Specialized Course Highlight: GYROTONIC^® Applications for Dancers

Blog Content Education // August 21, 2016

GYROTONIC® Applications for Dancers is a specialized course conducted by GYROTONIC^® and GYROKINESIS^® Master Trainers Miriam Barbosa and Adrianna Thompson. This course combines the kinetic fundamentals of classical and contemporary dance with the movement principles of the Gyrotonic Expansion System, resulting in better body awareness, flexibility and strength, and a deeper understanding of the physiology of dance.

In this post, Miriam and Adrianna share what inspired them to create this course and why trainers should take it.

Miriam Barbosa
GYROTONIC^® and GYROKINESIS^® Master Trainer
Gyrotonic Columbia
miriambarbosa@hotmail.com
www.gyrotoniccolumbia.com

What inspired you to create this course?
When I was a dancer in New York City in the early 90’s, I had a severe injury which lead me to schedule surgery. The injury was a deeply fractured L5 vertebrae, literally shattered in pieces due to a stair case fall. The fact that the surgery would end my dance career led me to search for alternative physical therapy treatments, as well as yoga, swimming and other non-impact activities that would give some relief.

After two years of great pain, I was ready for surgery and to give up dance. At that point, I happened to tell my situation to Terese Capucilli, a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and a practitioner of the Gyrotonic Method for several years. She introduced me to this system.

Under Juliu Horvath’s guidance, I was able to fully calcify and recover my broken vertebrae. Since my goal was to dance with the Graham Company, Juliu applied specific dance vocabulary and imagery, which allowed me to return to dancing with amazing strength, great balance and alignment. Most importantly, my dancing was pain free.

I was honored to have worked with Juliu privately, while helping him produce his handmade equipment. As the Gyrotonic system expanded, and our first group of master trainers emerged, I asked Juliu what would happen to all the movement vocabulary he had worked on so extensively with me. Due to its complexity, it would not become part of the Gyrotonic foundation training.

He responded, “Would you like to put it together?” When he asked this, Adrianna Thompson was also in the room. She had also had the privilege of working privately with Juliu, and we both agreed to meet and start putting the material together in a course format.

The combination of Adrianna’s and my experiences made for a very dynamic specialized course. After meeting with Juliu to go over details — about five times over the course of a couple of years — we organized GYROTONIC^® Applications for Dancers as a two-segment course. We’ve now been teaching this course since 2008. It has evolved over the years and Course 3 will be available in the future.

Who is this course intended for?
GYROTONIC^® Application for Dancers Courses 1 & 2 combine the kinetic fundamentals of classical and contemporary dance with the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM^® Method.

These courses introduce a very structured movement vocabulary, which enables the student or professional dancer to understand, develop and improve dance technique from inside out. This holistic approach to movement teaches better body awareness, flexibility and strength, injury prevention, and a deeper understanding of the physiology of dance.

Non-dancers are welcome to participate and enjoy the freedom, healing and deep understanding of movement and body alignment, which this course promotes. This course also enriches the Gyrotonic trainer’s vocabulary when teaching dancers. Trainers will also find that a large portion of the course material can be used with non-dancer clients who will benefit from the specific exercises.

This course complements the existing Gyrotonic foundation material through its vertical and dynamic movements and rhythm.

Client Testimonials
I have had several injured dancers as clients over the past 23 years. I was able to guide them through their healing processes during very severe back injuries by using the Applications for Dancers course material.

One of the most impressive cases was a 20-year old dancer who had a slipped lumbar 4 vertebrae, and consequently a bulging disc.

The beginning of the Applications for Dancers course offers a spinal motion series called ‘floating spine,’ which I have used consistently with her, three times per week, for a month. This series, which promotes traction vertically with the use of the straps in different parts of her back, allowed the re-patterning of her lumbar spine so the natural healing process could occur. Her leg, which could not elevate in front more than 45 degrees due to pain, became absolutely free to move high up, and she continued dancing without pain.

Another dancer, 13-years old, has benefited from the work after doctors told her family she would need surgery because her scoliosis curvatures were so extreme. They also said that her respiratory system would start suffering as she grew older. I asked her parents to give me a couple of months before doing another x-ray. She came twice weekly and had positive results. After the next x-ray, doctors ruled out her surgery, and she continued improvements.

I have also worked with the dance community simply for the purpose of skills improvement. It has been a magical journey. I have worked with students in New York City at the American Ballet Theater, School of American Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Martha Graham Dance Company and Paul Taylor Dance Company. In South Carolina, I have worked with the Center For Dance Education and the University of South Carolina. I’ve also worked with others worldwide, seeing dancers have positive impacts in their bodies.

As far as all the trainers with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working, I have received only positive feedback regarding their personal commitments to consistent self practice, as well as a better understanding to draw upon when they go back into their daily teachings. Many have said their bodies changed tremendously, resulting in more clarity of mind.

Adrianna Thompson
GYROTONIC^® and GYROKINESIS^® Master Trainer
meftas@aol.com
soulskindance.org

What inspired you to create this course?
What inspired me with this course was being a professional dancer in NYC for over 15 years and working with Mr. Horvath at White Cloud Studio in NYC in the 90’s. I studied privately with Mr. Horvath in the Gyrotonic Method. He worked with many dancers during that time, helping us all develop a new way to achieve strength and understanding of how to be connected in our bodies.

Miriam Barbosa and I developed this program over ten years ago, mainly because we were already working with professional dance companies, teaching at universities, and were already educators in the Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Methods. We realized the demand for, and importance of, developing a program specifically for dance teachers and professional dancers, as well as movement specialists.

At the Rome conference, over 10 years ago, we saw many new specialized workshops being developed and felt the time was right to create our Applications for Dancers course.

Who is this course intended for?
This course is intended for pre-professional and professional dancers and also people who want to explore dance techniques through the Gyrotonic Method.

The “Dancer’s Program” has become one of the most popular specialized courses because it is a movement-based program that develops balance, strength and coordination. Professional dancers from all over the world, including Paris Opera, Houston Ballet and The Dutch National Ballet, have come away being able to approach their performances and teaching with a new understanding of optimal training methods.

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Notes:

For more information about the GYROTONIC® Applications for Dancers course, including a list of currently offered times and locations, please visit our GYROTONIC® Specialized Courses page.

To inquire about hosting this course at your studio please email Miriam Barbosa or Adrianna Thompson.

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