Having a Good Fight

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Many years ago while studying counseling psychology, I analyzed the “Gloria tapes.” In these films three famous psychotherapists – Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, and Albert Elllis – each interview the same young woman, Gloria. Through my focus on the nonverbal dimension of the therapy session with Perls, I learned something about movement and fighting.

Mirroring, echoing, and synchrony are indicative of rapport. As I watched the videotape without sound, I saw many instances of these behaviors between Gloria and Perls.… Read More

There Are No Collisions on the Dance Floor

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

The play, “MASTER HAROLD” … and the boys”, takes place on a rainy afternoon in a South African tearoom during the period of apartheid. There are no customers – only the two black waiters, Sam and Willie, and Master Harold, the white adolescent son of the owners. The “boys” are getting ready to participate in a ballroom dancing competition with their girlfriends.

As the three while away the afternoon, the boys practice dancing and describe the upcoming event for Master Harold. … Read More

Rapport through Dancing

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Nonverbal research has discovered that rapport is physical. Subliminal signals are sent body to body. In ordinary life, we feel the effect of these bodily signals – of mirroring positions, or echoing actions, or subtle synchronization of small motions – without perceiving them to be the cause of feelings of rapport. In dance, the cause is much more obvious.

Dance makes patterns in time and space. Dancing with others requires coordinating these patterns, keeping together in space and time. All forms of dance use symmetry and synchrony to create patterns.… Read More

Rapport through Movement

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Human movement occurs in space and time. Nonverbal communication research has shown that rapport is established both spatially and temporally. Both facets are so ubiquitous as to escape our attention, yet they are nevertheless profound – the very bedrock on which congenial human interaction is based.

The arrangement of body parts in space – the way in which an individual poses and positions himself – holds clues to rapport. Symmetry is critical. Researchers have found that when two people sit in identical positions or as mirror images of each other’s pose, this shared posture indicates that they share a point of view. … Read More

Dance and Conflict

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

The Dance Studies Association (DSA) has chosen “Dance and Conflict” as the theme of its conference this summer in Malta. This promises to be a huge international gathering now that the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) and the Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS) have merged to form DSA.

I’m quite excited by this conference theme because dance is often considered to be a trivial pastime. The ways in which dance can bring people together and enable them to overcome differences is often overlooked.… Read More

The Icosahedron Revealed

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

As my imaginary conversation with Laban progresses, he begins to share more deeply.

CLM: I always suspected there was more to your choice of the icosahedron as a model of the kinesphere. Please go on.

R.Laban: You see, the icosahedron isn’t found in any crystalline forms. That is, it isn’t found in inorganic matter. But some microscopic organisms have icosahedral shapes – it is one of the shapes nature chooses for living forms.

CLM: Why is that important?

R. Laban: Because life curves, and most trace-forms of human movement are curvilinear.… Read More

Laban Clarifies the Geography of the Kinesphere

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

As my imaginary conversation with Laban continued, the topic of the icosahedron came up.

CLM: Let’s talk more about the kinesphere.

R.Laban: Think of it as the bubble of territory surrounding your whole body – the space you can reach with your limbs without taking a step.

CLM: Does this movement space have a shape? Is it a sphere?

RL: Ideally yes. But I needed to give it a more definitive shape, with some landmarks the dancer or mover could use for orientation.… Read More

Laban and I Discuss Trace-Forms

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

CLM: I’ve read that Leonardo da Vinci was interested in “the second form of the human body” – that is, the lines traced by moving limbs on the space around the body. He visualized these forms as circles. Were you aware of that?

R. Laban: Not exactly. But again, circles have been used in figure drawing to help with capturing the figure in motion.

CLM: But your circles are “rhythmic.” What exactly does that mean?

RL: A circle lends itself to continuous motion. … Read More

Laban and I Talk about Art

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

CLM: I can see that you’re sketching. Your biographers claim you gave up painting to pursue dance…

R. Laban: I gave up art as a profession, but I’ve always enjoyed drawing. So when I’m on holiday, I like to sketch, especially landscapes.

CLM: From digging in your archives, I know that you did lots of drawings related to dance and movement. These mainly figure drawings and geometrical forms. Some are quite lovely.

RL: Thank you. The drawings you are talking about weren’t meant for public display. … Read More

Imaginary Conversations with Rudolf Laban

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In the animated film, Isle of Dogs, the director has created a fictional Japan where all the humans speak Japanese, and all the dogs speak English. If Wes Anderson can visualize Japanese dogs who converse in English, why can’t I have an imaginary conversation with Rudolf Laban on some fantastic island?

So in the next series of blogs, I am going to visit the “Isle of Laban.” It’s a mysterious spot, somewhere in the Mediterranean. Some days it’s visible, and some days it is not – a bit like Brigadoon. … Read More