Elaine Summers and Kinetic Awareness: Part 1

Part 1 is an article describing the principles and practices of Elaine Summers' Kinetic Awareness work. I place Kinetic Awareness in the context of the history of somatic practices within the lineage of German somatic education pioneer Elsa Gindler (18851961), and document three key performances from different stages of Summers' career in relation to her Kinetic Awareness work (Dance for Carola (1963), Energy Changes (1973) and Hidden Forest (2007)), before assessing the importance of her somatic work in choreography and performer training. Part 2 is an interview with Elaine Summers focusing primarily on her Kinetic Awareness work in relation to performance.