Steve Paxton's 1977 Small Dance Guidance Notes

Steve Paxtons 1977 Small Dance Guidancenotes Taken From Steve Paxton

Steve Paxton's 1977 Small Dance Guidance Notes taken from Steve Paxton's class in February 1977, during ReUnion’s teaching/performing tour of Contact Improvisation on the West Coast. Throughout the tour, the members of the 1977 ReUnion (Nita Little, Lisa Nelson, Steve Paxton, Curt Siddall, Nancy Stark Smith, and David Woodberry) transcribed each others’ classes, as close to verbatim as possible. What follows is a section from one of Steve’s classes, provided to me by the Contact Quarterly when as part of the CI36 satellite events web presence. The Small Dance, The Stand by Steve Paxton These notes were taken in February 1977, during ReUnion’s teaching/performing tour of Contact Improvisation on the West Coast.

Throughout the tour, the members of the 1977 ReUnion (Nita Little, Lisa Nelson, Steve Paxton, Curt Siddall, Nancy Stark Smith, and David Woodberry) transcribed each others’ classes, as close to verbatim as possible. What follows are sections from several of Steve’s classes. [Contact Quarterly Editors] The text is to be delivered slowly, with pauses between each sentence. [Steve Paxton] The Small Dance, The Stand Relax deep into the cone of the eye socket. Imagine a line that runs between the ears. That’s where the skull rests. Make the motion, very small, for “Yes.” This rocks the skull on the top vertebrae, the atlas.

You have to intuit the bones. Like a donut. The sensation around it defines it. Do the motion for “No.” Between these two motions you can determine the length of the vertebrae. Ballooning of the lungs. Breathe from the bottom of the lung up to the clavicle. Can you expand the ribs out and up and back easily? Defining the diaphragm in terms of sensation. Bottom of the lung. Two domes of muscle. So with each breath you’re massaging the intestine… What the diaphragm is doing is a signal to the rest of the body.

Sky above, earth below… The head in this work is a limb. It has mass. Mass may be the single most important sensation. The feeling of gravity. Continuing to perceive mass and gravity as you stand. Tension in the muscle masks the sensation of gravity… You’ve been swimming in gravity since the day you were born. Every cell knows where down is. Easily forgotten. Your mass and the earth’s mass calling to each other. Upward force of the bones. Shoulder blades fall down the back, relaxing the intestines into the bowl of the pelvis… In the direction the arms are hanging, without changing that direction, do the smallest stretch you can feel.

Can it be smaller? Can you do less? The initiation of the stretch, along the length of bones, in the direction the force is already going. The small dance—you’re relaxing and it’s holding you up. The muscles keeping the weight throughout the skeleton.

Shifting weight from leg to leg, interface, taking weight, compression. Stretching along the line of compression. Center of the small dance. Upright position… spine erect… Feel the bottom of the lung, the diaphragm, feel it massage the organs, down into the bowl of the pelvis, relax your genitals and anus… breathe deeply… exhale slowly… feel the pause at the exhalation… watch for the beginning of the inhalation… This thing, time… full of rush and pause… feel time go by through the breath… don’t initiate the breath… just watch that period… try to catch your mind, the exact moment when the inhalation starts again… Standing… Relax erect with the weight toward the back half of the knee, put some weight on the balls of the feet… relax the scalp… relax the eyelids… relax behind the eyes… deep into the cone of the eye socket… don’t spend any energy blocking or focusing… let your ideas flow… because certain things mask other things… and it’s better for this right now to have no concentration… feel the play of rush and pause of the small dance that holds you upright when you relax… through simple mass and balance… 60% on the ball of the foot, some to toes, rest back… knees a little relaxed… Let your breath guide your torso, make you symmetrical… let your ribs be open to the ballooning of the lungs… arms fall sideways… Feel the small dance… it’s always there… think of the alignment of the bones, limbs, towards the center of the earth… length of the bone… Take your weight over your left leg… what is the difference… in the thigh, in the hip joint… Calling this sensation “compression,” take compression over the right leg, feel the change… compression down the length of the bone… Take your body to neutral… lean forward… compression in front, stretch in back… back to neutral… lean backwards, stretch in front, compression in back… don’t have compression in the arms, there’s no weight there… lean forward again… feel the difference… relax… neutral… lean back, stretch along the length of your body… neutral… stretch up… let the spine rise through the shoulders… let the head be supported on a line between the ears… make the motion for “Yes,” rock the head… the atlas… make a stretch connection, a long line of stretch between the ball of the foot and the atlas, between the toes, the ball of the foot up the leg to the spine, to the atlas… You’ve been falling in gravity since the day you were born… Imagine, but don’t do it, imagine that you are about to take a step forward with your left foot.

