Somatic Networking is the second phase of a larger research inquiry entitled Somatic Foundations in Higher Education headed by Sheryl Saterstrom of the St. Olaf Dance Department.

During the summer of 2011 researchers pursued the questions, “How is the field of Somatics understood, and how and to what extent is the somatic approach integrated in dance education?” Responses to these questions revealed that the range of approaches to somatic education is expansive, and the range of definitions, diverse. The researchers ultimately decided that the field is ready for a new medium of interactivity and built the framework of this website!

This summer we have expanded our curiosities from the integration of somatic practices in dance education to it’s application in other areas within dance, such as choreography, as well as its use in physical therapy, physical education, and more generally, daily life. In addition to investigating somatic understandings in these many domains, we intend to reconnect with the survey participants from the 2011 study and continue to develop this website towards a more interactive and accessible forum that reflects it’s somatic content! Continue to connect back and engage with it’s development!

On August 3rd a presentation of the 2012 progress will be given before the St. Olaf College Department of Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Inquiry who is responsible for funding this ongoing research project.