Maisie James

Birmingham City University | BCU · Birmingham Conservatoire

This article is offered in the spirit of supporting students studying at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. It is offered as a study aid for those who may not be able to return to the studio for months but want to continue with their life-giving somatic studies at home. The article shares the properties of fascia and biotensegrity. I reflect on why...

In this article, I offer a somatic process to non-movers at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. These participants also offer reflections on their individual experience post-moving. As a facilitator, I invite you to take part in this process, whether you are a dancer or non-mover (whatever your age or ability). The process focuses on self-regulation...

Drawing on somatic practice, psychology, philosophy and the dance experience, this article operationalizes Sartre’s ideological response to movement pedagogy. The ‘thisness’ experience of embodiment during traditional dance styles negatively impacts on the realization of our body’s somatic potential. However, Sartre’s ‘body-for-itself’ mode can be...

This article will be of interest to somatic movement dance therapists who work with people suffering from stress, anxiety and depression. Anyone suffering from sympathetic neural expression (fear and anxiety) might find this article useful. Within this article I detail information and practice that supports participants moving from a sympathetic st...

In this article, I expand western anatomy’s normative geography of the vertebral column to include the atlantooccipital joints, the sphenoid-basilar joint, the occipital bone, the cranial sutures and the sacroiliac joints. The sphenoid-basilar joint is considered one of the most important joints to contact in the practice of bio-somatic dance movem...

This extensive article shares foundational practices and theory developed in the field of bio-somatic dance movement naturotherapy (a two-year professional training in association with The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association ISMETA). Unique to this programme is the experiential study of the cranial bones, craniosacral m...