Seven-rings R Us

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Laban’s Mixed Seven-rings are an important extension of his theory of movement harmony.  But they are not just important theoretically – they are quite challenging to perform.  And, because of their harmonic analogies, they offer novel approaches for movement invention.

In the forthcoming Ico workshop, Cate Deicher and I draw upon Laban’s unpublished writings to facilitate learning and embodying the mixed seven-rings.  Because these trace-forms are drawn from the better-known axis and girdle scales, we will start with reviewing these forms. … Read More

Five-rings Anyone?

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Laban moved into new Choreutic territory with five-rings, and consequently they are fascinating to embody.   Primarily Laban built his space harmony scales around the cubic diagonals.  But the peripheral and transverse five-rings that Cate Deicher and I will be teaching in the Advanced Space Harmony workshop are built around the planar diameters.

The peripheral five-rings create pentagonal shapes around corners of the icosahedron that both match and challenge range of motion for gestures of the arms and legs.

The transverse five-rings trace star-like shapes around corners of the icosahedron. … Read More

New Choreutic Forms and Movement Invention

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by Cate Deicher

What kinds of choreographic impulses can open and closed Choreutic forms elicit in you?  In our Advanced Space Harmony workshop, December 3 and 4, Carol-Lynne Moore and I will be exploring the experiences of both kinds of Choreutic forms.

Laban’s Space material has always held a keen interest for me. As I undertook creative projects for dance groups and theater productions, the space material became a springboard for choreographic ideas.  Robert Ellis Dunn talked about how Laban’s scales serve to stimulate the neuromuscular system and spark compositional possibilities. … Read More

Snakes in Space?

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Rudolf Laban thought so; he found them in the kinesphere!  “Snakes” are one of the seldom taught space harmony forms that Cate Deicher and I will be exploring in our “Advanced Space Harmony” workshop, December 3-4, in New York City.

Our aim in this workshop is to introduce new Choreutic forms and demonstrate how these can serve as a design source for movement.  Unlike most of the familiar space harmony scales, snakes are not rhythmic circles. That is, they do not begin and end at the same point in the kinesphere. … Read More

Advancing and Promoting Movement Analysis

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If the field of Laban-based movement study is to grow, theoretical research must be on-going, public demand for the services of movement professionals must be cultivated, and the field must be self-governing so that incompetent and unethical practices are not tolerated.

Since its inception in 1991, Motus Humanus has addressed these needs in a variety of ways.

Research and Publication. Through our Seed Money program, Motus Humanus has provided over $3000 of funding for research, publication projects, and archival support.  We have published two monographs, contributing copies to universities where Laban Movement Analysis or Labanotation are taught.… Read More

Serving the Laban Community

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Since 1991, Motus Humanus has been serving the Laban community by providing various services to support movement professionals as they develop their post-certification careers.  These include the following.

Continuing Education for Movement Analysts.  Motus Humanus has sponsored 14 advanced seminars addressing topics such as space harmony, effort phrasing, Bartenieff Fundamentals, teaching Laban Movement Analysis, observation and notation, movement psychology for actors, understanding movement patterns, and more.  Our roster of instructors draws upon 40 leading Laban experts from the US and overseas. … Read More

Motus Humanus Turns 25!

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In 1991, Charlotte Honda, Kaoru Yamamoto, and I formed Motus Humanus, a professional organization for Laban-based movement specialists. Over Labor Day weekend, we celebrated our 25th anniversary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with over 30 movement analysts and invited guests.

“Six Conversations about Human Movement” provided the theme for this, our 8th Roundtable on Professional Issues.  In this unique event, each of our six volunteer Board members (David Bauer, Cate Deicher, Alison Henderson, Becky Nordstrom, Kaoru Yamamoto, and myself) invited a special guest for a chat. … Read More

Tensegrity – Did Laban Beat Bucky Fuller?

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In 1975 Buckminster Fuller coined the term “tensegrity” by contacting two terms —  tensional and integrity.  Simply defined, tensegrity refers to “compression elements in a sea of tension.”

“Tensegrity structures,” cantilevered struts held together by strings, appear in photographic records of sculptures created by Rudolf Laban during his convalescence at Dartington Hall (1938-39).  Of course, Laban was modeling Choreutic trace-forms.  But he seems to have happened upon the concept of tensegrity, or more accurately, to have grasped intuitively today’s emerging models of the body as a biotensegrity structure.… Read More

Choreutic Practice – Healing the Mind-Body Split

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The aim of choreutic practice, according to Rudolf Laban, is “to stop the process of disintegrating into disunity.”  In his view, bodily movement “can have a regenerating effect on our individual and social forms of life.”

In our upcoming Advanced Space Harmony workshop, Cate Deicher and I intend to “push the envelope” by exploring new frontiers in choreutic practice.  The workshop focuses on bringing seldom-taught space harmony sequences to life.  This requires, as Laban notes, “integrating the bodily perspective, the dynamic feeling and the controlling faculties.” … Read More

“Summer of Dance” Dissed

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I may think the Denver Art Museum’s “Summer of Dance” is splendid, but the Denver Post’s critic disagrees.  He writes, “As a theme, ‘dance’ is, frankly, thin, a fringe topic that’s wholly without risk and lacks the kind of gravitas that a serious museum has the skill and resources to tackle.”  Other phrases are similarly dismissive:  “escapism,” “light touch,” “fun,” and finally, in response to the display of Anna Pavlova’s tutu – “This year, its feathery fluffiness feels like a metaphor for the whole lineup at DAM.”… Read More