Laban and Range of Motion

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laban danceLaban’s Choreutic forms both mirror and challenge the natural range of motion of the human body.  As Laban was designing these movement sequences, he drew upon his first career as a visual artist.  It’s clear from his figure drawings that he had studied anatomy.  And he applied this knowledge in theorizing the shapes the moving limbs can trace in space.

As I note in The Harmonic Structure of Movement, Music, and Dance, Laban does not distort the proportion of the body itself.  His figure drawings faithfully adhere to a classical canon and his drawings are realistically anthropometric.

I’ve always been fascinated by this.  Laban’s first career in art straddles three modern art movements – Art Nouveau, abstract expressionism, and Dada.  Realistic representation of the human body does not characterize these movements.  Why then was Laban so faithfully realistic?

Quite simply, Laban was interested in the relationship between the body and space.  If he distorted the body’s proportions, he would also distort the trace-forms of moving limbs.  To capture the shapes of trace-forms accurately, he had to preserve normal bodily proportions and grasp joint structure and function.

Irmgard Bartenieff came to appreciate Laban’s anatomical grounding when she started to work as a physical therapist.  As she noted, “Laban’s exploration of spatial possibilities deeply affected the way I worked to stretch my stiff patients.”

There is still much to be learned from Laban’s exploration of spatial possibilities.  That is why MoveScape has offered a series of Red Thread programs this year.  The final workshop is Advanced Space Harmony workshop,  December 3 and 4.  There is still time to register.

Moving in Three Dimensions

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laban movementHuman beings have big heads, and biomechanically speaking, this is a headache.  Standing up freed our arms and hands and opened new spatial horizons.  But it also means we must cope with balancing our heavy heads against the constant pull of gravity.

Irmgard Bartenieff always felt that homo sapiens are still working out the possibilities of movement in three-dimensional space.  Evolution has given us greater potential than we have figured out how to use.  And this is where Laban’s Choreutic theories come in.

The scales and rhythmic circles Laban prescribed take the mover out of safe territory – they are off-vertical, de-stabilizing, and challenging in terms of balance and range of motion. I see his Choreutic forms as puzzles to be solved at the body level.

The forthcoming Advanced Space Harmony workshop presents some of Laban’s little known Choreutic forms and invites participants to engage with these both functionally and expressively.  The aim is to create an environment for exploration of new territory.   All those who love a puzzle are welcome!

Seven-rings R Us

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laban movementLaban’s Mixed Seven-rings are an important extension of his theory of movement harmony.  But they are not just important theoretically – they are quite challenging to perform.  And, because of their harmonic analogies, they offer novel approaches for movement invention.

In the forthcoming Ico workshop, Cate Deicher and I draw upon Laban’s unpublished writings to facilitate learning and embodying the mixed seven-rings.  Because these trace-forms are drawn from the better-known axis and girdle scales, we will start with reviewing these forms.  Then we move on to exploring how Laban conceived the mixed seven-rings as combinations of arabesque and attitude shapes.

Laban constructed the mixed seven-rings to be analogous to the diatonic scales that form the basis of common melodies and harmonies in Western music.  This suggests novel ways to approach creating movement phrases and sequences.

Want to find out more?  Join us for the Advanced Space Harmony Workshop December 3 and 4.

Five-rings Anyone?

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choreuticLaban moved into new Choreutic territory with five-rings, and consequently they are fascinating to embody.   Primarily Laban built his space harmony scales around the cubic diagonals.  But the peripheral and transverse five-rings that Cate Deicher and I will be teaching in the Advanced Space Harmony workshop are built around the planar diameters.

The peripheral five-rings create pentagonal shapes around corners of the icosahedron that both match and challenge range of motion for gestures of the arms and legs.

The transverse five-rings trace star-like shapes around corners of the icosahedron.  These shapes stimulate new ways to think about trace-forms and areas of the kinesphere, and they can be fun to embody.

Put some stars in your kinesphere with the upcoming Ico workshop in New York City, December 3 and 4.  But hurry, registration closes November 28.

