“Energy is the source, force is the form.
With your conscious muscle tension in relative time, you manipulate form and expression.”
Every dynamic action is an exact, measurable recalibration of force in the fourth dimension.
G.E.M. Method – Ton Greten
With which dynamics do I move from FORM to FORM?
Within the G.E.M. method, Dynamics is the third fundamental variable in the movement vocabulary, alongside Form and Expression. Dynamics in dance is defined as a constant change in the activity of the body parts, driven by a specific muscle tension.
Where Form possesses a three-dimensional structure, Dynamics operates in the fourth dimension: time. Within the method, dynamics is directly related to the parameters of muscle tension and relative time.
Energy and force: The source and the form
Energy is always present, in whatever shape or state it may be. Energy is the source, force is the form. Force arises through the deployment of energy. What the dancer manipulates is the force of the body parts by means of muscle tension.
It is this specific, conscious steering of force that enables the transition from one three-dimensional shape to the next. Dynamics allows the dancer to fully explore and experience the body, and to discover objective, new ways of moving.
By systematically varying the engagement of specific body parts and the degree of force, different, definable qualities emerge within the movement.
The three primary dynamic qualities
The three primary dynamic qualities
To make these variables trainable and transferable, the G.E.M. method codes dynamics based on three fundamental qualities of muscle tension. With these three basic elements, all other dynamic manifestations can be built and created:
- Percussive (Sudden)
- Gradual (Gradually)
- Sustained (Sustained)
Movement forms such as swing, bounce, impulse, and impact are directly built from the combinations of these three primary qualities of muscle tension. Conscious mastery of these qualities breaks automatic, repeated patterns and provides the exact mechanical context to the dancer.
The GEM
The GEM Method is a holistic approach, created and developed by Ton Greten. GEM stands for “Greten Equation Movement”. It is based on the mutual and reciprocal relation between three variables. The performance of Form, Expression and Dynamic combined will result in a certain Personality.
Personality = Form + Expression + Dynamic; P = F+E+D (F.E.D.)
Dynamic – Muscles – Time