Laban once wrote that “the dancer moves, not only from place to place but also from mood to mood.”  Movement from place to place occurs in the kinesphere, where the direction symbols invented by Laban facilitate creating and recording visible movements of the limbs.

To facilitate movement from mood to mood, Laban conceived four motion and eight dynamic qualities.  He also recognized that these motion factors and qualities combine, creating a variety of different moods.  Practicing various effort combinations provides a way to explore and expand one’s range of movement dynamics.… Read More

Effort is driven by inner intent and embodied visibly.  Laban referred to this visible display as the “Flow of Weight in Time and Space.”

Flow, Weight, Time, and Space are the four motion factors.  Laban conceived these as representing psychological functions, and correlated Flow with Feeling, Weight with Sensing, Time with Intuiting, and Space with Thinking.

These correlations provide insight into the psychological aspects of human movement. Find out more in “The Transformation Drives.”… Read More

In the previous blog, I characterized the “kinesphere” and “dynamosphere” as being different. However, there are also similarities in the way Laban conceived and gave structure to these distinct realms of human movement.

While the space surrounding the body is visible, it is also empty without any landmarks to map where the mover’s limbs go.  To provide landmarks, Laban used the corners and edges of Platonic solids, inscribing a kind of longitude and latitude on the sphere of space around the body.… Read More

Historically, Laban’s dance notation system and his movement analysis framework were developed separately and at different points in Laban’s career.  Since notation came first, it has a longer track record and a more delineated focus on dance.

Movement analysis theories crystallized later, when Laban was working in industry, education, psychology, and theatre rather than dance.  Perhaps this accounts for the many different ways in which movement analysis is being used today.

The overlapping conferences at OSU both revealed these diverse perspectives and also reinforced the shared roots of notation and movement analysis. … Read More

Attending the Laban Bartenieff Movement Studies conference highlighted the many uses of movement analysis, not only in dance practice and research, but also in somatics, business, psychology, self-help, theatre, animation, robotics, and more.

Concurrent sessions of workshops, lectures, and panels meant that the LBMS conference was an embarrassment of riches, one requiring choices.  It simply was not possible to attend all the sessions one desired!

However, shared sessions with the ICKL conference on Friday afternoon brought the notation and analysis communities together.  … Read More

Attending the 34^th Biennial Conference of the International Council of Kinetography Laban highlighted the critical role that dance notation plays in the preservation of theatrical choreographies and folk dance traditions.

Truly international in focus, conference presenters and attendees hailed from the Americas, Europe, and Asia.  Lectures and workshops demonstrated the value of recording dance in symbols and its many uses in dance pedagogy, dance history, and the preservation and restaging of significant dance works for the stage, as well as the conservation of sacred and secular cultural movement forms.… Read More

During the week of July 14-20 the Laban Movement Analysis and Labanotation communities shared workshops, lectures, panels, and performances at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and nearby Kenyon College.

The overlapping conferences were organized respectively by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute (LIMS) and the International Council of Kinetography Laban (ICKL).  The gatherings marked an historic moment of reconnection and a re-envisioning of dialogue and mutual enrichment between the dance notation and movement analysis fields.

Get an eye-witness view of both conferences in the next blogs.… Read More

Combining the motion factors of Space and Weight yields what Laban called the “Stable” state.

Laban relates this effort combination to an inner attitude of “steadfastness.” He characterizes variations of this state as” resolute, sensitively receptive, solid and powerful or delicately pinpointing.”

Laban named the contrasting combination of Time and Flow the “Mobile” state.  He relates this to an inner attitude of “adaptability,” which may be fluent or cautious, slowly forthcoming or abruptly changing.

Obviously, the effort states provide a rich palette of subtle shades for movement expression. … Read More

Combining the motion factors of Space and Flow yields what Laban called the “Remote” state.  Laban relates this to an inner attitude of “detachment,” which may be restrained or relaxed, self-absorbed or more universal in focus.

He called the contrasting combination of the motion factors of Weight and Time the “Near” state. Laban relates this to an inner attitude of “presence,” which may express strong attachment or superficial touch having immediate or more lingering impact.

Why take Laban’s word for this? … Read More