Laban Movement Analysis and Architecture

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

“The first inner vision of a choreutic shape and the first inner vision of any architectural creation or an abstract drawing have a great resemblance. The invention of an architectural, plastic or pictorial form is, in reality, a choreutic phrase.”

Rudolf Laban, Mastery of Movement, p. 115

Over my years in the field of dance and movement studies, I became increasingly curious about exploring the relationship between architectural practice and movement.

For some, this may seem an odd pairing. Architects design and create solid, tangible structures that are more or less unchanging over time; dancers articulate liminal traceforms that vanish before your eyes.… Read More

Movement Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Study

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Over the past three centuries, knowledge has proliferated. At the same time, knowledge has become increasingly specialized. At the university level, this has led to a proliferation of departments, with courses of study carefully demarcated along disciplinary borders that are not particularly permeable. Indeed, the departmental structure of most universities makes it difficult for inter-disciplinary initiatives to succeed.

Nevertheless, it is the mission of the university to educate, and an educated person is supposed to know a little something about all fields of human knowledge.… Read More

Laban, Modernism, and Postmodernism

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Rudolf Laban was 21 years old when the 20th century began. For Laban, as well as his fellow artists living in Munich and Paris, the new century seemed to be a time of great promise. The European nations were colonial powers that dominated 85% of the world economically and politically. Europeans saw themselves as the cultural elite, overseeing a future of unparalleled scientific and technical progress.

Nevertheless, the beginning of the new century was also a period of great anxiety. Modern Europeans possessed a greater understanding of the workings of the material world than any previous civilization.… Read More

Laban Movement Analysis in the University Curriculum

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

 

Courses in Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) have become core curriculum, primarily in university dance and dance therapy programs. However, LMA courses are also appearing in other disciplinary areas such as theatre, music composition and conducting, computer animation, and even architecture – disciplines in which some understanding of human movement is relevant. Movement analysis helps future dancers, actors, and conductors move more expressively and creatively while enabling would-be animators, composers, and architects to observe movement more precisely. In all these fields, Laban’s work is appreciated for its utilitarian value.… Read More

The Warren Lamb Legacy: Freedom through Movement Analysis

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In the weeks since movement pioneer Warren Lamb died at the age of 90, I have had many occasions to reflect Warren’s life, our friendship, and what Warren fashioned from the insights he garnered from Rudolf Laban.

Laban referred to movement as “man’s magic mirror.” Lamb found a way to capture what is reflected in movement and give it practical relevance. In doing so, he moved far, far beyond “body language.”

The Movement Pattern Analysis profile Lamb developed reveals a person’s unique motivational pattern.… Read More

Movement Traits and Movement Factors

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Warren Lamb‘s assessments of movement patterns draws upon principles established by the movement expert Rudolf Laban and the management consultant F.C. Lawrence. During the Second World War, these two men collaborated to enhance efficiency in British factories.

Their revolutionary approach utilized “trait and factor” theory in the following way. First, they identified the movement factors required for a given job. Next, they analyzed the movement traits of individual workers, based on observing each person’s movement patterns. Finally, Laban and Lawrence determined the degree to which an individual worker’s personal movement style matched the job requirements.… Read More

Movement Patterns Are Individually Distinctive

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Bodily movement is ephemeral and illusive. Consider a simple action, like lifting the right arm overhead. At the beginning, as the right arm hangs by the side, there is stillness. At the ending when the arm arrives overhead, there is another momentary stillness. But the actual movement, the process of raising the arm, disappears even as it is happening.

Dance, the movement art par excellence, exists at a perpetual vanishing point. Yet, there is order and pattern to dance. The ballerina takes three steps to the right, then three steps to the left, turns and pauses.… Read More

The Significance of Posture-Gesture Mergers

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

A Posture-Gesture Merger refers to a movement in which the dynamic effort quality and/or shape change is consistent through the body as a whole. Warren Lamb first identified Posture-Gesture Mergers as significant phrases in the ongoing stream of bodily movements that accompany speech. As he observed, “It’s not just Posture and Gesture but the merging element of the two which is the crux of the matter.”

Posture-Gesture Mergers (PGMs) are significant for the following reasons:
1. Unlike static postures, PGMs are dynamic physical actions.… Read More

The Merging of Posture and Gesture

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In his early days as a management consultant, Warren Lamb frequently helped client companies appoint employees. He would be called in to interview a short-list of people being considered for a position. His assessment, based upon the candidates’ movement patterns, would be used, in addition to other measures, to find the right person for the job.

Lamb was aware that some people simply come across better in an interview than others. They are able to manage the image they create adroitly, in part through their nonverbal behaviors.… Read More

Beyond Postures and Gestures

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Body language tends to focus on postures and gestures. Postures are still configurations of body parts. A military bearing involves a stiff uprightness. A bored adolescent will slouch. When sitting, the alpha male assumes the “power spread,” with legs apart and elbows out to the side. Thus postures are said to convey a person’s attitude.

Gestures are isolated actions of individual body parts. Some gestures are iconic, such as pointing the finger to indicate direction or shaking the head to indicate “no.”… Read More