
The educational resources presented by the Thinking Body Institute include profiles of well-known Contributors to Todd’s educational legacy.
At the turn of the 20th century, Mabel Elsworth Todd developed an unusual educational system that helped students improve their “bodily economy.” Todd did not codify her method. As she explained in her Preface for The Thinking Body, she wished to “prevent the premature appearance of a ‘school’ or ‘system,’ which so often spells the end of creative processes.” Thus, aside from the small group of assistants she trained during her lifetime, there are no “certified” teachers of her work. Even so, the educational system Todd described in her published works, and the interpretations of her work developed by the teachers she mentored, had a profound influence on movement education for no less than the next century.
The TBI Education pages feature a series of essays written by or about individuals who became involved in Todd’s educational approach and expanded her ideas in various directions, reflecting their backgrounds and professional goals. The essays have been organized into three generations of contributors to Todd’s work.
- First Generation – presents information on Mabel Todd and the students who worked with her in the early 20th century and developed unique interpretations of her teaching.
- Second Generation – includes students of Todd’s best known protégés, Lulu Sweigard and Barbara Clark, who refined their ideas in the mid-twentieth century.
- Third Generation – introduces the students of the Second Generation of contributors who broadened the scope of Todd’s educational legacy at the dawn of the twenty-first century and continue to explore its principles and practices today.
Both the original long essay format used in the first version of the TBI Education pages and a later, more concise biographical format will be seen in the profiles of the contributors to Todd’s work. Bibliographies of the contributors’ articles, book chapters and texts may follow their biographical material. Information on recently published writings and links to digital works and websites will also be featured.
First Generation
Mabel Todd’s highly individualized educational system guided students toward discovering improved postural patterns and greater movement efficiency. Todd shared her principles and teaching procedures with dedicated students in two settings. Most of Todd’s apprentices learned her approach informally in her private teaching studios in Boston and New York City. In the late 1920s, a few physical education graduate students at the Teachers College worked with Todd after taking her course, “Basic Principles of Posture.” Barbara Clark, a studio assistant, and Lulu Sweigard, a physical education teacher, became particularly committed to Todd’s educational premise. Essays and the published materials of Todd, Clark, and Sweigard are the focus of the First Generation segment. Background on Sally Swift and Don Oscar Becque, two early students of Todd who worked out applications of her ideas for other purposes, are also featured. Abbreviated profiles of several other studio teachers complete the historical record of the earliest generation of contributors.

Mabel Elsworth Todd
(1880-1956)
Studio Teachers
A number of assistant teachers worked with Mabel Todd in her Boston and New York studios. [ Learn More »]

Barbara Clark
(1889-1992)

Lulu Sweigard
(1895-1974)

Sally Swift
(1913-2009)
Second Generation
As Mabel Todd gradually withdrew from her teaching in the middle of the 20th century, her protégés Barbara Clark and Lulu Sweigard became the best-known interpreters of her educational approach. Sweigard suggested the term “Ideokinesis” to describe the essence of her teaching; Barbara Clark created the title “Mind/Body Integration.” In support of Todd’s objection to the prospect of “certifying” teachers, both women maintained a largely informal method of preparing selected students to perpetuate their ideas and practices. The Second Generation of contributors includes individuals who immersed themselves in their studies with Lulu Sweigard or Barbara Clark and then became dedicated to refining their teachers’ perspectives for the education of performing artists.

André Bernard
(1924-2003)

Joanne Emmons
(1927-2011)

Erick Hawkins
(1909-1994)

Betty Jones
(1926-2020)

Marsha Paludan
(1941-2018)

John Rolland
(1950-1993)

Nancy Topf
(1942-1998)

