Rudolf Laban Naturalist

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

According to his colleague Lisa Ullmann, Rudolf Laban’s formulations of the inherent laws of natural movement came to light gradually through his professional activities. Laban’s long and varied career provided ample opportunities to observe people in motion in a variety of settings: dance classes, theatrical rehearsals and performances, factories, schools, clinics, and other venues. If Ullmann’s comments are correct, Laban was a naturalist, studying nonverbal behavior in a number of real-life settings.

Nowadays, naturalistic inquiry is regarded as a legitimate form of research, one suited to the study of human behavior in complex social settings.… Read More

Rudolf Laban’s Creativity

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Creativity is composed of four elements: originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration. Originality depends upon the novelty of an individual’s ideas. Fluency represents the sheer number of ideas that an individual can fabricate. Flexibility reflects difference in the kind of ideas produced. Finally, elaboration has to do with follow up – working out the details or perhaps seeing additional ways in which new things can be carried to the next level.

Arguably, Rudolf Laban possessed the first three attributes in abundance. His original notation and movement analysis systems provide inventive ways to capture and study the ephemeral phenomenon of human movement.… Read More

Extending Rudolf Laban’s Grounded Theory

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

“All of Rudolf Laban‘s life,” Irmgard Bartenieff writes, “was an unending process of defining the inner and outer manifestations of movement phenomenon in increasingly subtle shades and complex interrelationships.” The result of his relentless observing and categorizing is a grounded theory of human movement.

Grounded theory develops explanations of a phenomenon from an analysis of patterns, themes, and common categories discovered in observational research. Laban’s delineation of elements of human movement and relationships among these elements are the explanatory substance of his grounded theory.… Read More

The Warren Lamb Legacy: Freedom through Movement Analysis

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In the weeks since movement pioneer Warren Lamb died at the age of 90, I have had many occasions to reflect Warren’s life, our friendship, and what Warren fashioned from the insights he garnered from Rudolf Laban.

Laban referred to movement as “man’s magic mirror.” Lamb found a way to capture what is reflected in movement and give it practical relevance. In doing so, he moved far, far beyond “body language.”

The Movement Pattern Analysis profile Lamb developed reveals a person’s unique motivational pattern.… Read More

Movement Traits and Movement Factors

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Warren Lamb‘s assessments of movement patterns draws upon principles established by the movement expert Rudolf Laban and the management consultant F.C. Lawrence. During the Second World War, these two men collaborated to enhance efficiency in British factories.

Their revolutionary approach utilized “trait and factor” theory in the following way. First, they identified the movement factors required for a given job. Next, they analyzed the movement traits of individual workers, based on observing each person’s movement patterns. Finally, Laban and Lawrence determined the degree to which an individual worker’s personal movement style matched the job requirements.… Read More

Movement Patterns Are Individually Distinctive

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Bodily movement is ephemeral and illusive. Consider a simple action, like lifting the right arm overhead. At the beginning, as the right arm hangs by the side, there is stillness. At the ending when the arm arrives overhead, there is another momentary stillness. But the actual movement, the process of raising the arm, disappears even as it is happening.

Dance, the movement art par excellence, exists at a perpetual vanishing point. Yet, there is order and pattern to dance. The ballerina takes three steps to the right, then three steps to the left, turns and pauses.… Read More

The Significance of Posture-Gesture Mergers

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

A Posture-Gesture Merger refers to a movement in which the dynamic effort quality and/or shape change is consistent through the body as a whole. Warren Lamb first identified Posture-Gesture Mergers as significant phrases in the ongoing stream of bodily movements that accompany speech. As he observed, “It’s not just Posture and Gesture but the merging element of the two which is the crux of the matter.”

Posture-Gesture Mergers (PGMs) are significant for the following reasons:
1. Unlike static postures, PGMs are dynamic physical actions.… Read More

The Merging of Posture and Gesture

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In his early days as a management consultant, Warren Lamb frequently helped client companies appoint employees. He would be called in to interview a short-list of people being considered for a position. His assessment, based upon the candidates’ movement patterns, would be used, in addition to other measures, to find the right person for the job.

Lamb was aware that some people simply come across better in an interview than others. They are able to manage the image they create adroitly, in part through their nonverbal behaviors.… Read More

Beyond Postures and Gestures

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Body language tends to focus on postures and gestures. Postures are still configurations of body parts. A military bearing involves a stiff uprightness. A bored adolescent will slouch. When sitting, the alpha male assumes the “power spread,” with legs apart and elbows out to the side. Thus postures are said to convey a person’s attitude.

Gestures are isolated actions of individual body parts. Some gestures are iconic, such as pointing the finger to indicate direction or shaking the head to indicate “no.”… Read More

Boycott Body Language

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

As I mentioned in my last blog, popularity is seductive. The chance for serious movement analysis to garner publicity through the national media is almost irresistible. However, when serious study gets showcased as “body language,” the publicity does little to foster appreciation of movement.

A case in point is the March 7 story in USA Today bearing the headline, “Pentagon studies Putin’s body language to predict his actions.” The studies referred to involved legitimate analysis of movement patterns. Yet the press merely referenced this work as “body language.”… Read More