© 2024. Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young. All rights reserved.





REFLECTIONS ON AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT: THEORY, PRACTICE AND ARTS-LED RESEARCH

by Eila Goldhahn (Routledge 2022)

What experts in the field say about this book:

“I have just finished your book !  What a beautiful offering...
It was clear throughout how thorough and wide your depth of thinking expanded, your reach into science and art and philosophy.”
Dr Janet Adler (1941-2023), Discipline of Authentic Movement Founder, Canada.

*****
“I love the book. What a great resource Eila has provided for all of us studying this practice. I will give it as a resource to my students, it will be top of the list.”
Wendy Elliott Somatic Depth Psychotherapist, Oija, California, USA.
*****

“With vivid descriptions, penetrating and clear language, Dr. Goldhahn's outstanding body of work is at last readily accessible to the global audience of Authentic Movement scholars and practitioners. It is a profoundly original undertaking, one that not only maps the history of the practice and the discipline, but also expands it through art as well as performative research. 
Dr. Goldhahn's writing rhythm, sometimes syncopated, at other times fluidly poetic, makes reading her book a pleasure. She paints artistry as witnessing and object-making as dancing movement. Her installations bridge life, death, and ritual, reminding us how private and public spaces in Authentic Movement come to be—through shared experiences. Dance, imagination, interpretation, and inner witnessing take on deeper meaning and scope via her "camera-witnessing" technique.”



“During many years of Authentic Movement practice, I had never questioned the use of the word "authentic," even after having read her 2009 article in the AJDT. Certainly I could not have researched, dissected, stripped it of its current usage and meaning in the way Dr. Goldhahn has. Whether broadening the concept of authenticity, rejecting some of its preconceptions, or magisterially weaving it in and out of famed continental philosophers' contemplations, Dr. Goldhahn describes the essence of this practice and, perhaps, what Janet Adler in her later writings calls "direct" experience. In her search for an ontologically adequate and methodologically correct term, Dr. Goldhahn merged the constant experience of opposites in Authentic Movement into one fluid expanse of possible relationships and connections she named MoverWitness.”

“The learning process of collaborative choreography, coupled with the use of digital devices, offers a novel, intense method of exploration for dancers, practitioners, supervising therapists, and artists, using curiosity, limits and boundaries, intertwining bodies, movements, actions, reactions, and non-judgmental language.
Furthermore, Dr. Goldhahn's relentless questioning and probing of intellectual boundaries gives us opportunities to peek, not only into our ever-present digital experience with an ethical eye, but also to confront our illusion of embodied presence and blurring of our digitally-transmitted experiences.”


“Her holistic merging of science, aesthetics, kinesthesia and proprioception uproots Cartesian dualism. This allows us becoming one with, and at the same time, micro-focusing on elements of the urban environments or natural habitats. At the end, Dr. Goldhahn invites us to explore MoverWitness for its ecological clarion call to stop the destruction of our world. She is devoted to communicating "the realization of the interconnectedness and dependencies of all ecologies" in her strong belief that "creative embodiment, empathy, and non-judgmental way to use language" in collaborative relationships will foster and shape a new world for all living creatures.”
Patrizia Pallaro, Editor of Authentic Movement Vol. I & II
Moving the Self Psychotherapy Center, Annapolis, MD, USA.

*****

“This book is recommended reading for artists and dancers interested in engaging with Authentic Movement for their own creative outputs and others from education, recreational and health fields who would like to understand more about the adaptive nature of Goldhahn's MoverWitness, an interdisciplinary tool....Further the book provides the reader with a comprehensive pathway to the theory and practice of the Discipline of Authentic Movement.”
Professor Helen Payne  University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

*****
“Eila Goldhahn offers a rich and sensitive framework for rethinking the contemporary discipline Authentic Movement. The reader is guided through the various components of the method with maintained respect for the legacy of ideas. Goldhahn creates a lucid web of knowledge rather than analysing components one-by-one, beautifully conveying a sense of what the discipline of Authentic Movement is all about. Knowledge emerges with a linguistic simplicity that does not simplify complex matters. This book will certainly serve students on their learning path within the field of Dance Movement Therapy. The guidelines in chapter three also offer university teachers in DMT an embodied frame of thought that is far more helpful than what a concrete step-by-step manual-based instruction would be. Goldhahn’s approach highlights the value of human communication within university learning. For students, teachers as well as readers outside of the academy who are interested in Authentic Movement – this book is a gift!” 
Eva Tillberg Psychotherapist and Supervisor, Lecturer Karlstad University, Sweden.



