History and Evolution of Corporeal Expression
Source E C.
Decade of the 60s: Turning Point of Corporeal Expression
In 1921, José Luis Moreno founded an improvisational theater complex, shifting therapeutic action towards psychodrama. In 1923, Jacques Coplan EC used the term, including classical and modern dance, theater, and mime. He aimed to communicate through bodily activities, seeking more than simple creation and improvisation. In 1924, Coplan founded the Parisian School of Dramatic Art, using mask work for actors to release verbal language and speak with the body. In the 1920s, Martha Graham’s dance created messages based on introspection and social analysis. During the second and third decades of the century, body expression became a reaction technique. In psychology, W. Reich and J.L. Moreno reacted against the couch; in theater, against the text; in dance, against technical education, passivity, and lack of creativity.
Body Practices
Pujade-Renaud (1975) lists the following:
- Physical training is integral for an actor.
- Modern dance includes expressive dance.
- Some universities integrate it into lifelong learning.
- Some psychiatric clinics create body language workshops.
- Training organizations offer psycho-body language courses.
- Voluntary workout sessions focus on expressive activities.
- The socio-cultural field grants it a significant place.
Characteristics of Physical Expression
- Represents a reaction against the power of the word.
- Rejects mechanistic, deterministic, and reductionist views of man.
- Highlights the importance of personal creativity.
- Represents a resolution between nature, culture, and sexual revolution proclamation.
- Largely opposed to the system.
Arrangements in the Practice of Physical Expression
Blouin Le Baron (1985):
- Physical theater: stage show or pedagogical.
- Psychoanalytic metaphysics current.
T. Teruel For Motorcycles (1983):
- Counseling as a therapeutic technique.
- Guidance stage in actor preparation/orientation.
- Dance school guidance.
Preparation of the Actor as Psychophysical Training
To eradicate actor blocks, resulting in the actor’s release and the unification of external impulses (Grotowski).
Currents in Psychological and Psychoanalytic Thought
This current integrates body expression into psychoanalytic therapy, viewing it as a technique for self-realization. It seeks to deepen and express inner experiences, using the body as a means of liberation. J.L. Moreno pioneered body techniques in psychotherapy. In the seventies, Californian techniques included sensory awakening for a reunion with basic sensations (touch, breath, smell, etc.) and Bioenergetics, which sought emotional release through crying, gestural expressions, and relaxation of accumulated tensions, led by Alexander Lowen.
Metaphysical Current
This current seeks the union of soul and body, using body language simply. It disregards technology, focusing motor structure on relaxation and meditation, emphasizing internalization or solitary pursuit.
Stage Current
This current is linked to the arts and performing arts. It studies stage art components, emphasizing public message transmission and seeking coherence between character/feeling interpretation and expressive gestures. Value of EC with technical arts: Modern Body Mime (Etienne Decroux, Marceau, and Matho PinoK Cotillard). Dramatic techniques with an initial design that employs technical training to assess mastery of body training. Exercise and control the body for better expression (Doat).
Dance Orientation
Dance demonstrates motor, affective, emotional, and even atavistic skills. Pujade-Renaud (1975) identifies two periods in contemporary dance development. The first, marked by Martha Graham (1920-1940), sought to rediscover the essence of motion, returning to a primitive state with strong psychoanalytic influences, conveying messages symbolically through dance. The second, represented by P. Clinninghan and A. Nicolais, focuses on the simple pleasure of dancing, enjoying unstructured movement without choreographic purpose, aligning with “free dance” initiated by Isadora Duncan.