“Did you know that muscles only pull? You think they push but they can only pull.” As if seizing the space with her arms, extending them from side to side, Kate Trammel, dancer and choreographer, acted out the mechanisms of muscles in a short monologue excerpted from the upcoming performance of Namely, Muscles on Saturday.
She increased the intensity of her arm movements as she shouted out, “left, right, the agonist and the antagonist, acting like a couple but never touching.” Thus demonstrates the complexity and harmony of the human body. Sharon Babcock, who got her PhD in anatomy from Duke, and Trammel explore this phenomena in two workshops that explore anatomy through movement and dance. The first workshop focused mostly on the spine and the second workshop will focus on the heart, lungs and diaphragm. In each workshop, they discuss the roles of each of these parts of our body in life processes like breathing.
An enthusiastic amateur in dance and a stranger to human anatomy, I came to the workshop expecting a yoga session involving numerous backbends. I think it would be accurate to say that these conjectures were mistaken, as what followed was a lesson of engaging and understanding the mechanics of my body.
Beginning with loosening up our spine through a series of stretches, the class was geared toward achieving an understanding of the structure and workings of the spine. Everyone in the class had a different comprehension of anatomy, but the lesson that ensued easily engaged everyone’s interests while staying informative.
We started out by breaking into groups and analyzing different vertebrae, namely, the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral. In these small groups, we were given individual vertebrae and told to examine them and feel them. The tactile exploration surprisingly enhanced my ability to connect with my spine. It gave me the chance to admire the curves, dips and edges of my thoracic piece.
After getting a sense of our vertebrae, Trammel and Babcock instructed us to create its shape with our hands and then with our bodies. Coming together, Babcock taught us the parts of vertebra, including the vertebral body, the vertebral foramen, the vertebral arch, the spinous process and the transverse process. We went back to physically imitating our individual vertebrae and proceeded to examine other groups’ exhibition of their respective vertebrae. We shouted out the parts we could identify and, amazingly, despite the variations in interpretations, each person was able to demonstrate each of the units with her body.
It was a funny feeling to reduce myself to an object and to hold still for examination: I was, for the moment, a tiny and spectacular fragment of a miraculous machine.
Once we got a sense of the physical makeup of the vertebrae, Babcock and Trammel connected the structures to our body movements. We saw how the cervical vertebrae had differences in vertebral bodies in order to accommodate the rotation and the flexion and extension of the neck. It was fascinating to examine how each of these parts, detached in every other type of vertebrae, were fused together in the sacrum. As Trammel noted, “these variations will be reflective of how those units work.”
Focusing back on our own bodies, we were instructed to model extension, lateral flexion and rotation by mimicking the formation and movement of vertebrae, discs and muscles. In a group of five, I was designated the role of one of two bones: the lucky tall man of the class got to be the muscle, pulling and twisting our arms to represent the mechanics of a person lying face down. We walked around to each group, watching their interpretations of how our spines functioned. They were uniquely different and magical, helping me really see and appreciate the way my spine was both sturdy and supple. One group demonstrated with two people as muscles, both lying on the ground, contracting and extending, creating the tension needed to twist the body.
In the end, we all sat together to recap our experiences, marveling at an anatomy we perpetually use but never acknowledge. One girl mentioned how “having to be the vertebra made [her] appreciate the architecture of the vertebra much more than studying pictures or even drawing.” Undeniably, it was “much more difficult using the whole body to illustrate each individual part.” Yet, the very tactile and kinesthetic exploration of the spine not only helped me admire my spine, but also to digest anatomical information.
Tomorrow’s workshop will examine the fuel to body movement or, more simply, the breath, and all together, these workshops invite a sensory appreciation of ourselves. The body, undoubtedly, is a beautiful and fantastic instrument, capable of turning mental desires and distresses into extraordinary works of art.
This Saturday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. in the Ark Dance Studio, Kate Trammel will be performing Namely, Muscles, choreographed by Claire Porter. After the performance, there will be a panel discussion with Dr. Sharon Babcock, Kate Trammel and other Duke faculty and students.
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