*****
“Eila Goldhahn contributes to the Authentic Movement literature though a carefully considered re-framing of the practice, naming it the MoverWitness, while highlighting a unique creative perspective of the practice with her essays on arts-led research. This book gives the field a fresh application of AM, centered firmly in its rich and fertile history.”
Marcia Plevin  Arts Therapy Italiana, Bologna, Italy.

*****

“Eila Goldhahn takes readers on a captivating journey while they are sitting with the book in their hands: it includes Authentic Movement’s history, acknowledges its roots in dance and the cultural processes of its time, in visual arts, Freudian psychoanalysis, Jungian psychology and the shaping up of a quite specific discipline of its own. As readers traverse the book pages, doors open to enrich their knowledge and understanding even for those not solely focused on Authentic Movement training.”
Hilda Wengrower   Psy. D., Dance Movement Therapist & Clinical Supervisor, Israel.

*****

“Vorrei suggerire la lettura del libro Reflections on Authentic Movement
(Riflessioni sul Movimento Autentico) in cui l'autrice Elia Goldhahn offre diversi elementi riguardanti il campo del Movimento Autentico, attraverso il suo un modo personale e originale di guardare al Movimento Autentico, offrendo riflessioni e una parte storica.  L'autrice si concentra sul concetto di relazione Mover-Witness, descrive una breve guida alla pratica e all'uso specifico del linguaggio , fornisce riflessioni sulle origini del termine stesso Authentic, rifacendosi a diversi autori. In una parte molto stimolante l’autrice la propria storia personale e il suo sviluppo nello studio e nella pratica del Movimento Autentico. Un altro aspetto che può essere di interesse per gli artisti è la descrizione dell'uso del Movimento Autentico nel campo delle arti e dei media, con particolari rappresentazioni e applicazioni. Penso che questo libro offra un interessante contributo alla conoscenza, alla pratica e all'utilizzo del Movimento Autentico in diversi campi per diversi operatori e professionisti .”
Maria Govoni Psicoterapeuta, Psicologa, DMT Art Therapy Italiana.


AVAILABLE AS AFFORDABLE PAPERBACK NOW



MoverWitness - Authentic Movement
Training and Retreat

19 TO 26 AUGUST 2024 at
BALA BROOK RETREAT HOUSE DARTMOOR DEVON UK


© 2024. Eila Goldhahn. All rights reserved.

This week-long guided retreat takes place in an area of outstanding natural beauty on Dartmoor, England. Bala Brook Retreat Centre is peaceful and private, offering spacious and comfortable accommodation (mostly individual and ensuite) and two beautiful studios. This work embedded within the special area of South Devon with its ancient and new ecologies provides opportunities to envisage a new vision for the future in challenging times that supports renewed hope.

The retreat is taught by Dr Eila Goldhahn, originally trained by Dr Janet Adler and a proponent in this field. She is the author of the new book REFLECTIONS ON AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT, THEORY, PRACTICE AND ARTS-LED RESEARCH (Routledge, 2022). She has many years of experience of teaching the practice and offers an artistic and contemporary perspective. 

For complete retreat information email Eila:
eilagoldhahn@gmail.com



sharedhabitat.net is the website of Eila Goldhahn and Stuart J Young to showcase individual and collaborative, interdisciplinary art making and research and creative, educational and therapeutic practices. Embodied creativity and empathetic observation are their starting points for working with others and across different arts media.

This month’s focus is on Eila’s book on Authentic Movement which is now out as an affordable paperback and the forthcoming retreat on Dartmoor.



© 2024. Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young. All rights reserved.



