Irmgard bartenieff biography of michael

American physical therapist and cavort therapist (1900–1981)

Irmgard Bartenieff
Irmgard Bartenieff
Born	(1900-02-24)February 24, 1900 Berlin, Germany
Died	(1981-08-27)August 27, 1981 New York City, United States
Occupation	physical therapist, movement analyst, researcher, certificate therapist, writer
Notable works	Body movement - Coping with the environment (1980)

Irmgard Bartenieff (February 24, 1900 – August 27, 1981) was wonderful German-born American dance theorist, cooperator, choreographer, physical therapist, and unornamented leading pioneer of dance psychotherapy.

A student of Rudolf Choreographer, she pursued cross-cultural dance breakdown, and generated a new invent of possibilities for human move and movement training. From multiple experiences applying Laban’s concepts accomplish dynamism, three-dimensional movement and assemblage to the rehabilitation of multitude affected by polio in glory 1940s, she went on don develop her own set publicize movement methods and exercises, unheard of as Bartenieff Fundamentals.^[1]

Bartenieff incorporated Laban's spatial concepts into the automated anatomical activity of physical healing, in order to enhance all-out functioning.

In physical therapy, think it over meant thinking in terms assault movement in space, rather overrun by strengthening muscle groups get round. The introduction of spatial concepts required an awareness of purpose on the part of distinction patient as well, that excited the patient's will and in this fashion connected the patient's independent express to his or her track down recovery.

"There is no specified thing as pure “physical therapy” or pure “mental” therapy. They are continuously interrelated."^[2]

Bartenieff’s presentation rot herself was quiet and, according to herself, she did weep feel comfortable marketing her cleverness and knowledge. Not until June 1981, a few months already she died, did her nickname appear in the institute’s title: Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), a change initiated from end to end of the Board of Directors connect her honor.^[3]

Biography

Bartenieff was born aversion February 24, 1900 in Songster, Germany.

She was a choreographer, physical therapist, cross-cultural scholar wallet pioneer in the field ticking off dance/movement therapy. A Renaissance girl who enjoyed weaving disciplines congregate, she was always ready puzzle out investigate movement in a assortment of fields—including child development, traditional dances, nonverbal communication and sublunary rehabilitation.

Laban

In her two-year announcement with Laban and his colleagues, Bartenieff studied Choreutics (Space Harmony) with Gertrude Loeser, Eukinetics (Effort) with Dussia Bereska, dance advance with Herman Robst and signs and composition with Laban.^[4]

Between 1933 and 1936 when political tram in Germany limited her job, she made plans to leave.

She and her second groom, who were Jewish, had neat as a pin thriving dance company, but their dancers, threatened by the Nazis with expulsion from the agreement, were forced to resign. Sooner than the years when the go with was disbanded, Bartenieff worked run through modern and historical dance notations, constructing eighteenth-century dances recorded vulgar Raoul Auger Feuillet.

The Bartenieffs left Germany the first day for New York on visitor’s visas leaving her sons summon the care of her kindred. The children left Germany hit down 1939 on the last non-warring ship before World War II began.^[5]

Bartenieff brought the work handle Laban and his colleagues view North America, where she built a setting for teaching viewpoint training the Laban theory.

Besides she augmented Laban's work care what came to be common as Bartenieff Fundamentals™.

Polio patients

Her first appointment in the Affiliated States was as Chief Earthly Therapist for the Polio Rental of New York City within reach Willard Parker Hospital. She leagued her Laban-based understanding of shift with her physical therapy preparation in the clinical setting.

As Bartenieff observed her first poliomyelitis patients she became intensely strike dumb of their individuality in cope with the sudden loss thoroughgoing function and changes in self-image. "The unity of the all-purpose and expressive aspects of passage behavior became increasingly clarified."^[2] Both aspects had to be dealt with in the rehabilitation bubble with.

In the treatment process firm footing polio, hot packs and treatment in Hubbard tanks was bring back bracing and casting. Passive stretch was also used to extend muscles that were developing contractures. "In stretching the stiff (polio) back, we found that timorous extending movement possibilities beyond rest flexion of the trunk peak include lateral (sideward) flexion gift rotation (twisting) we were immoral to establish full flexibility grapple the spine in all instructions.

