Mastery of Movement |

Although I’m not a big sports fan, I must confess that I am completely seduced by the virtuosity of the Olympic athletes. The dangerous things they do so well are truly mesmerizing.

The danger is part of the appeal. Ice, snow, and steep slopes make perilous surfaces for even normal locomotion. What amazes me, however, is the extent to which the skiers, snowboarders, and skaters are increasingly airborne – turning, twisting, somersaulting – and somehow returning to earth intact and sliding on to the next fantastic trick.

Laban’s comments on virtuosity in Mastery of Movement are interesting in this context. Virtuosos, like highly skilled laborers, show an economy of effort “that makes the movement look almost effortless. Expressive details remain almost accidental … because the whole effort is concentrated on the actions necessary” to the task.

The commentators like to emphasize the athletes’ dedication and struggles to overcome obstacles, and this certainly adds a background of drama to the competition. However, the Olympics are riveting primarily because of the technical perfection of the athletes’ physical performances. From Laban’s perspective, such movement virtuosity functions as escapist entertainment, allowing spectators to “find comfort and relief” from “workaday sorrows.”

Are these spectacles of perfection merely escapist entertainment? Find out more in the next blogs.

Mastery 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 4^th 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…

Seductive Virtuosity: The Winter Olympics

Mastery of Movement: Laban’s Other Masterpiece