Patrizia Pallaro's second volume of essays on Authentic Movement, eight
years after her first, is a tour de force. It is indeed an extraordinary
array of papers, as Pallaro puts it, and an immensely rich, moving and
highly readable sweep through the landscapes of Authentic Movement, this
form of creative expression, meditative discipline and/or
psychotherapeutic endeavour. You don't need to practice Authentic
Movement to get a lot out of this book, but it certainly helps! I defy
anyone to read the first two sections and not be curious to have their
own experience.'
- Sesame Institute
'Authentic Movement can be seen as a means by which analysts can become
more sensitive to unconscious, especially pre-verbal aspects of
themselves and their patients.'
- Body Psychotherapy Journal Newsletter
'This book is a collection of articles, some of which are interviews,
brought together for the first time. It is very valuable to have them
all together in one place...It is a wonderful collection of articles on
topics you have always wanted to read, such as the role of transference
in dance therapy or Jung and dance therapy. The book also includes
scripts for exercises.'
- Somatics
Authentic Movement, an exploration of the unconscious through movement,
was largely defined by the work of Mary Starks Whitehouse, Janet Adler
and Joan Chodorow. The basic concepts of Authentic Movement are
expressed for the first time in one volume through interviews and
conversations with these important figures, and their key papers. They
emphasize the importance of movement as a means of communication,
particularly unconscious or 'authentic' movement, emerging when the
individual has a deep, self-sensing awareness - an attitude of 'inner
listening'. Such movement can trigger powerful images, feelings and
kinesthetic sensations arising from the depths of our stored childhood
memories or connecting our inner selves to the transcendent.
In exploring Authentic Movement these questions are asked:
- How does authentic movement differ from other forms of dance and
movement therapy?
- How may 'authentic' movement be experienced?
