The Process of Learning

“For me, the priority is an art form that also perceives its role in education and upbringing. I know that through dance it is possible to guide people toward greater openness, sensitivity, but also inner strength and free thinking about the state of the world.” (Eva Blažíčková)

The learning process in the Duncan Method (DM) is conditioned by the teacher’s personality. The teacher becomes a guide who leads students with sensitivity and freedom to discover their own truth. Through the psychological and physical processes taking place between teacher and student, a mutually enriching exchange of experience occurs.

For the teacher, the intention—what they want to convey to the students—and the way in which this intention will be realized are essential. In the DM, the teacher can handle this with great freedom and adapt the teaching style to the group, the atmosphere, and individual dispositions. This is highly beneficial for pedagogical work itself, as it stimulates creativity and simultaneously places demands on the teacher’s personality, who must reflect on their work and approach it creatively.

In teaching DM, the presence of an accompanist is also desirable, as their musical support co-creates the underlying, accompanying, and inspiring component of the lesson. Here as well, a creative and imaginative personality capable of improvisation is necessary.

The learning process itself unfolds spontaneously—both on the level of required technique and on the mental and spiritual levels—with all elements constantly interconnected. This requires a high level of commitment from both the teacher and the students’ attention. Self-realization in dance art leads to strengthening awareness of life and spiritual values. In the DM learning process, it is possible—through the legacy of Isadora Duncan—to discover a certain overarching sense of life.

P.S. My most recent, new, and personal experience is that DM is a profoundly intimate matter, and its transmission requires personal physical presence, vocal guidance, and a shared tuning of all senses before the work begins, so that the learning process can start at all.

Markéta Odvodyová, 2022, dance teacher and choreographer