Laban Movement Analysis enables observers to break a movement apart into its various body, effort, shape, and space components. These elements are distinctive, and Laban was certainly aware of this. Yet, he also recognized that these elements, though each of a different nature, cohere in voluntary human actions.
“Harmony” is the term he chose with which to study the amazing coherence of voluntary movement. Harmony brings different elements into agreement through proportional means. Take the body and the empty space around it. The trace-forms that moving limbs create depend upon the joint structure and range of motion of parts of the body.
In the first part of The Movement Harmony Project, we will be studying the stylized spatial patterns and sequences that Laban designed. The aim is to take these abstract patterns and find ways to embody them fully. This is a great challenge to body and mind, because there are tricky transitions to navigate and many ways to phrase the sequences and give them life and movement quality.
Find out more in The Movement Harmony Project: Part 1.