In 1962, Irmgard Bartenieff was expected to lecture on “Notation in Physical Therapy” for a national conference hosted by the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City.  Instead, she lectured on “Effort Observation and Assessment in Rehabilitation.”

In this historic lecture, Bartenieff clearly differentiates how the structural notation, developed by Rudolf Laban, and the effort/shape notation, developed by Warren Lamb, provide complementary information for those involved in physical and psychological therapies.

Her paper provides much food for thought.  Since November is the month of the Thanksgiving feast, Bartenieff’s observations are the subject for my November blogs.… Read More

October is the month of Halloween, and so it seems appropriate that my blogs this month focus on the transformation drive Laban named the “Spell Drive.”

In these effort combinations, Flow replaces Time, melding with the stabilizing qualities of Weight and Space.  Spell is the timeless drive that conjures up an inescapable intensity of concentration or fascination.  As Bartenieff describes, “It is comparable to ‘a witch’s spell,’ or the power of an irresistible seduction.”

Spell always seems to me to be the effort drive least suited to contemporary life, in which time is always foreground because everything happens so quickly, or not quickly enough. … Read More

For Rudolf Laban, movement became the lens through which he could intuitively grasp the unity of all existence. This realization, however, was not enough.

He wanted to study and practice movement more closely, and this necessitated developing an objective and analytical tool known today as LBMS (Laban Bartenieff Movement Studies). Studying movement with LBMS can have profound implications.

Irmgard Bartenieff – dancer, physical therapist, dance therapist, and movement researcher – is a case in point.  Her career, in fact, her whole being was a testament to the power of movement study to unify one’s worldview.… Read More

“Change in any part changes the whole.”  This was Irmgard Bartenieff’s view.

As a physical and later dance therapist, Bartenieff (1900-1981) was responsible for catalyzing changes in the movement and behavioral patterns of her clients.   But, as her statement suggests, it was not always necessary to address physical and psychological issues directly.

Movement involves the whole person – not just the physical parts but the mental and emotional parts as well.  Similarly, the body itself is a system of interrelated systems. … Read More