What is the naftali method?

The naftali method is an improvisational dance practice that merges softness and speed into one embodied experience.

Through imagery and focused attention on the body’s major joints, we cultivate softness that releases unnecessary tension. From this place of release, speed arises — not as force, but as meditation. Movements become quicker and swifter through softness, requiring little to no muscular effort.

The practice promotes a new kind of productivity — one generated through release, momentum, and impulse — rather than exertion.

Within this framework, dancers receive tools to forge their own movement language, shaping expression through the “how” of moving rather than the “what.” While rooted in dance, the naftali method can support and enrich other movement modalities, offering a framework that is both adaptable and expansive.

Developed by Brianna Lopez in 2020 through self-directed case studies, the method was first piloted under the title Soft as a Cat, Quick as a Bird at ConnectArte Espacio Multidisciplinario in Tijuana, Mexico. It was formally named the naftali method in 2024, when it was presented at the San Diego Dance Theatre Intensive.