.

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Embodied Practice regards the human organism as Conscious and Autonomous Holon.(A 'holon' is a system which is whole unto itself, which is an integral part of a greater

whole than itself, and which itself is formed by smaller wholes.)

The Pedagogical Principles and Methodology of Embodied Practice are based on the

notion of Autopoiesis, which states that living systems, such as the human organism, are

capable of continually and dynamically adapting and changing themselves in the face of changing external conditions. They are syntonic (i.e. healthily and harmoniouslyresponsive). Such systems are best understood in terms of pattern and process rather than

static material structure. Therefore, what is essential in maintaining, attending to, and

training the human organism is not its physical composition or momentary structure,which constantly changes, but the continuing process by which it responds, adapts and

recreates itself.

The language and vocabulary of Embodied Practice is that of unfolding potential rather

than that of diagnosis, analysis or interpretation.

The pedagogy of Embodied Practice is experiential through the practice of the Disciplines of Syntonics and Authentic Movement .

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Judith KOLTAI, MA. ADTR

Diplome Technique Corporelles Therese Bertherat.Member of the Academy of Registered Dance/Movement Therapists.

Initiator and founder: Masterclasses in Embodied Practice and Syntonics(Registered Trademarks).

Founder and Animateur: The Cassandra Project – A Performance Collective

Regular Guest Faculty: The National Theatre School of Canada.

Director of Movement since 1989: The National Voice Intensive of Canada

For over 30 years, pioneer in body movement practices applied to education, the performing arts, psychotherapy and physical rehabilitation.

Pioneer in the application of the discipline of Authentic Movement to the

creative/performing arts and specifically to voice, text, writing and the initiation of original work.

Most current publications: Forms of Feeling - Frames of Mind in Contact Quarterly, Summer/Fall 2002,Vol.27,No.2Making Sense, Getting Through: "The Word's Body" in Canadian Theatre Review,

CTR 109, Winter 2002



To be published shortly: in Authentic Movement, Vol. II (Ed. Patrizia Pallaro) The Pleasure of the Text, Embodying Classical Theatrical Language through the practice of

Authentic Movement.

S Y N T O N I C S

is a registered trademark and is currently practiced exclusively by Judith Koltai and alimited number of experienced professionals trained and authorized by Judith Koltai.

The discipline is rooted in the principles of pioneer French physiotherapist, FrancoiseMezieres and the Anti-Gymnastique practice of Therese Bertherat (The Body Has Its

Reasons). It is also influenced by the discoveries of revolutionary German movementteacher Elsa Gindler introduced in North America by Charlotte Selver as Sensory Awareness.

SYNTONICS practice is guided equally by educational, rehabilitative and aesthetic principles.

The aim of SYNTONICS is the elimination of unconscious and dysfunctional muscular

and movement habits and the harmonious balancing between tonus and action in theskeletal musculature.

The practical tools of the discipline are the " Preliminaries": small, precise, repeated

actions inviting a new vocabulary and a special kind of attentiveness to sensory andkinaesthetic sensation. Initially supportive guidance by an experienced and attentive

teacher is required to ensure precision and to remind of and support attention and

consciousness. The most important goal, however, is the internalization of the principles

and practices by the student, so that both function and awareness are naturallyincorporated into daily activities and habit is replaced by conscious and freshly adaptable

responsiveness.

A U T H E N T I C M O V E M E N T

originates in the discoveries of pioneering dancer/choreographer Mary Starks Whitehouse

(1911-1979). It is rooted in practices and insights gained from revolutionary modern

dance teachers Mary Wigman (Germany) and Martha Graham (U.S.) as well as in psychiatrist Carl Jung 's revelatory understanding of the authentic/creative process in the

depth of the human psyche. Authentic Movement as a discipline was further developedand defined as a discipline by Janet Adler , a student of Mary Whitehouse and American

psychologist John Weir.

Authentic Movement is practiced in many varied contexts: as psychotherapy,

personal/creative investigation, mystical practice, contemplation, and as source of original artistic creation in dance, theatre, writing and visual arts.

The form of this practice is deceivingly simple. A ‘Mover’ (or several ‘Movers’)

moves, with eyes closed, consciously following spontaneous physical and vocal impulsesin the presence of an open-eyed Witness (or several witnesses). Within the container of

clearly defined and articulated guidelines of physical and psychological safety, the task of

both Mover and Witness is to bring a specific quality of attention to direct bodilyexperience. The guidelines free Mover and Witness from judgement, projection and

interpretation of spontaneously emerging personal and creative material. They invite

suspension of conventional forms and pressures of interaction and creation.

Informed and confirmed only by one's own authentic and tangibly experienced truth, both

Mover and Witness are enabled to access and bring forth material arising from the deeper

and often hidden layers of consciousness into articulable action, word, creation.



The discipline invites and teaches the ability to listen to deep internal cues. It is a practice

of uncompromising faith in one’s embodied intelligence and authentic creativeconsciousness.

embodied practice

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