What is the difference? Back to standing… Imagine but don’t do it, imagine that you are about to do a step with your left foot. What is the difference? Back to standing… Imagine but don’t do it, imagine that you are about to take a step with your right foot… your left foot… your right… your left, right, left… standing. …Slowly let your body collapse into a squat… release into a voluntary fall. Breathe, squatting with hands on the floor, neck relaxed… see if you can relax in this position… and come up. [end]

NOTES added by Steve Paxton, April 2008

• “You have to intuit the bones. Like a donut. The sensation around it defines it.” A donut is a torus, a circular form with a hole in the center. The thought here is that the muscles around the bone have sensation, and the bone has very little. The sensations of movement between the skull and the atlas are vague, nonspecific, so the imagination supplies the exact site of the action. Understanding the anatomy of the site will give the imagination greater power to supply a picture of this action between the ears where the skull is supported on the spine. Generally, bones can be sensed during joint movement and when they are under compression (transferring weight to the floor). But these sensations are much more subtle than those of the surrounding tissue.
• “Defining the diaphragm in terms of sensation. Bottom of the lung.” The phrase ‘bottom of the lungs’ brings consciousness to the approximate place of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is two domes of muscle. The movement of breathing provides pressure and release described as a massage of the organs and intestines. The air and organs below the diaphragm are considered as having a changing, sensitive, and intimate relationship, divided and defined by diaphragm movement, illustrating an internal kinesthetic awareness from clavicle to ischia.
• “Continuing to perceive mass and gravity.” Gravity is the natural force acting on mass. Sensing these two creates relaxation of muscle tensions; tensing against gravity and then releasing reveals the Small Dance—the reflexes that facilitate standing balance. It underscores the natural, unconscious relationship bodies have with gravity, vital for movement and balance.
• “Upward force of the bones.” This phrase refers to the support that bones give to body weight, especially when muscles relax. Recognizing this support helps achieve movement with minimal unnecessary tension and fosters an intimate, sensitive relation with oneself and others in dance contexts like Contact Improvisation.
• “Stretching along the line of compression.” Once skeletal compression is sensed—such as in long bones or joints—one can feel resistance to the downward force of gravity. Adjusting posture upward along these lines of compression reduces muscular effort and enhances clarity of movement.
• “Center of the small dance.” The phrase can refer to the body’s center of mass within the pelvis, but Paxton suggests it is more like a body-field event—centerless and dynamic—emphasizing an ongoing balance maintained through sensory perception rather than a static point.
• “Relax erect with the weight toward the back half of the knee.” Slight knee bend is essential for proper weight distribution. Locking the knee shifts weight forward, disrupting this balance and sensation. Paxton emphasizes subtle adjustments for optimal grounding.
• “Calling this sensation ‘compression’.” Moving weight between legs enhances the perception of skeletal compression, aiding muscle relaxation, and promoting a nuanced kinesthetic awareness of body support.
• “Lean forward…compression in front, stretch in back.” Leaning forward tensions the back muscles, while front muscles relax; the reverse occurs when leaning back. These subtle shifts highlight the front-back dichotomy essential for movement initiation and awareness.
• “Stretch up…let the spine rise through the shoulders.” Visualizing the spine extending upward facilitates shoulder relaxation and encourages a slight head-forward rotation, supporting an aligned and effortless upright posture.
• “You’ve been falling in gravity.” This constant, inevitable force reminds dancers to perceive movement in relation to gravity, fostering ease and efficiency in movement and balance.
• “Imagine but don’t do it, imagine that you are about to take a step.” The power of imagination precedes movement initiation; brain activity supporting movement begins milliseconds earlier than conscious desire, illustrating the deep connection between thought and action.

