During the first week of June, I participated in unique collegial exchange with fourteen other movement analysts from the U.S., Canada, and France. Hosted by the Dance Department of the University of Quebec at Montreal, the seminar provided an opportunity for comparative and comprehensive study of two approaches to qualitative movement analysis: Laban Movement Analysis and Functional Analysis of the Dancing Body, a system developed in France and little known in the English-speaking world.
The purpose of the Montreal seminar was threefold: 1) to renew perspectives and the analytical discourse about the dancing body, 2) to explore movement analysis’s potential to enhance and refine the narration of aesthetics in performing arts, and 3) to open up exchange and discussion on the contributions of movement analysis to the fields of dance, theatre, music, kinesiology, ethnology, nonverbal communication, and therapy.
The brainchild of Montreal dance professor Nicole Harbonnier-Topin, the five-day seminar incorporated various activities: 1) a preliminary report about comparative research on the two analysis systems, 2) movement workshops and collegial discussions, 3) formal presentations on various applications of movement analysis, and 4) a Roundtable open to the general public. In this final session selected movement analysts responded to “Mille Batailles,” an intense duet choreographed by Louise Lecavalier, which was a part of the concurrent Festival TranAmeriques.
In the following blogs I will share various aspects of my experiences as a participant in this unique international encounter.