A DANCING PATH
talking with Mary Wood
You were a pioneer of creative dance?
I wouldn’t claim I was a pioneer – more a ‘disciple.’ In my early teaching days I saw how movement and dance could enhance the children’s development.
My interest in dance came as a result of dancing in college and learning about the art of movement. It opened up a sense of my own creativity. We were taught a vocabulary of movement which gave us the tools of movement that encourage creativity. We quickly realised we didn’t need a ballerina’s body – we had it within ourselves to communicate through dance.
Creative Dance was based on Rudolph Laban’s work. He was a free spirit trying out new ideas in Germany in the mid-1930s. Nazi Germany did not accept free spirits so he fled to Britain, initially settling in the Manchester area. It was here he started the Manchester Dance Circle. Later he moved to London and founded ‘The Art of Movement’ studio. Rudolf Laban firmly believed that everyone, no matter what age or ability, could dance. Dance was for everyone, the foundation of a wholesome life.
Isadora Duncan comes to mind. Were there any links between Rudolf Laban and Isodora?
Isadora Duncan had a similar passion for dance. She danced as she felt. Laban would have known her and must have been influenced by her.
Was Rudolf Laban your main inspiration?
I hadn’t heard of Rudolf Laban until I went to teacher training college in the early 1050s to study physical education. There was a Laban trained dance teacher at my college. She inspired me with her enthusiasm for the dance. Dance at the time was one element in a group of physical activities. It became my favourite and when I began teaching I made it a priority.
Why did you love it so?
Creative Dance can give something to everyone no matter what age or ability. It releases the creative potential in the individual. Dance can be about everything. In my teaching days, dance permeated other aspects of the curriculum – music, art, drama, poetry, science, literature, humanities – inspiring endless creative movement.
Inspiration came from all sorts of things?
Well, yes! For example: Think of burning incense – how the shape of the smoke changes as it rises – meandering, filling space, languid, calm, light as a feather. Or washing on a line on a boisterous, windy day, with the occasional calm. Children and adults can respond to these images in their own unique way.
You taught adults as well as children?
My first teaching posts were in secondary schools, followed by the primary age groupIn the 1960s and 70s I taught mature students in a college of education. They were training to teach dance/physical education at main or subsidiary level. They were very motivated and thought dance was the best thing that had happened to them. We all shared some inspirational dancing moments. Later I became involved with playgroup movement and then nursery education. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to develop the creative potential in the under fives. Needless to say, dance had a daily slot in the programme of activities. Dance permeated the different curriculum areas. For example: science – seed dispersal – observing how different seeds behave and exploring with the body, turning the idea into dance and, perhaps, using music to add a further dimension.
The work I was doing with the under fives became known in my local authority, and I was asked to share my ideas with other teachers. Dance and the under fives was catching on! A little later, having moved into training nursery nurse students as an education tutor, with a dance component, and visiting schools across the authority, I was asked if I would do some demonstration dance teaching in some of the schools including the ‘special schools’ as they were known at the time. A memorable experience was exploring dance and drama with a group of 8-9 year old boys with behavioural difficulties. This was an enormous challenge. I used a variety of ideas to inspire them to engage, including music, recorded and percussion, and stories with colourful characters and fantastic happenings. They loved it. The needed it every day. Unfortunately the teachers could not rise to the need.
It sounds as though it is very much a vocation. What do you need to inspire students?
Love of the art form. Massive enthusiasm. Positive regard for all levels of ability. Belief that dance can enhance life.
Why do you love creative dance?
I releases a creative energy within me. I feel I’m in charge of what I give out through body language. There is no right or wrong way of responding – just different ways. You feel so alive and capable. It enables me to look into other art forms, to find common elements, and make links. Dance helps me be in tune and learn about life through art.
I watched you engage a group of children who were temporarily disengaged. They instantly took to you and joined in with your suggestions. You reminded me of a Pied Piper.
I’ve never been called that before! You have to be able to lead if you are teaching and inspiring. At the same time as leading you want to engage their imagination so that the children will interpret the idea you offer in their own way.
Why is dance so brilliant at mood lifting?
It works at both a physical and aesthetic level. Dance can lift you off the ground. The spirit soars. You lose the downward pull of negative thinking – it clears your mind – as in meditation.
Tell me more about this spiritual aspect.
Dance is like looking at a beautiful view or listening to a piece of inspired music: it gives you a ‘Wow’ feeling. This, to me, is both an aesthetic and spiritual response.
How would you like to see the future of Creative Dance?
Firstly we need to turn the clock back and examine what creative dance did for us within the education system. There were so many positives – we need to train inspirational teachers who can go into colleges, universities and schools and re-seed. Maybe then our children could look forward to a healthier spiritual and physical life.
How would you sum up the impact dance has had on your life?
Teaching creative dance and performing in it has given me a great deal
of satisfaction throughout my life. Through dance I have learnt to appreciate
the arts, so broadening my response to life in general. I count myself
very fortunate to have had such a fulfilling career and happy life.