Eadweard Muybridge began filming and offering us studies of movement broken into many frames, back in the late 1700’s. It all began because it was argued whether a horse ever had all four paws off of the ground at the same time and he had a technology(film) to begin to do this. He later went on to take many photos of children and adults walking, crawling, jumping. It is a valuable study to begin to pay attention to the idea of how we move.
We often talk about going in slow motion in Feldenkrais in order to give yourself the opportunity to notice or feel what you do. When you just even glance at these photos, it is obvious the coordination and incredible movement in each frame that is needed to build into a particular action, not just the action itself.
Continuing that tradition today, you can watch these athletic graceful ballet dancers do a huge movement in this slow film. Even in their refinement, there is a very specific way of organization before, during and after their jumps. Fascinating for me, and I’m sure for you!
Click through this link to You Tube to watch….