Robert’s teaching techniques within this weeks Cunningham class really interested me and therefore I decided to see how the class responded and improved through his teaching skills.

Extension is a physical skill within dance technique and as seen in the photo below the class are extending down through their left arm and extending away and up with their right leg to perform a Cunningham tilt.

In order for the class to embody the full aesthetic of this movement Robert used imagery as a teaching tool by saying ‘imagine pulling up before tipping over’. As an observer I was drawn to the way the class interpreted Robert’s instruction. I also noticed when Robert said to imagine ‘hugging a ball’ (when curving the arms) that the class performed this movement a lot clearer than saying put the arms out in front with a small curve at the elbow. “Imagine a large ball supporting the forward curve of the body. Watch the ball inflate to create a larger curve. Watch the ball inflate to create a larger curve. Imagine it deflating to create a smaller curve” (Franklin, 2014,224). I believe that this text was a key influence for the class and the use of imagery made the class embody the movement and perform it in a much clearer sense.

Within Robert’s final sequence there is a strong sense of a falling which the class were not fully encompassing, I could see that Robert wanted them to test their balance more to encourage a falling sensation. In order to make the class do this Robert told them to imagine hanging on the end of a cliff and then falling at the last minute. I could see strong progression through this imagery that Robert had just used and the class suspended within their movement for longer.