When hysteria becomes a healing move: Shaking your body can be a great way to relieve stress

A recent exhibition at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn explored the relationship between shaking and psychological distress, with choreographer and dancer Wendy Osserman demonstrating therapeutic movements and her daughter, artist Liz Magic Laser, creating a documentary on the subject. Osserman’s shaking movements were intended to release stored up rage, grief, and panic in the body. Laser’s exhibition, “Convulsive States,” delved into the history of shaking as both a symptom of trauma and a possible cure. The exhibition featured video footage of shaking practitioners demonstrating various therapeutic movements and interviews with psychologists, neurologists, priests, and dance therapists. Laser became interested in the subject after seeing photographs of women convulsing at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, where 19th-century neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot conducted research on hysteria. Laser’s documentary also explored the use of theater in teaching neurology and the embodiment of neurological conditions through movement. The exhibition aimed to blur the lines between art and performance and challenge the notion of neutrality in both news and fitness training videos.