Countertechnique, a movement methodology developed by Melbourne-based, Dutch choreographer and former Artistic Director of Chunky Move Anouk van Dijk, is a method for training performing artists to move in any direction with ease and fluency. Van Dijk started to develop her own practice and methodology in the late 1990s, and she applies this method to her own choreographies and teaches it to professional dancers and dance students worldwide. A psycho-physical approach to performer training informed by the Alexander Technique and William Forsythe’s space analysis, Countertechnique had a profound impact on twenty-six third-year dance students in 2020 at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne. Following an intensive semester of classes and workshops with van Dijk and Countertechnique teachers, students reported an enhanced capacity to experiment, the enjoyment of full-bodied dancing, increased stamina, lower levels of pain and injury, and a deeper spatial awareness. In this interview with Carol Brown (Head of Dance, VCA), van Dijk discusses Countertechnique in relation to its founding principles, the local and global context, and specific dance tools that support performing artists to sustain long careers. Two interviews were conducted: one on 24 June 2020 in the middle of lockdown in Melbourne; and a second on 7 December 2020, when restrictions had eased thanks to Melbourne’s successful elimination of community transmission of Covid-19. The interviews, edited together here, sought to capture the dynamic multi-dimensional contribution Countertechnique makes to the performing arts curriculum at tertiary level, and how it moves beyond being a ‘technique’ to support other areas such as composition, inter-disciplinary practice, partnering, improvisation, and voice.

Countertechnique 是一种运动方法，由居住在墨尔本的荷兰编舞家、Chunky Move Anouk van Dijk 的前艺术总监开发，是一种训练表演艺术家轻松流畅地向任何方向移动的方法。Van Dijk 于 1990 年代后期开始发展自己的实践和方法，她将这种方法应用到自己的编舞中，并将其教授给世界各地的专业舞者和舞蹈学生。由亚历山大技术和威廉福赛斯的空间分析提供的表演者培训的心理物理方法，反技术对墨尔本大学维多利亚艺术学院 (VCA) 2020 年的 26 名三年级舞蹈学生产生了深远的影响。在与 van Dijk 和 Countertechnique 教师进行了一个学期的密集课程和研讨会之后，学生们报告说，实验能力得到了增强，享受了浓郁的舞蹈，耐力增加，疼痛和伤害水平降低，空间意识更深。在对 Carol Brown（VCA 舞蹈主管）的采访中，van Dijk 讨论了 Countertechnique 与其创立原则、当地和全球背景以及支持表演艺术家维持长期职业生涯的特定舞蹈工具相关的问题。进行了两次采访：一次是在 2020 年 6 月 24 日墨尔本封锁期间；第二次发生在 2020 年 12 月 7 日，由于墨尔本成功消除了 Covid-19 的社区传播，限制有所放松。在这里编辑的采访旨在捕捉 Countertechnique 对高等教育表演艺术课程的动态多维贡献，