April Dances Bring Advances 1

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movement and healthIn late April we celebrate National Dance Week. This year’s festivities come with scientific evidence that dancing is good for you!  A research team based at Colorado State University found that contra dancing may help to fend off aging in the brain.

A four-year clinical trial followed a group of 174 healthy adults aged 60 – 79.  The group was divided into four parts.  One group did aerobic walking, another not only walked but also took a nutritional supplement, the third group participated in stretching and balance classes, and the fourth group attended contra dance classes involving a sequence of figures as dancers progress up and down a line.  Each group met three times a week for six months.

The study focused on the fornix, which connects the hippocampus with other areas of the brain and is believed to play an important role in memory.  Each participant’s fornix was measured at the start of study and six months later.  The integrity of the fornix increased in the dance group in contrast to declines noted in half of the other participants.

This finding led researchers to conclude that “there is more benefit in activities like dance, that simultaneously provide cognitive and social stimulation in addition to physical activity,” according to an article in The Denver Post.

This study of the benefits of contra dancing is just the tip of the iceberg.  Find out more in the next blog.

Dancing with Your Eyebrows

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dancing with your eyebrows“You must not think of dance as steps,” Rudolf Laban once told a group of student actors.  “Dance is meaningful movement.  You can dance with your eyebrows. When I have taught you, you will be able to dance with any part of your body.’’

The acting students were skeptical, or course.  They thought that dance was frivolous, not serious.  Laban, however, had spent a lifetime investigating not only the physical aspects of dance, but also its mental, emotional, and social dimensions.  He saw dancing as an activity involving the whole person; he understood that dancing brings together body and mind, self and other.  

Now contemporary science is corroborating Laban’s observations with evidence based research.  Find out more in the following blogs.

A Life for Dance

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human movement danceLaban’s autobiography, A Life for Dance, is a curious book, but one that reveals a great deal about his creative vision and theatrical activities.  As he notes in the letter to his publisher that opens the book:

“I recount in my book how a human being makes his way through thousands of circumstances and events.  Since this person happens to be a dance master or even a dance-poet, the book will frequently speak about the precious little-known art of dance.  The whole kaleidoscope of events, both gay and serious, revolves around dance dramas, plays, and festivals which that dance master has invented.”

Laban wrote the book in the early 1930s, after an injury ended his performance career.  It is a summing up of his own career in dance, and in that sense, a kind of farewell.  On the other hand, the third part of the book goes beyond the personal to address the roles that dance might play in contemporary social and cultural life.  Thus the book also looks forward.

Laban is particularly hopeful about what he calls dance-drama – a “completely novel dramaturgy” that “leads to a new perception of life which tells us of the inner path taken by a character.”  The dynamic and partially abstract nature of dance moves beyond being merely a representational narrative of characters and events.  As Laban writes:

“Merely to witness incidents does not force us to look too deeply into the nature of events.  Only the portrayal of the peculiar fusion of spiritual nobility and human passion which sets external happenings in motion compels us to experience that kind of involvement through which we come nearer to the deeper meaning of experience.”

Laban’s own dance-dramas often involved fairy tale figures, historical characters, or archetypes such as “joygrief,” “lovehate,” and death.  His work was not meant to be escapist, however.  Rather, “it is a turning to reality, where the meaning of the development of the hero’s true being is found, both in his nature and in the experience of his inner struggles.”   As he notes, “in the characters of a military leader such as Agamemnon, a Don Juan, a Savonarola, or in the comic and tragi-comic figures of a jester, a Casanova, and other historical and archetypal personages, I saw not so much the victims of fate, but more the embodiments of ethical values and attitudes.”

Thus his later work, Mastery of Movement, is not just about the acquisition of theatrical skills.  It speaks more deeply to mastery of a dynamic self –one that is not only bound to respond to events out of habit, but also capable to transcending habitual reactions by means of humane effort.

Observing Movement, Observing Life

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In Mastery of Movement, Laban asks readers to observe a person in everyday life, a person portraying a character in a mime scene, and a dancer performing a national or period dance.  Observers are to analyze the use of the body, along with the use of space, time, and weight.

movement dance

This is a useful exercise for any actor; it is also a task that Laban set for himself.  In his autobiography, Laban describes his first experiences as a young and very idealistic artist-to-be.  His first port-of-call is Munich, where he has been provided with various letters of introduction, and through these meets a fashionable society woman and her circle of admirers.  They set out to educate the naïve youth in the ways of the world, taking him to various entertainment venues and sending him on errands into the poorer sections of the city.