Recent publications by Eila Goldhahn

GARDENS OF CULTURE Visionen und Experimente für eine Zukunft Conference & Exhibition INTERVAL together with Stuart J Young at Abi Warburg Haus, Hamburg, November 2023. Curation and presentation on utopian, artistic communities in the 20th and 21st centuries and, specifically, on Dartington College of Arts and postmodern dance in 1980s.
MoverWitness Interdisciplinarity. Chinese /English International Conference Presentation (May 2023), Authentic Movement Summit
MoverWitness (Goldhahn 2007) is a new term (for the Discipline of Authentic Movement, Adler 2002) and aids to transfer core values and practices usefully to other disciplines.” (from Conference Proceedings, MoverWitness Interdisciplinarity, E. Goldhahn 2023)

Questioning ‘Normality’ Book Review (Goldhahn & Plevin 2022)
Freely copy available at https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2022.2140199

The MoverWitness Project and film showing Here we are now by E. Goldhahn at online event “Alongside British Art Show” (CAMP, Plymouth, April 2022)


Being seen digitally: exploring macro and micro perspectives.
Essay in Journal for Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy (August 2020)
“Human senses and social interactions evolved and adapted to function     optimally in the presence of another body equipped with the same senses. The evolutionary function of innate mirror neurons is based on individuals being in each other’s presence, of having eye contact, of being in earshot, of joining each other’s rhythm of breathing, to read and emphasize with facial expressions and gestures.” (from above E. Goldhahn 2020)


For a complete list of publications, curated conferences and exhibitions, please enquire here.

Eila Goldhahn
Art & Science: Sculpture


© 2024. Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young. All rights reserved.

Eila Goldhahn’s art practice reflects aspects from biological, ecological and social sciences. It is inspired by embodiment and meditation. Using found objects she creates surprising metaphors offering new perspectives on familiar objects. 

Chromosome boards, friezes


Genetics und genomics mirror individual and collective experiences and inscriptions across life spans and  evolutionary times. In these art works chromosomes are visualised as an analogy to the moving body itself. As friezes they form generational, metaphoric pathways into an archeological past, an anthropocene present and a yet unknown human future.
Material: handmade iron nails, wax and pigment on floor boards
Works shown at: Anatomical Museum  University Erlangen
Kunstraum Weissenhohe Nürnberg
Embassy Rhineland-Palatinate Bruxelles
Haus am Dom Frankfurt


Genetik und Genomik spiegeln individuelle und kollektive Erfahrungen und Einschreibungen über eine Lebensspanne sowie über evolutionäre Zeiträume. In der künstlerischen Formensprache bilden Chromosomen eine Analogie zum sich bewegenden, menschlichen Körper. Die Friese bilden generationsübergreifende, metaphorische Wegspuren für eine archeologische Vergangenheit, eine anthropozäne Gegenwart und eine noch unbekannte menschliche Zukunft.

© 2024. Eila Goldhahn & Stuart J Young. All rights reserved.

Matricycle


The haptic contact with materials leaves imprints  of physical movements in the emerging sculptures. These visible forms are like an echo of the movement: they mirror the fleeting performance with the  material. They also touch upon the beginnings of embryonic movement: form and folding of early developmental stages like blastula and gastrula.
Material: steel wire and gauze
Works shown at: Dartington College of Arts UK
Kunsthalle Halle
Kunstverein Basis Frankfurt
Open Studios South Devon U
Development grant for the upcycling of pocket springs with support from the  University Plymouth UK

Durch den körperlichen Kontakt mit Materialien enstehen Abdrücke von Bewegungen in Skulpturen. Diese Formen ähneln einem Echo: sie spiegeln die Begegnung von flüchtigen Ereignissen mit Materialien. Sie deuten auch auf den Anfang von embryonalen Bewegungen an, nämlich die Formung und Faltung in frühen Entwicklungsstadien wie Blastula und Gastrula.              
Material: Stahldraht und Gaze
Dartington College of Arts UK
Kunsthalle Halle
Kunstverein Basis Frankfurt
Open Studios South Devon UK


Entwicklungszuschuss für die Wiederverwertung von Federkern in Designkontexten und Produkten mit freundlicher Unterstützung der University Plymouth UK

Eine Publikation über MATRICYCLE kann hier als PDF heruntergeladen werden. Realisiert mit Unterstützung des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz. 

Matricycle