Gregg Mozgala, a 31-year-old actor with cerebral palsy, had 12 years of physical therapy while he was growing up. But in the last eight months, a determined choreographer with an unconventional résumé has done what all those therapists could not: She has dramatically changed the way Mr. Mozgala walks.
via www.nytimes.com
This fellow has cerebral palsy:
Now usually, people who have cerebral palsy stand with their knees bent and turned inward and their back really arched. Granted, there is variation in the severity of the disease, but make no mistake, it is a very serious disease orthopedically. Walking is difficult because the joints are held stiffly and the center of gravity cannot swing gently and elastically around a small range of motion. Instead the body "lurches" from side to side. Every step is a proposition in how to fall down.
Now dance therapy, movement therapy, and somatic education are not infant disciplines. Lulu Sweigard, who wrote Human Movement Potential was born in 1895. Mabel Tod wrote The Thinking Body in 1937. However, western physical therapy has been focused on what the experts can do for (and to) the patient, the result is the somatic disciplines have flown under the radar for nearly a hundred years. In these disciplines, the expert is the subject, and they explore their physical self instead of passively receiving information from the outside.
This article is evidence of one young man's experience with a somatic discipline. The description makes me think of Emilie Conrad's Continuum training.... I certainly don't know if the choreographer in question uses Continuum but I was reminded of Conrad's work. Very powerful, primal.... so much about our bodies happens beneath our conscious "radar" but is accessible through curious exploration. I'm so glad this young man found his Achilles tendon (see article) as I'm sure it will inform his movement for the rest of his life. And I am so glad that the NYTimes has published this article -- what a public service to their readers. Article here.
