Initiating Laban Movement Analysis Training in the US

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In 1962 Irmgard was invited to discuss her use of Labanotation in physical therapy at a large notation conference in New York City.  Instead she pulled a “bait and switch.”

Rather than extolling structural notation, Irmgard described the value of the Effort/Shape assessment she had learned from Lamb.  This notation “reveals the mental and emotional processes of the human being,” providing her with insight into the psychological ramifications of distorted physical movement.  She used client case studies to demonstate how these insights enhanced her rehabilitative practices.… Read More

Back to Laban

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In the mid-1950s, after a decade in physical therapy practice, Irmgard resumed her movement analysis studies in Europe.  By this time, Laban himself had immigrated to England, where he had also moved into new areas of study – notably movement in education and industry.

Irmgard discovered that the pedagogical approaches Laban pioneered in Germany in the 1920s had been systematically incorporated into an expressive and socially-oriented movement education curriculum for British school children.

To understand the industrial application relating movement and motivation, Irmgard studied with Laban’s protégé, Warren Lamb.… Read More

Beyond Dance

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The 1936 arrival of the dancing Bartenieffs in the US was not fortuitous.  As Irmgard recalled, “I did not find the American community receptive to Laban.” Modern dancers “were intent on creating an American dance idiom.  They did not want European ideas.”

To earn a living, the Bartenieffs trained in massage.  In assessing the needs of her clients, Irmgard drew on Laban’s notions that everyone can dance; that is, move expressively for the intrinsic pleasure of doing so.

Irmgard began to examine the relation between movement function and expression with her massage clients, and this led her to pursue training in physical therapy.… Read More

Professional and Community Dance

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During the late 1920s, Irmgard ended her first marriage to a German history professor and married a Russian ballet dancer, Michail Bartenieff.  Combining their dance experiences, the couple founded the Romantisches Tanztheatre Bartenieff, performing and touring for several years.

In 1933, after the Nazi takeover of the German government, the Bartenieffs were forced to close their dance company due to Michail’s Jewish heritage.  During this period of forced retirement, Irmgard continued her notation studies with Laban’s colleague, Albrecht Knust, and began translating Feuillet (Baroque dance notation) into Kinetography Laban.… Read More

Coming of Age in the Weimar Republic

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Irmgard Bartenieff entered university as a young adult just as Germany entered a new period. As she recalled, “Germany had experienced a disastrous defeat.  The monarchy was abolished. The radical groups of socialism and communism came in, and it was really all these very factors that attracted everybody in the arts”… including Rudolf Laban.

Irmgard did not encounter Laban’s work until 1922, when, quite by accident, she began studying dance with one of his students.  As Irmgard’s interest deepened, the teacher encouraged her to work directly with Laban.… Read More

The Life and Times of Irmgard Bartenieff

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Irmgard Bartenieff (1900-1981) has come to personify the far-ranging applicability of Laban-based movement analysis.  Her 60-year career spanned two continents, two languages, and multiple disciplines.  Her work continues to inspire the growing community of professionals who must grapple with understanding the ephemeral phenomenon of human movement.

In preparation for the upcoming MoveScape Center seminar, “Irmgard Bartenieff: In Her Own Words,” my July blogs survey the life and times of this remarkable woman.

Let’s begin at the beginning.

During Irmgard’s childhood, Germany was a peaceful monarchy. … Read More

My Upcoming Sabbatical

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In addition to 50 years as a movement analyst, I have been directing MoveScape Center for a dozen years.  The time has come for a sabbatical.

Consequently, MoveScape Center will be quiet for a few months while I pursue various writing projects.

Blogs and email announcements will resume in July.

And two courses will be back by popular demand – “Irmgard Bartenieff:  In Her Own Words” in September and “Mostly about Shape (and a little bit about Effort)” in October.

 … Read More

Understanding Aspects of Shape

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In the decades since I received my certificate in movement analysis, Shape has emerged as a movement category distinct from Body, Effort, and Space.

Although “modes of shape change” and movement descriptors such as “rising, retreating, etc.” have been around, the emergence of shape as an independent category is new – and somewhat contested.

This inspired me to create the course “Mostly about Shape (and a bit about Effort)” in 2024.  The course traces shape terminology from Laban to the present, with observation tasks to ground the concepts.… Read More

Homage to Bartenieff

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Fifty years ago, I was lucky to study “effort/shape” with Irmgard Bartenieff, to assist in her classes at the Dance Notation Bureau, and to join the faculty and staff of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute when it was founded in 1978.

Irmgard managed to publish her magnus opus Body Movement in 1980 with the help of co-author Dori Lewis.  The book is a wonderful resource that would not have been finished without Dori’s assistance.

But I never hear Irmgard’s voice when I read the book.… Read More

Fifty Years as a Movement Analyst

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I completed my year of movement analysis training at the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City in 1976.  Fifty years later, it is safe to say that this training changed my life.

I began movement analysis training as a young dancer interested in a choreographic career.  My certificate project, a solo dance centered around the Spell Drive, unexpectedly  led me away from performance and toward a deeper interest in what the study of movement can reveal about human behavior.  This led to almost four decades of work with Warren Lamb, multiple writing and research projects, and many years of teaching.… Read More