Extension Systems and Movement Study II

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

When I did the Laban Movement Analysis Program at the Dance Notation Bureau in the mid-1970s, we were required to document our final projects using two extension systems: simplified Labanotation (motif writing) and film. The latter documentation was accomplished with a small super 8 camera, a mode of recording that is now obsolete.

Several years later, Irmgard Bartenieff and I purchased the first videotape equipment for the Laban Institute. We bought Sony Betamax because of its high quality. Almost overnight, this equipment became obsolete, because the American market wholeheartedly went for VHS – the quality was not as good but it was cheaper.… Read More

Extension Systems and Movement Study I

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Human movement is a dynamic and ephemeral phenomenon. It disappears without a trace and leaves no artifact behind. Consequently, movement has been very difficult to study. The means for capturing and preserving movement behavior in material forms are comparatively new and depend upon other extension systems. These include drawings and notations along with mechanical recordings such as instantaneous photography, film, video, and motion capture.

All extension systems amplify biological functions. For example, a knife does a better job of cutting than the teeth and a photograph extends the visual impressions of the eye.… Read More

“Swan Lake” and the Industrial Revolution

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

While the Choreometrics study focused on the relationship between work movements and dance in pre-industrial societies, I once heard Lomax draw an equally provocative association between European folk dance, ballet, and the advent of the Industrial Revolution in western Europe.

The extent to which all dancers are doing exactly the same thing at the same time varies considerably among folk dance traditions. Certain western European folk dances show a high degree of synchrony, symmetry, and spatial precision, resulting in what Lomax calls “regimented choreographies.”… Read More

Material Extensions and the Elaboration of Movement Behavior

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

The Choreometrics Project, developed by Alan Lomax, Irmgard Bartenieff, and Forrestine Paulay, provides a provocative hypothesis regarding the relationship between tools, work movement, and dance.

Taking a cross-cultural perspective, the project studied dance and work movement as formalized, culturally conditioned behavior, drawing on hundreds of filmed examples from pre-industrial societies. They found that dance mirrors the movements necessary to carry out recurrent work tasks. Moreover, the Choreometrics team found the shape and dimensionality of the dance movement to be associated with the types of tools traditionally employed in working.… Read More

Body Movement – Humankind’s First Extension System

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Humankind’s first attempts to extend their capabilities must have focused on the use of the body itself. This is Lewis Mumford’s view, articulated in his seminal Technics and Human Development. His argument goes like this:

“Early human beings persistently explored their own organic possibilities and in the process made two discoveries. First, certain bodily actions were intrinsically pleasurable. Such actions tended to be repeated for purely personal reasons. However, prehistoric man also discovered that such deliberately executed movements could serve a social function.… Read More

Beyond the Body

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In the long-standing dichotomy of mind and body, movement specialists tend to value the body more than the mind. From an evolutionary perspective, however, the body is standing still. That is, Homo sapiens have changed very little on the biological level for eons. Instead, as Weston LaBarre notes: “The real evolutionary unit now is not man’s mere body; it is ‘all-mankind’s-brains-together-with-all-the-extrabodily-materials-that-come-under-the-manipulation-of-their-hands.” These “extrabodily” inventions are known as “extension systems.”

Extension systems augment human capabilities of both body and mind and fall into two broad categories: external or material extensions and internal or non-material extensions.… Read More

On Barbie, Laban, and Movement Imagination

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In last month’s lecture-demonstration, “10 Ways to Bring Laban Theory to Life,” Cate Deicher and I stressed the importance of movement imagination. Laban’s notions of effort and space are pretty abstract, and we feel movement analysts must bring their own imaginative forces to bear when teaching, lest Laban’s ideas seem cut and dried. Which they most certainly are not!

To illustrate this point, I compared Barbie to a Waldorf school doll. Barbie is made of molded plastic, with well-defined features and realistic, somewhat idealized anatomy.… Read More

Evoking Effort with Balloons

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Everyday objects can be employed creatively to evoke effort. In our Meaning in Motion lecture in New York last month, Cate Deicher showed how balloons can be used to evoke various combinations of the Action Drive.

Balloons were distributed to audience members. First they were asked to inflate their balloons by PRESSING the air into the balloon. Next participants were instructed to tie the balloon by WRINGING.

Now the fun began, as the audience began DABBING and sometimes FLICKING balloons to one another.… Read More

Illustrating the Geography of the Kinesphere with Oranges

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Laban visualized movement space as a spherical orb surrounding the body, which he called the “kinesphere.” He then went on to create a virtual geography for this spherical space, using lines, planes, and regular polyhedra — notably the octahedron, cube, and icosahedron.

Laban’s imaginary geography is quite practical. Nevertheless, imagination fails many students when they have to visualize their own bodies surrounded by geometrical figures.

During the Meaning in Motion lecture last month in New York City, I demonstrated one technique I have used to make Laban’s geometry of the kinesphere concrete.… Read More

“Suit the Action to the Word…”

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Carol-Lynne Moore

These are the instructions that Hamlet gave the actors in Shakespeare’s famous play. Cate Deicher has used Hamlet’s advice in another way  —  to help nurses, artists, and architecture students invent movement. Such “non-dance” students are often shy about moving. So Cate has developed a lengthy list of action words as an icebreaker to get students on their feet and thinking kinetically.

In our Meaning in Motion lecture-demonstration last month, Cate shared her list with audience members and invited them to choose five words at random.… Read More