Skinner Releasing Technique

I participated in a few classes in Skinner Releasing technique with Florence Peake which I really enjoyed. The Skinner Releasing Technique lets us practice letting go of; unnecessary muscle tension, holding in our body preconceptions about what is suppose to happen, what body a dancer should have, habitual ways of thinking and patterns allowing something new to happen. By doing this we find energy and power to rediscover alignment, improved strength and flexibility in a way that it feels natural to the body.  This technique really spoke to me as a dancer, it was maybe a turning point into the way I would go about achieving the steps that I wished. I have been classically trained and was always told to hold my body up to achieve such movements as pirouettes. But being told to pull your body up doesn't necessarily work for every individual dancer. I thought that if there was another way I could achieve the same results, but without the unnecessary muscle tension all over my body, then maybe it would be worth a try. 

Imagery is also a huge part of a class for the transformation process. Florence would guide us through a imagery movement score by voice, sometimes with our eyes closed, allowing us to embody the imagery and move in the way we wished. For me this created surprising ways of moving. but at the same time after class I still felt like I had been in a technical class. If I had continued to do this class weekly instead of say Ballet, would my technical ability have decreased or improved?

Pictures from my journal of imagery used within the class.