While Laban identified relationships between body, space, effort, and shape, he did not prescribe particular movements as inherently harmonious. Instead, he writes that “there are considerations such as individual expressiveness or taste which can influence the personal conception of harmony in movement. Graceful movements will suit one person more than vital or bizarre movement, or the contrary may be the case.”
Individual expression depends upon the individual having a rich range of motion. Balance comes into play again here. According to Laban,“the essential thing is that we should neither have preference for nor avoid certain movement because of physical or psychical restrictions.” Physical or psychological impairments will impact an individual’s range of motion; and this imbalance will in turn have an effect on the overall cohesion of movement expression.
While a unity of form may be realized in a variety of movement styles, harmonious expression in any style depends upon a fundamentally intact range of motion.
The upcoming Movement Harmony ALIVE workshop provides an opportunity for participants to explore their individual expressions of harmonious movement. Find out more….