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

World of Movement, World of Wonder

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Guest blog by Juliet Chambers-Coe

Laban characterized the dynamic yet ephemeral world of movement as “a jungle of sudden appearances and disappearances, a glistening and colorful wonder-world which awaits exploration.”

The www.Labanarium.com  is a part of this ‘jungle’ and ‘wonder-world’ of which Laban speaks.  Members from across the globe meet through the network to share practice, ideas, research and inspirations from the world of movement, and it awaits your exploration!

In the spirit of movement and dance theorist Rudolf Laban, the Labanarium seeks to foster an exchange between members of the movement community and is open to the breadth and diversity of practices that explore all human movement.… Read More

The Labanarium – A Global Community

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Guest blog by Juliet Chambers-Coe.

In A Life for Dance, Laban recounts how he set about developing an artistic community of shared practice and ideals:

“To participate creatively in this great community idea and in the festive spirit which should be the goal and supreme aspiration of every culture…the daily building up of the communal culture which should culminate in festivities and celebrations and be intimately bound up with the development of the self…I asked all those who were sympathetic with my views to come and help realize this dreamed of way of life somewhere in the open country” (Laban, 1975).… Read More

Beyond Motus Humanus

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In 1991, Kaoru Yamamoto, Charlotte Honda and I founded Motus Humanus – a professional organization dedicated to supporting the development of Laban-based movement study.

Over the next 25 years, Motus Humanus provided networking opportunities and continuing education for movement analysts, supported research and publication, honored professional achievement, and created a community for Laban-based movement specialists.

Now Juliet Chambers-Coe has created the Labanarium – a 21st century vehicle for the movement community.  New technology opens up exciting avenues of communication and new possibilities for interaction and collaboration.… Read More

Esperanto and the Pan-human Language of Movement

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

With two million speakers worldwide, Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed (rather than naturally evolving) language. Created by a Polish doctor in the late 1800s, Esperanto was meant to be an international language “to unite nations in common brotherhood.”

 

Movement is often characterized as a pan-human means of communication, a kind of international language that, like Esperanto, can foster mutual understanding among different peoples. In his more utopian musings, Laban subscribed to this idea – with a slight variation.… Read More

Dancing Across Borders

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Once upon a time, dance was a local phenomenon.  Because dance was rooted in the community, Rudolf Laban hypothesized that “an observer of tribal and national dances can gain information about the states of mind or traits of character cherished and desired within the particular community.”  This is because “these dances show the effort range cultivated by social groups living in a definite milieu.”

 

Globalization is changing this. Popular dance forms in particular move across borders with remarkable speed. Tango, salsa, competitive ballroom dance, and hip-hop – to name just a few – are now performed around the world, often by social groups different in class, race, and temperament from the milieu in which the dance originated.… Read More

Mastery of Movement, Mastery of Self

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Michael Murphy theorizes that “flesh and consciousness tend to coevolve” through the practice of movement and somatic disciplines.  Thus virtuosity – effort economy or the technical perfection of “effortless-ness” – may indeed have a higher function.

“Cutting Up an Ox,” by the Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu, mirrors this idea.  

 

In this parable, a Chinese prince observes the virtuosity of his cook butchering an ox.  The cleaver “murmured like a gentle wind” and the ox “fell apart with a whisper.”  The prince exclaims, “Your method is faultless.”  … Read More

The Future of the Body

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

The physical capabilities of human beings are increasing, and this was quite evident at the Winter Olympics.  For example, snowboarders were doing feats in the qualifying runs that would have won medals at previous Olympics. Michael Murphy, co-founder of the Esalen Institute, has been fascinated by the expanding horizon of human potential represented by such exceptional athletes.  

In The Future of the Body, Murphy claims that “no culture has ever possessed as much publicly available knowledge as we do today regarding the transformation capacities of human nature.”… Read More

Grace in Sports

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Grace has been characterized as the art of moving well through life.  In her ruminations on grace, dance critic Sarah Kaufmann, notes that “the graceful person is an image of our ideal selves, the embodiment of the dream we have of existing easily in the world.”

As her discussion proceeds, her observations begin to link with Laban’s characterization of virtuosity as effort economy.  According to Kaufmann, graceful actions “offer an image of that desirable state of affairs:  effortless mastery.  Mastery of the situation and of our own bodies, behavior, and emotions.”  … Read More

The Magic of Play

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Carol-Lynne Moore

As I reflect on the seductive appeal of Olympic sports, I’m drawn to the notion that sport is play. It may be a livelihood and an obsession for the athletes themselves, but for spectators, a sport is still a game. But what makes an activity playful?

In his seminal book, Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga identifies key features of play as the following:

* All play is a voluntary activity; it is free; it is never imposed as a duty or a practical task.… Read More