Isadora Duncan in particular articulated the need for dance which she described as being connected to the earth, sensuality and the natural body.
In pursuit of this goal, pioneers such as Margeret D'Oubler, Martha Graham, Rudolf von Laban and Doris Humphrey began to invent new dance techniques that involved radically different movement.
Elements of release technique began to emerge as these pioneers, and protégés such as Merce Cunningham, José Limón, Irmgard Bartenieff, Erick Hawkins and Anna Halprin, contributed further ideas and inventions.
For example, D'Oubler envisioned dance based on scientific analysis of human anatomy and movement; Humphrey's technique focused on allowing gravity and momentum to affect the body; Hawkins advanced the idea that physiologically efficient movement is inherently beautiful.
Today elements of tai chi, yoga, and somatic practices such as the Feldenkrais method can be found in Release Technique.