Drid Williams
(1928-2018)
Third Generation
Toward the end of the 20th century, a Third Generation of teachers and scholars began exploring new possibilities for broadening the scope of Todd’s teaching. Several were interested in combining her practices with other approaches to Somatics. Some found Todd’s educational practices informative as they devised new dance teaching methods. A few recognized the implications of her work for their research in videography, dance science, history, and philosophy. Todd’s approach to human movement, as refined by her students and their students, also inspired the creativity of dance performers and choreographers who participated in the development of the post-modern dance aesthetic.
Additional Resources
Myers, M. “Todd, Sweigard, and Ideokinesis,” Dance Magazine June 1980: 17-19.
Bonpensiere, L. New Pathways to Piano Technique: A Study of the Relations Between Mind and Body with Special Reference to Piano Playing. New York: Philosophical Library, 1953.
Chatfield, S.J., and S. Barr. “Towards a Testable Hypothesis of Training Principles for the Neuromuscular Facilitation of Human Movement,” Dance Research Journal 26(1): 8-14, Spring 1994.
Davis, B. Releasing Into Process: Joan Skinner and the Use of Imagery in Dance Education. Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1974.
Fairweather, M. and Sidaway, B. “Ideokinetic Imagery as a Postural Development Technique,” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 66(4): 385-392, 1993.
Feist, B. “How to make alignment meaningful for individuals by the use of ideokinetic imagery and flexibility,” Proceedings of an international seminar on posture and physical activity (pp. 70-77) Jerusalem, Israel: Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport, 1982.
Franklin, E. Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 1996.
——— Dynamic Alignment through Imagery. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 1996.
Friedman-Stuelpner, Robin. Ideokinesis: The Efficacy of Imagery to Improve Flexibility and Movement; Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Gallatin School of New York University, 1995.
Fulkerson, M. The Language of the Axis. Dartington, UK: Theatre Papers, 1975.
——— “Release Work, History from the View of Mary Fulkerson,” Movement Research Performance Journal 16: 4-5, Winter/Spring 1999.
——— Release: From Body to Spirit, Seven Zones of Comprehension Coming From the Practice of Dance. E-book. Hampshire, UK: Dance Books Ltd. 2004.
George, D. “Conceit of the Natural Body: The Universal Individual in Somatic Dance Training,” UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Permalink Https://scholarship.org/uc/item/228d6h4. Publication date 2014-01-01.
Hanrahan, C. and J. Salmela. “Mental Imagery as a Facilitator in Dance Movement Skills.” In L.E. Unestahl (Ed.), Contemporary Sport Psychology: Proceedings from the VI World Congress in Sport Psychology. Örebro, Sweden: VEJE Publishing, Inc. 1986, 131-141.
——— “Dance Images: Do they really Work or Are We Just Imagining Things?” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 61(2): 18-21, Feb. 1990.
Hanrahan, C. “In Search of a Good Dance Image,” Impulse 2(2): 131-144, 1994.
——— “Creating Dance Images: Basic Principles for Teachers,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 66(1): 33-39, Jan. 1995.
——— “Performance Psychology for Dancers: Overview and Future Trends.” In Overby, L.Y. and J.H. Humphrey (Eds.) Dance: Current Selected Research Vol. 4. New York: AMS Press, Inc. 2000, 1-20.
Kleinman, S. “The Experience of Posture,” Proceedings of an international seminar on posture and physical activity (pp. 78-85) Jerusalem, Israel: Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport, 1982.
Meglin, J.A. “Ideokinesis as it Applies to Injury Prevention.” In C.G. Shell (Ed.), The Dancer as Athlete: The 1984 Olympic Scientific Congress Proceedings Vol. 8. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. 1986, 173-181.
Minton, S.C. “Assessment of the Use of Imagery in the Dance Classroom,” Impulse 4(4): 276-292, Oct. 1996.
——— “Enhancement of Alignment through Imagery,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 61(2): 28-29, Feb. 1990.
——— “Exploring the Body/Mind Connection with Imagery,” Kinesiology and Medicine for Dance 14(1): 29-32, Fall/Winter 1991-92.
Oestrich, H.G. The Identification of Principles Related to the Education and Training of the Individual for More Efficient Neuromuscular Function. Unpublished Ed.D. Thesis. New York University, 1956.
Overby, L.Y. “The Use of Imagery by Dance Teachers – Development and Implementation of Two Research Instruments,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 61 (2): 24-27, Feb 1990.
Skinner, J. and B. Davis, R. Davidson, K. Wheeler, S. Metcalf. “Skinner Releasing Technique,” in the Skinner Releasing Technique Website. http://www.skinnerreleasing.com
Smith, K.L. “Dance and Imagery: The Link Between Movement and Imagination,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 61(2):17, Feb 1990.
Soto, G. H. Ideokinesis: BodyMind Integrity and Integration. Self-published. San Anselmo, CA. Contact: G. Hoffman Soto, 11B San Anselmo, CA 94960 or send e-mail to: Sotomotion@sbcglobal.net.
Studd, K. Ideokinesis, Mental rehearsal and relaxation applied to dance technique. Unpublished master’s thesis. University of Oregon, Eugene, 1983.
Udow, N.W. The Use of Imagery for a Receptive Process of Dance Technique. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1976.
Vaccaro, K. C. “Teaching Strategies – The Application of Found Images in Dance and Sport,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 68(1): 45-49, January 1997.