Several years ago, colleagues and I found that our Laban Movement Analysis students in the Columbia College Chicago Certificate Program had developed very fuzzy notions about shape flow – an important “mode of shape change.” As a faculty, we developed the following procedure to address this problem.
First, we reviewed the literature about shape flow. Based on the primary sources, we established a working definition for identifying shape flow. Then we tested the definition, to see if different observers could agree.
The literature review revealed that Laban only refers briefly to a “shrinking and growing” kinesphere in Choreutics.Warren Lamb and Judith Kestenberg are the two movement analysts who refined the concept in relation to their movement profiling work and close collaboration over the course of two decades. Consequently, they are the primary sources.
Despite their close collaboration, Lamb and Kestenberg define shape flow differently. For example, Lamb refers to growing and shrinking in relation to the kinesphere, while Kestenberg defines growing and shrinking in terms of body shape.
Our working definition of shape flow, then, had to incorporate both body and space perspectives. In order to do so, we found we had to clarify the concept of kinesphere. Find out more in the next blog.