Laban and Embodied Cognition

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movement theory analysisRudolf Laban’s use of movement-based observational techniques anticipated the notion of “embodied cognition” by several decades.  In his writings in the 1940s and 50s, Laban already had identified “mental efforts” — namely those of giving attention to what must be done, forming an intention to act, and finally taking decisive action — as stages of “inner preparation for outer action.”

Laban went on to associate each of these mental efforts to one of the motion factors, according to the following scheme:

“The motion factor of Space can be associated with man’s faculty of participation with attention.  The predominant tendency here is to orientate oneself and find a relationship to the matter of interest either in an immediate, direct way or in a circumspective, flexible one.”

“The motion factor of Weight can be associated with man’s faculty of participation with intention.  The desire to do a certain thing may take hold of one sometimes powerfully and firmly, sometimes gently and slightly.”

“ The motion factor of Time can be associated with man’s faculty of participation with decision.   Decisions can be made either unexpectedly and suddenly … or they may be developed gradually.”

Building on Laban’s correlations, Warren Lamb extended and refined the linking of movement factors with mental processes.  Find out more in the next blog.

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.”

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.