“So I began to acquaint myself more closely with other aspects of city life,” Laban writes.  In contrast to the elegant restaurants and night clubs patronized by his fashionable sponsors, Laban went to the stock exchange, to meetings of communists, to low-class cabarets.   “I got to know certain quarters of the city where crime was the order of the day” he recalls, “and I caught glimpses of the dark recesses of the souls of many apparently well-bred citizens and saw the inner wretchedness of the wealthy.”

Laban drew on these experiences 20 years later, in an evening long dance-play titled “The Night.”  Performed at the first Dancers’ Congress in 1927, the piece was a critical flop, and Laban freely admits this in his autobiography.  Nevertheless, his description of the experiences that led up to this dance-play provides insight into his desire to become acquainted with a wide range of human affairs.

Laban went on to distil these observations into movement.  This is what he continuously encourages the reader to do in Mastery of Movement.

Find out more in the Octa seminar, April 1 – May 6, 2017.

Mastery of Movement: Laban’s Other Masterpiece

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mastery of movement rudolf labanMastery of Movement is for body and effort what Choreutics is for space and shape – the most comprehensive treatment of Laban’s ideas in English.  The book has an interesting history.

The first edition was published in 1950, after Laban had published Effort and Modern Educational Dance, and after he had written (but not published) Choreutics.  Thus Mastery draws upon Laban’s endeavors in industry, education, and theatre.

The first edition is focused on movement for the stage, but Laban’s observations go well beyond this, addressing broader functions of movement in human life and evolution.

Mastery went out-of-print in the late 1950s, and Laban was planning a new edition, but he died in 1958 before this could be completed.  Lisa Ullmann, who was conversant with changes Laban intended to make, then took on the task of editing each of the three subsequent editions, both adding and rewriting material.

The 4th edition currently available in paperback was originally published in 1980.

Ullmann added Kinetography Laban notations to the two chapters outlining various actions of the body, marginal legends to highlight important points in the textual discussion, and an Appendix on Fundamental Aspects of the Structure of Effort drawn from an unpublished manuscript written by Laban before 1950.

Now that Mastery is back-in-print, I want to encourage Laban Movement Analysts to read or re-read it.  Hence, the upcoming MoveScape Center offering — Mastering Laban’s Mastery of Movement.

Correspondence courses may be “old school,” but having steady assignments, a guide for reading, and reading companions is a great way to study classics.  And Mastery of Movement is a classic.

Find out more…

Why Laban Wrote Mastery of Movement

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Mastery of Movement Rudolf LabanLaban wrote Mastery of Movement on the Stage (1st edition) “as an incentive to personal mobility.”  And indeed, the first two chapters provide a number of explorations organized around movement themes focused on body and/or effort.  Laban hopes to encourage a kind of “mobile reading,” as he explains in the Preface.

However, he also notes that there is something in the book for those who want to remain in a comfy chair.  That is, such readers can learn more about “thinking in terms of movement.”  For Laban, mobile thinking is not merely “cavorting in the world of ideas” any more than stage movement is “restricted to ballet.”  And herein Laban reveals his broader theme:  movement “forms the common denominator to both art and industry.”

In the Preface, Laban also makes it quite clear that movement is not merely a physical practice that can be mastered through mechanical exercises.  Movement involves the “inner life of man.” For genuine mastery, the motivation to move must be integrated with the acquisition of external skill.

Laban also establishes his views on theatre, noting that the stage is “the mirror of man’s physical, mental, and spiritual existence.”  And in the Introduction, he goes on to assert that movement is the heart of theatre, for there is no acting, speaking, singing, or dancing without movement.

In many ways, Mastery of Movement is a quintessential representation of Laban’s vision, which illuminates details of bodily activity and yet broadly positions the whole experience of movement in relation to human existence in the world of both tangible and intangible values.

Find out more in the upcoming correspondence course, Mastering Rudolf Laban’s Mastery of Movement.

What Makes a Good Team?

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movement pattern analysis teamLong before diversity became a political issue, Warren Lamb was encouraging diversity in management teams.  His model of diversity was not based on age, race, creed, or gender. Rather it was based on decision-making style.