New Choreutic Forms and Movement Invention

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by Cate Deicher

What kinds of choreographic impulses can open and closed Choreutic forms elicit in you?  In our Advanced Space Harmony workshop, December 3 and 4, Carol-Lynne Moore and I will be exploring the experiences of both kinds of Choreutic forms.

Laban’s Space material has always held a keen interest for me. As I undertook creative projects for dance groups and theater productions, the space material became a springboard for choreographic ideas.  Robert Ellis Dunn talked about how Laban’s scales serve to stimulate the neuromuscular system and spark compositional possibilities.  I recall working with 3-rings in his classes – 3-rings being simple closed forms – and playing with formal strategies for inventing movement material.  We re-phrased, re-ordered and re-oriented the rings to create new material, sometimes unrecognizable as a 3-ring.  But of course, that was the point.

Lately I’ve been working with open forms, like “snakes.”  Here I find myself drawn more to improvisational explorations, letting the momentum launch me into movement sequences that break wildly from the form, but feel nonetheless connected to it.

In the upcoming Ico workshop, I’ll be sharing some of these ideas for composition and improvisation, and also drawing on the work of architect Christopher Alexander.  He writes poetically about Fundamental Properties of Wholeness.  His list inspires provocative ideas for developing movement material.  I’m excited about applying these ideas to the exploration of simple and complex spatial forms to see how these might help free us from our “choreographic bags.”

Snakes in Space?

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kinesphereRudolf Laban thought so; he found them in the kinesphere!  “Snakes” are one of the seldom taught space harmony forms that Cate Deicher and I will be exploring in our “Advanced Space Harmony” workshop, December 3-4, in New York City.

Our aim in this workshop is to introduce new Choreutic forms and demonstrate how these can serve as a design source for movement.  Unlike most of the familiar space harmony scales, snakes are not rhythmic circles. That is, they do not begin and end at the same point in the kinesphere.  Instead, they are open forms that lend themselves to development and movement invention.

We promise that Laban’s snakes don’t bite.  Don’t take our word for it — find out for yourselves in the upcoming Ico workshop.

Advancing and Promoting Movement Analysis

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If the field of Laban-based movement study is to grow, theoretical research must be on-going, public demand for the services of movement professionals must be cultivated, and the field must be self-governing so that incompetent and unethical practices are not tolerated.

Since its inception in 1991, Motus Humanus has addressed these needs in a variety of ways.

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Research and Publication. Through our Seed Money program, Motus Humanus has provided over $3000 of funding for research, publication projects, and archival support.  We have published two monographs, contributing copies to universities where Laban Movement Analysis or Labanotation are taught. We have encouraged movement specialists to write and publish, running advanced seminars and sponsoring a writing contest, with winning essays made available for download on our website.

Self Governance and Standards of Practice.  Motus Humanus has served as the certificating body for individuals qualifying in Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA).   With the support of Warren Lamb, creator of MPA, Motus developed a written examination and portfolio review process.  We went on to establish the Warren Lamb Trust as a standing committee with a mission for MPA analogous to that of the International Council of Kinetography Laban for Labanotation.  We managed to do this prior to Warren Lamb’s death in 2014.

Now that the community of Movement Pattern Analysts has grown sufficiently, Motus Humanus has provided funding for the Warren Lamb Trust to become an independent organization.  This became fact in the spring.  So the functions of maintenance of standards, promotion, and development of MPA, so carefully tended by Motus Humanus for over two decades, is being carried forward by the Warren Lamb Trust.

Serving the Laban Community

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communitySince 1991, Motus Humanus has been serving the Laban community by providing various services to support movement professionals as they develop their post-certification careers.  These include the following.

Continuing Education for Movement Analysts.  Motus Humanus has sponsored 14 advanced seminars addressing topics such as space harmony, effort phrasing, Bartenieff Fundamentals, teaching Laban Movement Analysis, observation and notation, movement psychology for actors, understanding movement patterns, and more.  Our roster of instructors draws upon 40 leading Laban experts from the US and overseas.  Over 265 individuals have taken advantage of these opportunities to deepen their movement analysis skills.