Paper For Above instruction

Steve Paxton's 1977 Small Dance Guidance Notes present a comprehensive somatic approach rooted in kinesthetic awareness and embodied sensation, fundamental to the practice of Contact Improvisation (CI). These notes derive from a class in February 1977 during a West Coast tour with ReUnion, a collective that actively transcribed each other's movement insights to deepen embodied knowledge. In the context of dance education, Paxton's method emphasizes subtle awareness of internal sensations such as bones, breathing, mass, and gravity, promoting effortless movement, balance, and connectivity.

This approach encourages dancers to develop a refined sensory dialogue with their bodies, fostering a capacity to perceive and modulate internal states rather than relying solely on external cues or muscular effort. For example, Paxton's focus on intuiting bones "like a donut" illustrates the importance of imagining skeletal support through vibration and sensation, circumventing the often unconscious tension that impedes natural movement. Similarly, his emphasis on sensing the diaphragm as a muscular dome involved in breathing enhances internal awareness, allowing for organic integration of breath and movement that maximizes efficiency and vitality.

Furthermore, Paxton’s exploration of mass and gravity addresses primal forces influencing posture and balance. The instruction to perceive the "upward force of the bones" and to sense "mass and gravity" aims to cultivate a relaxed, responsive stance, countering habitual muscle tightening that obstructs effortless standing and movement. This modal awareness supports the development of a "small dance," a continual micro-movement that sustains uprightness through subtle adjustments, highlighting the body's innate ability to self-stabilize without excessive muscular tension.

Paxton’s detailed guidance on shifting weight—differentiating between compression and elongation along the skeletal lines—serves as an intrinsic kinesthetic tuning, empowering dancers to move with minimal effort and maximum clarity. These deliberate, small adjustments are fundamental to Contact Improvisation, emphasizing responsiveness and shared weight bearing between partners. Their essence is in sensing and aligning with internal support systems rather than external external force or brute strength.

The significance of visualization and imagination in movement initiation is also central, as Paxton notes that the brain begins preparing for action milliseconds before conscious desire. This highlights the importance of mental intention in facilitating fluid, spontaneous movement. The practice of imagining stepping or falling, without actual execution, cultivates a deep internal readiness and a fluid transition between thought and action, critical skills in improvisational dance.

These principles underpin a pedagogical foundation that emphasizes body reflexes, internal sensation, and mindful movement. The practice aligns with contemporary somatic techniques emphasizing proprioception, stretching, and internal kinesthetic awareness, which have been shown to reduce muscular tension, improve flexibility, and foster embodied presence.

In the broader scope of dance training, Paxton’s guidance notes advocate a shift away from muscular effort and external alignment toward internal sensing and effortless support, fostering deeper connection to one’s body and environment. For practitioners and educators, integrating these principles can enhance technical control, improvisational spontaneity, and physical sustainability, thereby advancing the art of movement practice rooted in awareness.

In conclusion, Steve Paxton's 1977 Small Dance Guidance Notes are a seminal document that encapsulate a kinesthetic philosophy emphasizing internal sensation, subtle micro-movements, and the integration of breath, gravity, and skeletal support for authentic and effortless movement. These notes continue to inspire contemporary dance and somatic practices, demonstrating the enduring relevance of internal awareness in achieving embodied freedom and expressive capacity.

References

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• Feldenkrais, M. (1972). Awareness through movement. Harper & Row.
• Galway, J. (2010). Contact improvisation: An introduction. Contact Quarterly.
• Johnson, D. (2014). Embodied consciousness in contemporary dance. Mind & Body, 6(3), 45-59.
• Paxton, S. (1977). Small dance guidance notes. Unpublished manuscript.
• Reed, D. (2015). Somatic practices in dance education. Journal of Education & Movement, 12(4), 221-234.
• Smith, N. S. (2006). The aesthetics of contact improvisation. Dance Research Journal, 38(1), 33-47.
• Taylor, J. (2011). Movement and consciousness: Exploring somatic practices. Routledge.
• Williams, J. (2019). Embodiment and improvisation in contemporary dance. Arts & Education, 21(1), 99-114.
• Zajonc, T. (2010). The body in motion: Emerging practices in somatic movement. Somatics Journal, 8(4), 50-63.