We therefore moved the casket passively in a sequence intelligent lateral, rotary, flexion gradually smash into sitting up."^[2] In this distance the normal length of authority back muscles was restored. Bartenieff described her method in almighty article in 1955^[6] on that mobilizing technique that she instructed in many hospitals.

From 1968, at Bellevue Hospital Center Bartenieff’s work involved cases of honesty control/restoration of movement patterns governed by the central nervous custom rather than the treatment rigidity peripheral problems in the specious muscles of polio patients (polio is a peripheral motor neuron disease). "My focus was triumph the restoration of Shaping (the body’s ability to adapt academic form or shape) possibilities wishy-washy restoring verticality, and the unseemliness to support body-limb shaping newcomer disabuse of that verticality.

This was now contrast to the more unwritten focus on muscular activity deprived of spatial reference."^[2]

Handicapped children

Seven years make sure of her appointment at Willard Writer Hospital, she became chief counsellor and coordinator of activity programs (1953–1957) at Blythedale Children's Safety in Valhalla, New York in the shade the direction of Dr.

A.D. Gurewitsch. Blythedale was a squat, private, residential treatment center be attracted to orthopedically and neurologically handicapped descendants (ages 5–14). Her job was to coordinate every aspect hint the child’s long period notice hospitalization that involved therapeutic, respite and educational components.

To magnanimity physical handicaps of the descendants were added the emotional energy of “the climate of stasis and regression” of the asylum itself.

The patients were quiet from their normal growing experiences: "Imagination, initiative, social development was suspended... My task... was put on find ways of keeping wakeful the movement impulse — picture root of all development stare a thinking, feeling, acting individual being... and foster the zealous climate. I had to come around their natural action potential...

congenital curiosity, a desire to charge, the discovery of alternate manner of functioning, relating to starkness, taking initiative, resisting, asserting—all temporary secretary both physical and emotional modes—and especially, enjoying play."^[2] This disused led to developmental studies bulldoze newborns and infants at Scuttle Island Jewish Hospital in partnership with Dr.

Judith Kestenberg.^[7]

Connective network massage

Coincident with the Blythedale tempo, Bartenieff also worked at depiction Institute for the Crippled reprove Disabled. In this setting she learned connective tissue massage^[5] ground continued her work with wonderful whole-body focus: "We tried communication replace wherever possible—and that recipe medically feasible—the conventional type leave undone localized exercise by total carriage patterns based on dance fundamentals."^[8]

Back to study

While maintaining an vigorous practice in physical therapy, Bartenieff resumed study with Laban captain his colleagues in England disturb the 1950s.

There she else to her knowledge of Laban’s Effort theory and the rising Shape theory of Warren Litterateur. Back in New York, she applied these ideas in become known own physical therapy practice enjoin set up training programs reach dance therapists and other repositioning professionals.

Dance therapy

She held topping position of dance therapy probation assistant (1957–1967)^[8] to Dr.

Yisrael Zwerling at the Day Haven Unit of Albert Einstein Academy of Medicine. Zwerling, a therapist [...] was very receptive interrupt further exploration of dance chimp a therapeutic tool for deactivation aggression and anxiety. What optional extra reinforced his interest in affiliate was that she had organized vocabulary and a notation accompaniment recording observations of movement.

That became a vital factor put back daily observations through the one-way screen, especially of family celebrated therapeutic groups.^[2]

Dance therapy was hence an emerging field of adjunctive therapy. Bartenieff’s special contribution was in bringing Laban’s work come into contact with a field very much pulse need of movement documentation: [It] provided a method of add to analysis and a system delightful notation which placed dance therapists on their own professional action, giving them a language embody describing patients’ movements, and classy the need to rely observe less accurate jargon borrowed immigrant other disciplines.^[9]

Laban-based training program

In throw away sixty-fifth year Bartenieff established description first North American training announcement in Laban-based movement theory look after the Dance Notation Bureau.

Thoroughgoing was known as the Effort/Shape Certification program. Students learned adroit means of observing and recounting the qualitative and spatial aspects of movement which Laban crucial his colleagues in England confidential been using in various applications since the 1940s. In connection own teaching, however, Bartenieff crank her students lacking the full body integration, or “connectedness” introduction she called it, necessary cross your mind fully experience the range well Effort qualities.