Networking Opportunities.  Motus Humanus has organized 8 Roundtables on Professional Events in which over 100 individuals have presented their work.  In addition, through our Adventure Grant program, we have provided over $2400 in funding for members to present their work at other professional conferences and workshops in Phoenix, Washington DC, Chicago, Brazil, Austria, and, most recently, Montreal, Canada.

And that’s not all.  Read more in the next blog.

Motus Humanus Turns 25!

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birthdayIn 1991, Charlotte Honda, Kaoru Yamamoto, and I formed Motus Humanus, a professional organization for Laban-based movement specialists. Over Labor Day weekend, we celebrated our 25th anniversary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with over 30 movement analysts and invited guests.

“Six Conversations about Human Movement” provided the theme for this, our 8th Roundtable on Professional Issues.  In this unique event, each of our six volunteer Board members (David Bauer, Cate Deicher, Alison Henderson, Becky Nordstrom, Kaoru Yamamoto, and myself) invited a special guest for a chat.  Six stimulating exchanges resulted on a variety of topics.

David Bauer and Mindfulness instructor Steve Flowers discussed “Mindful Paths to Healing Our Minds and Bodies in Post-Modern Culture,” Cate Deicher and philosopher Amy Shapiro explored “Thinking Movement/Moving Thought,” Alison Henderson and British movement-for-actors specialist Juliet Chambers-Coe shared their experiences with “LMA and the Role of Movement in Theatre Training,” Becky Nordstrom and choreographer Claire Porter had “A Conversation about Moving while Moving,” Kaoru Yamamoto and dancer/martial artist Charlotte Honda discussed “Human Movements: Varying Points of View and Life Courses,” and Waldorf educator Robert Schiappacasse and I compared the careers and aims of Rudolf Steiner and Rudolf Laban in “Spirited Forms – Art, Individuality, and Impulses for a New Age.”

Many of these conversations incorporated movement experiences, including a wonderful performance of “Happenstance” by Claire Porter.  In addition, there were morning movement sessions led by Charlotte Honda (Tai Chi), Becky Nordstrom (improvisational explorations of reach space and indulging effort qualities), and Claire Porter (dance composition techniques combining movement and words).

The gathering provided an occasion to honor loyal members and reflect on the organization’s service to the field of movement analysis.  Find out more in the next blogs.

Tensegrity – Did Laban Beat Bucky Fuller?

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tensegrityIn 1975 Buckminster Fuller coined the term “tensegrity” by contacting two terms —  tensional and integrity.  Simply defined, tensegrity refers to “compression elements in a sea of tension.”

“Tensegrity structures,” cantilevered struts held together by strings, appear in photographic records of sculptures created by Rudolf Laban during his convalescence at Dartington Hall (1938-39).  Of course, Laban was modeling Choreutic trace-forms.  But he seems to have happened upon the concept of tensegrity, or more accurately, to have grasped intuitively today’s emerging models of the body as a biotensegrity structure.

In this biotensegrity model, central to what is now called “spatial medicine,” our bones (typically viewed as compression elements) float in a sea of tension provided by the fascial network, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  Our bodies move and retain their shape through this interconnected network of compression and tension elements.  As Deane Juhan notes, “We will be closer to the complex truth in our conceptualization of muscular activity if we regard the body as having only one muscle, whose millions of fibre-like cells are distributed throughout the fascial network and are oriented innumerable directions, creating innumerable lines of pull.”

Laban’s concept of “spatial tension” takes on new resonance when viewed from this perspective.  In the “first fact of space-movement” in Choreutics, Laban affirms that “Innumerable directions radiate from the centre of our body and its kinesphere into infinite space.”    Among these many lines of pull, Laban goes on to identify two main types, counter-tensions  and chordic tensions.   The first is simply a kind of reflective body symmetry in which one limb reaches in one direction while another opposes this reach by extending in the opposite direction.  Chordic tensions accompany plastic poses and movements in which three or more “spatial/tension paths radiate in space simultaneously.”

Challenge your biotensegrity in the forthcoming “Advanced Space Harmony Workshop,” December 3-4, in New York City.