Last Thursday evening, former University Professor of Dance Cheryl Cutler instructed a group at the Bessie Schönberg dance studio to pay attention to the “headlights in their hips.” The goal was to cultivate the skill of creative listening, defined as paying total attention to self, other and environment with a mindset focused completely on the present. Cutler, who in 1976 founded the Dance Department at the University, then requested participants to dance with each other in non-choreographed duets in front of other group members.
The workshop lasted for about two hours, and was led by Cutler and former University Professor of Religion Randall Huntsberry. Cutler and Huntsberry met at the University in the late 1960s and have collaborated in various dance projects since then, including co-founding the Sonomama Dance Troupe.
The pair combined dance improvisation techniques that Cutler had learned while studying under Bessie Schönberg at Sarah Lawrence College with elements of Zen meditation that Huntsberry had explored in Japan. Their workshops use dance situations to mimic conflicts that one might face in real life, and to resolve these conflicts without violence.
“Invigorated, relaxed, present, focused—this is a meditative state,” Cutler said. “From there, creative ideas can come.”
Cutler and Huntsberry insist that they disagree about everything, including the nature of reality. Yet, they were able to write a book together and now teach workshops around the nation.
“We can dance with perfect harmony, having utterly different views,” Cutler said. “The reason we were able to get anything done is because we didn’t talk, we did.”
Huntsberry retired early from teaching to pursue a career in conflict resolution and to become a poet.
“The culture of fear that you grew up in is very contaminating,” he said. “Through Sonomama and restorative justice work, I learned that listening is key. We teach how to listen through conflict instead of acting violently.”
“The oneness of mind that comes from listening without fear is the answer to war,” Cutler added.
Some dance majors appreciated the workshop because it showed how to apply dance to real life, and they feel that the major is not regarded as equal to other majors at the University.
“It was interesting and encouraging to see the department’s lineage,” said Stephanie Roer ’08. “I feel like the Dance Department has to prove itself still. But, today we saw how to put into practice what we learn.”
Cutler thinks that dance offers something different from other disciplines.
“The mental discipline to improvise—this is something lacking in academia,” she said. “The point is to discover about self, mentality and life. We want people to pay attention without fear to the present.”
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Laura Plageman, who participated in last week’s workshop, said that she could take what she learned from the workshop into the classroom.
“[Creative listening] is good for helping make what you see your own,” Plageman said. “It helps get past the block to creative thinking, that everything’s been done before.”
Cutler and Huntsberry insist that anybody can participate in their workshops. Many of the attendees on Thursday were not dancers, or even students. The couple has taught the system to people from ages 16 to the early 80s.
“And today we even had two fetuses,” said Huntsberry.
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