The formal elements of line – straight, curved, twisted, and rounded – identified by Laban are now called “spoke-like and arc-like directional movements” and “carving.” Yet beneath these fundamental forms a more essential mode of shape change has been identified by Warren Lamb and Judith Kestenberg – shape flow.
Shape flow, the amoeba like growing and shrinking of the body, is a mode of shape change present at birth. Shape flow allows the nearly helpless neonate to grow towards what it needs and to shrink away from what is hurtful or noxious.
As the child matures, shape flow becomes a baseline underlying more complex patterns of motion. It never goes away entirely, but its relative presence or absence in individual adult movement patterns has interpersonal meaning.
Find out more in “Mostly about Shape,” the new MoveScape Center course beginning in April.