Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT) is a pioneering approach to dance, movement and creative process that has evolved from the simple principle that when we are releasing physical tension, we can move with greater freedom, power and articulation.
SRT was developed, from the early 1970s onward, by Joan Skinner, who had danced with the Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham companies before embarking on her own exploration of movement as a somatic process. Since then, it has become a significant influence on dance training and creative practice, as well as on leading choreographers and dance-makers across the world. By focusing on personal, kinaesthetic experience of essential principles of movement, SRT may enhance any movement style whilst fostering artistic sensibility and creative unfoldment.
In SRT classes, spontaneous movement evoked by guided poetic imagery, supported by music and sound, enables a creative and easily accessible exploration of technical movement principles such as multi-directional alignment, suppleness, suspension, economy and autonomy. As participants let go of habitual holding patterns, they are supported to cultivate an increasing sensitivity to their own physical and imaginative experience. The result can be a deeply embodied awareness of new possibilities in how they move – both inside the studio as dancers and creators, and in daily life.
The technique has been carefully arranged into a comprehensive, progressive pedagogy that is taught at three levels: Introductory (for all those coming to the technique for the first time), intermediate (termed ‘Ongoing’) and advanced. Uniquely, in Releasing classes, experienced dancers study alongside beginners, each engaged in their own individual learning process. SRT is a dance class for professionals, newcomers and beginners alike: all those interested in exploring embodiment, expression, creativity and awareness through moving.
Further information and resources relating to SRT are available on the Resources page.
