Homage to the Body

This piece was conceived for the Music Staff Concert on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at Bryanston School in Dorset.

Working with the music scholars for several years in the capacity of Alexander Technique teacher, I wanted to compose and perform a piece which celebrated our human design, its evolution and development, capable of the skill required to play an instrument, to utilise breath and voice. The video I recorded afterwards – shown below – is a close approximation of what occurred in the live performance, which acted as a prelude to a wonderful evening of diverse music given by some of the talented music teachers in the department.

The piece begins in the horizontal, the floor as water. The fluidity of a body, whether human or our ancient origins, in response to water, designed with water. Desire for propulsion creates axis and side to side movement and, as water transitions to land, definition: more directional exploration emerges through limbs, through neck.

Profoundly connected and shaped by earth, we follow one thread amidst an abundance of improvisations, a stream of dialogue between environment and bodily design. That one thread is Mammalian. Mammalian, we explore precision, nuance and power through limbs, dynamic ranges of movement in spine, spatial awareness through eye and head movements.

And we move towards, we move towards, taking the chance to move upwards. Finding ways of support as we play with weight, contact, balance. Four limbs to the earth becomes two, our axis becomes vertically orientated, we stand and we move within spirals which delve into our environment and draw it out, creating wonders of movement and sound.

Acknowledgments

Gratitude to Robin Simmons for his many years of teaching and exploration of the ‘Dart Procedures’ from which some of the movements in this piece have derived.

Thanks to Merran Poplar for her dynamic approach to Dart’s work and introducing me to the spirals on the floor leading with eyes and head.

Thanks to Helen Poynor, movement in landscape artist for the weekend immersion in Movement Ritual by Anne Halprin, from which the spirals on the floor leading with the legs derives.

Profound thanks to the late Gabrielle Roth, my teacher for many years, who taught me about rhythm patterns and their manifestation in dance.

Thanks to Bryanston School for the use of their beautiful space for making this video and the enthusiasm and support of the music department who have given me the opportunity to create and perform this piece.