Ned Wayburn’s Foundation Technique
THE human body is the instrument of the dancer, and must be as much under the direct command of the dancer as the violin is at the command of the musician. It must respond instantaneously and without effort to every emotion and thought in the dancer’s mind. To do this it is obvious that the physical mechanism of the entire body must be completely mastered and controlled.
The first stage of the work to achieve command of the human frame as a dancing instrument is to bring about flexibility in all its parts and obtain muscular guidance and control. This demands a special technique that shall coördinate in harmonious functioning all parts of the body by an unconscious effort of the mind.