Lamb found that the best teams are made up of people who have different decision-making strengths.   That is, you need someone on the team who is strongly motivated to Investigate, someone who Explores, someone who is quite Determined, someone high in Timing and so on.

There is just one problem.  When people approach decisions in very different ways, they are likely to get on each other’s nerves.  The Commitment-oriented individual wants to take action here and now.  The Attention-oriented person needs time to think things over and have a good look around.  Attenders can bother the Intention- oriented person who feels the first thing to be done to get to grips with the issues and resolve what needs to be done.  So there is a lot of potential for conflict in a diverse team.

And this is where the third value comes in – divergent decision makers need to learn to tolerate each other’s approaches and to appreciate what these very different motivations bring to the table.

So, in addition to Warren Lamb’s grounded theory, which brings meaning to patterns of movement, I would like to add three values that are equally important to the practice of Movement Pattern Analysis and particularly important at this moment: respecting individuality, fostering diversity, and encouraging tolerance.

What Makes a Successful Leader?

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leader movement pattern analysisIn his observation and analysis of thousands of business executives, Warren Lamb found that leaders come in many shapes and sizes.  That is, there is no single “leader” profile — successful leaders can approach decisions in quite varied ways.

However, Lamb discovered that the characteristic pattern of motivation tapped by the MPA profile has much to do with how a leader defines his or her responsibility.

For example, a leader who emphasizes Attending will believe it is his/her responsibility to analyze the situation, consider alternatives, and make sure there is sufficient informed preparation prior to taking any action.   A leader who emphasizes Intending will have a strong sense of mission, believing it is his/her job to instill discipline and stick with basic policies and plans.  The leader with predominant Committing motivation will believe it is his job to exploit opportunities strategically, to set the pace and beat the competition.

It is a principle of Movement Pattern Analysis that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another.  Everyone has a distinctively individual way of moving and that way of moving in intrinsically linked with motivation and decision-making processes.  Successful leaders are people who act true their own way of moving.

What do your movement patterns reveal about your style of leadership?  Find out during the Introduction to Movement Pattern Analysis seminar.

Why I Became a Movement Pattern Analyst

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movement pattern analystShortly after I completed my Laban Movement Analysis training (1976), Warren Lamb gave a short course at the Dance Notation Bureau.  I had been thinking a lot about the relationship between movement and psychology, but in vague and hypothetical ways.  What Lamb presented was much more concrete — it blew me away.

Fast forward 40 years, Movement Pattern Analysis still blows me away for three key reasons.

First, Lamb’s grounded theory connecting movement patterns with motivational initiatives and decision-making processes continues to help me understand my fellow human beings better.

Secondly, understanding my own profile has enabled me to use my strengths, minimize my weaknesses, and work more successfully with others.

Finally, the observational skills I have developed by carefully watching and coding normal conversational behavior have convinced me that movement analysis can be used in a disciplined and reliable way.

Don’t just take my word for it.  Find out for yourself at the Introduction to Movement Pattern Analysis seminar.

MPA Stands Up to Rigorous Testing

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movement theory testingIn 2011, I participated in a pilot study examining the validity of Movement Pattern Analysis profiles in predicting decision-making patterns.  Although MPA has been used by senior business teams for over 50 years, its potential application to the study of military and political leaders has barely been tapped.  The pilot study was the first test of this new area of application.

Twelve military officers made up the research participant group.  The research team consisted of Dr. Tim Colton, a political scientist from Harvard and Dr. Richard Rende, a psychologist from Brown, along with Movement Pattern Analysts Brenda Connors, James McBride, and myself.  We interviewed the participants and constructed their profiles.  Several months later, the officers completed four hypothetical decision-making tasks designed by the other members of the research team.  The subjects could partially control the amount of information sought and the amount of time spent on each task before coming to a decision.

And the results?  As Connors, Rende, and Colton report:

“A composite MPA indicator of how a person allocated decision-making actions and motivations to balance both Assertion (exertion of tangible movement effort on the environment to make something occur) and Perspective (through movements that support shaping in the body to perceive and create a suitable viewpoint for actions) was highly correlated with the total number of information draws and total response time – individuals high on Assertion reached for less information and had faster response times than those high on Perspective.”

In other words, the MPA profile provided valuable predictive information about individual differences in decision making!

Find out more about your own decision-making patterns in the forthcoming Introduction to Movement Pattern Analysis seminar.