• Agente de conocimiento acreditado AC00231ACTA

Kinomichi, the dance of healing

Documentary film about Kinomichi, a healing art derived from Aikido, created by Masamichi Noro, a contemporary refuge for dancers.

  • Title: Kinomichi, the dance of healing
  • Director and concept creation: Sebastián Gómez-Lozano
  • Producer and editing: Pedro Ángel Pruneda-Conejero
  • Director of Photography: Inma Bernal
  • Audivisual production: TRASFOCO E.C.A.
  • Scientific Authors: Sebastián Gómez-Lozano, María Eugenia García-Sottile & Alfonso Vargas-Macías
  • Fecha de publicación: 07/02/2024
  • DOIhttps://doi.org/10.23754/telethusa.PIB42019.2022en


Abstract

Masamichi Noro was born in Aomori, Japan, on 21 January 1935.  In 1961, Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, wished to send a student of this Japanese art to Europe and entrusted him to Master Noro, who landed in Marseille on 3 September 1961. Master Noro was already established in France when he was involved in a serious road accident in 1966. The collision with another vehicle left him with numerous fractures in his chest, a perforated lung and several days in a coma. Noro also suffered paralysis of his left hand and loss of sensation in his left upper body. The after-effects of the accident were so severe that he soon adapted aikido to his new condition, incorporating therapeutic exercises under a very personal style he called Kinomichi, which was officially recognised in 1979. In the context of somatic practices, Kinomichi is linked to Western therapies such as Eutonia, founded by Gerda Alexander (Wuppertal 1908-1994), or the German body psychotherapy promoted by Elsa Gindler (Berlin 1885-1961). This German somatic current has played a fundamental role in the training of dancers, especially in connection with the precursor of German expressionist dance, Mary Wigman (Hannover 1886 – Berlin 1973), and more recently with the neo-expressionism represented by Pina Bausch (Solingen 1940 – Wuppertal 2009). Since its inception, the art of Kinomichi has served as an existential refuge for both professional and amateur dancers. The innovative Western pedagogy that Master Noro introduced into Aikido has democratised the practice of this martial art, making it more accessible to contemporary Western society. Before his death on 15 March 2013, Masamichi Noro left us the legacy of a style that would return to the spiritual roots of his Sensei Morihei Ueshiba.