Recently the question has arisen as to what the body of Rudolf Laban’s work should be called.  The most commonly used moniker – Laban Movement Analysis – omits the integrative aspects of Laban’s ideas.  This is where harmony comes in.

Harmony brings things that are different into relationship with one another.  In music, harmony is heard as a relationship of different tones. In painting, harmony is seen as a relationship among different colors.

In movement, harmony unites the distinctive human faculties of thinking, feeling, willing, and doing. … Read More

Although Rudolf Laban is best known for his notation and movement analysis systems, I believe that his notions of movement harmony may ultimately be the most valuable part of his legacy.  That’s why I am dedicated to articulating, exploring, and expanding Laban’s ideas.

Hence, the Movement Harmony Project!

Part 1 – a comprehensive explanation and exploration of space harmony – launched in June.  Movement Harmony ALIVE is next, coming to New York City December 7th and 8th.

Led by Cate Deicher and myself, this advanced weekend workshop is designed to take Certificated Laban Movement specialists into new territory.  … Read More

Transverse movements cut through the space between the edge of the kinesphere and the center of the kinesphere (which is occupied by the mover’s body).  In the Movement Harmony Project, we worked with several transverse spatial sequences, notably the Axis Scales.

These forms are notable because they have a companion peripheral form.  The Axis Scales share the harmonic interval of the second with Girdles, yet evoke a quite different kinesthetic feeling.

 Some participants characterized the transverse Axis Scales as “reeling and chaotic,” “sharp,” “dynamic,” “goofy,”  “playful and unpredictable.”… Read More

My last recommendation is The Lunatic Express by journalist Carl Hoffmann.  In the midst of a mid-life crisis, he decided to take a long journey.  But rather than opting for a pleasure trip, he wanted to “travel around the world as most of the people in the world did, putting their lives at risk every time they took off on overcrowded and poorly maintained conveyances because that was all they could afford or there were no other options.”

His personal “lunatic express” took him on passenger buses along the treacherous mountain roads of the Andes, on overcrowded ferries among the islands of Indonesia, on minibuses in Africa and trains in Mumbai and China  — to name a few of his adventures and misadventures.… Read More

Those lazy, hazy days of August have arrived! I bet you’re ready to head for the
mountains, hit the beach, or just relax under a shady tree. Want to throw a book or
two in that suitcase? Here are some suggestions.

For a great review of LMA, there’s always Meaning in Motion. Otherwise, my
vacation reading list for Laban Movement Analysts includes history that reads like
fiction, titles to stimulate the mind and imagination, and even a crazy travelogue for
those who prefer for their thrills to be vicarious.… Read More

In the current Movement Harmony Project my correspondents and I are investigating  handedness – or which arm should lead when embodying different Choreutic scales.  As it turns out, handedness, or chirality, is of interest to scientists as well as dancers.

Chirality is a kind of chemical handedness first discovered by Louis Pasteur.  He was puzzled by the fact that crystals derived from the dregs of wine twisted light in a specific direction, but the same crystal synthesized in the lab did not.… Read More