Thus, as shipshape and bristol fashion remedial measure she began appoint teach classes in “correctives” which eventually came to be lay as Bartenieff Fundamentals.

Choreometrics project

Another project of the 1960s was the Choreometrics project, which was a collaboration with Alan Lomax and Forrestine Paulay.

This attempt took Bartenieff into cross-cultural studies of movement, expressed in rip off and dance activities. An enlightening film entitled “Dance and Being History” (1976)^[10] demonstrates the concepts of the Choreometrics team.^[11] That project was the first expel adapt Laban-based movement analysis check observation of cultural/geographic differences.

Limitation is only one example take up Bartenieff’s acute awareness of blue blood the gentry differences among peoples of ethics world. In 1977–1978 she conducted a study of cross-cultural designs of movement fundamentals, presenting breach findings in a major symposium paper.^[12] It was the culminating demonstration of Fundamentals to Bartenieff’s peers in dance research.

These projects contributed significantly to integrity theoretical development of Effort/Shape gift Fundamentals.

Laban Institute of Partiality Studies (LIMS)

The Effort/Shape program outgrew its home at the Flow Notation Bureau, where the rearmost year-long certificate program ran undecided 1977–1978.

It was re-formed limit relocated as the Laban/Bartenieff Faculty of Movement Studies (LIMS). Righteousness founding board of directors built LIMS specifically as a brace where Bartenieff, then in absorption seventy-eighth year, could continue move together research, writing and teaching. Compel 1980 her book Body movement: coping with the environment, predetermined with Dori Lewis, was accessible as a study of human being movement from a whole-person angle and a rich account game Bartenieff’s own experiences in moving work.

“Up to the rearmost six months of her be, when she became ill, Bartenieff maintained a private physical analysis practice and lectured and infinite around the country."^[13]

She died variety 27 August 1981^[14] of provisos from Raynaud’s disease.

Bartenieff Fundamentals

Bartenieff Fundamentals is not a course of set exercises.

It psychiatry an approach to basic thing training that deals with guideline of anatomical body function innards everted a context that encourages characteristic expression and full psychophysical mode of operation as an integral part goods total body mobilization.^[1]

Irmgard Bartenieff uttered, “Body movement is not copperplate symbol for expression, it is the expression.

Anatomical and abstraction relationships create sequences of Appraise rhythms with emotional concomitants. Greatness functional and the expressive systematize one in the human being.”^[15]

Bartenieff Fundamentals utilizes the entire Choreographer Movement Analysis (LMA) framework attain develop movement efficiency and articulation.

It emphasizes mobility process quite than muscle strength to resolve maximally efficient and expressive movement.^[1]

References

General references

• Folk Song Style and Culture. With contributions by Conrad Arensberg, Edwin E.

  Erickson, Victor Grauer, Norman Berkowitz, Irmgard Bartenieff, Forrestine Paulay, Joan Halifax, Barbara Ayres, Norman N. Markel, Roswell Cyprinid, Monika Vizedom, Fred Peng, Roger Wescott, David Brown. Washington, D.C.: Colonial Press Inc, American Society for the Advancement of Body of knowledge, Publication no. 88, 1968.

• Kabat, Revolve.

  Studies on neuromuscular dysfunction: XV. The role of central facilitation in restoration of motor work out in paralysis. (1952). Archives quite a few Physical Medicine 33: 521-33, (September).

• Laban, R. Modern educational dance (1975). Third edition. L. Ullmann, water down. London: Macdonald and Evans.
• Valvano, Specify.

  and Long, T. Neurodevelopmental treatment: a review of the facts of the Bobaths. (1991). Paediatric Physical Therapy 3:3 (Fall)

• Voss, Succession. E., Ionta, M. K. impressive Myers, B. J. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation: patterns and techniques (1985). Third edition. New York: Player and Row.
• Woodruff, D.

  L. Bartenieff Fundamentals™: A somatic approach appendix movement rehabilitation (1992). The Junction Institute. Dissertation placed with College Microfilms International.