Showing posts with label miriam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miriam. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

laban movement analysis / notation

reposted from  again thanks Miriam Schacter

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012


Who are the people in your neighbourhood? Who was Rudolf Laban

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA)or Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis is a method and language for describing, visualizing, interpreting, and documenting all varieties of human movement. It is one type of Laban Movement Study, originating from the work of Rudolf Laban and having been developed and extended by Lisa Ullmann, Irmgard Bartenieff, Warren Lamb, and many others. In addition many derived practices have developed with great emphasis on LMA methods.

Bartenieff Fundamentals (sm) are an extension of LMA originally developed by Irmgard Bartenieff, the Founder of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies - LIMS NYC, who trained with Laban before moving to the USA and becoming a physiotherapist and one of the founding members of the American Dance Therapy Association.

Laban Movement Analysis is generally divided into these categories:

Body (Bartenieff Fundamentals sm, total-body connectivity),

Space (Choreutics, Space Harmony)

Effort (Energetic dynamics),

Shape

Phrasing

Relationships

Then there are the following combinations:

Effort Factor Effort element (Fighting polarity)

Effort element (Indulging polarity)

Space Direct Indirect (Flexible)

Weight Strong Light

Time Sudden (quick) Sustained

Flow Bound Free
Laban named the combination of (Space, Weight, and Time) the Effort Actions, or Action Drive.

Movement combinations are descriptively named 1) Float, 2) Punch(Thrust), 3) Glide, 4) Slash, 5) Dab,6) Wring, 7) Flick, and 8) Press.

The Action Efforts have been used extensively in some acting schools, including ALRA, to train the ability to change quickly between physical manifestations of emotion.

Flow, on the other hand, is responsible for the continuousness or ongoingness of motions. Without any Flow Effort, movement must be contained in a single initiation and action, which is why there are specific names for the Flow-less Action configurations of Effort. In general it is very difficult to remove Flow from much movement, and so a full analysis of Effort will typically need to go beyond the Effort Actions.

One of Laban's primary contributions to Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) are his theories of Space. This category involves motion in connection with the environment, and with spatial patterns, pathways, and lines of spatial tension.

Laban described a complex system of geometry based on crystalline forms, Platonic solids, and the structure of the human body. He felt that there were ways of organizing and moving in space that were specifically harmonious, in the same sense as music can be harmonious. Some combinations and organizations were more theoretically and aesthetically pleasing. As with music, Space Harmony sometimes takes the form of set 'scales' of movement within geometric forms. These scales can be practiced in order to refine the range of movement and reveal individual movement preferences. The abstract and theoretical depth of this part of the system is often considered to be much greater than the rest of the system. In practical terms, there is much of the Space category that does not specifically contribute to the ideas of Space Harmony.

This category also describes and notates choices which refer specifically to space, paying attention to: Kinesphere: the area that the body is moving within and how the mover is paying attention to it.Spatial Intention: the directions or points in space that the mover is identifying or using.

I wonder how Laban's work applies to the Martial Arts and Katas (型 or 形 literally: "form") as well. I am not sure however, if these things should be considered along side each other. There were developed differently and are taught differently.

Other Readings, Resources http://www.labanguild.f9.co.uk/aboutUs.html Laban, R. (1975). Laban’s Principles of Dance and Movement Notation. 2nd edition edited and annotated by R. Lange. London: MacDonald and Evans. (First published 1956.) Laban, R. (1980). The Mastery of Movement. 4th edition revised and enlarged by L. Ullmann. London: MacDonald and Evans. (First published as The Mastery of Movement on the Stage, 1950.) Laban, R. (1984). A Vision of Dynamic Space. Compiled by L. Ullmann. London: The Falmer Press. Laban, R., and Lawrence, F. C. (1947) Effort. London: MacDonald and Evans. (4th reprint 1967). L

Dancing Your Way to Better Health ::

reposted from link sent by Miriam Schacter today



Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker

Dancing Your Way to Better Health

Ballroom Dancing May Help Mind, Body, and Spirit

Brain Teaser

Dance can challenge your mind as well as your muscles.
At least one observational study has shown sharper minds with ballroom dancing.
The study appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine two years ago. Joe Verghese, MD, and colleagues studied 469 people who were at least 75 years old.
At the study's start, they answered surveys about mental and physical activities, like doing crossword puzzles or dancing. Back then, none had dementia.
Five years later, 124 had dementia. Frequent dancers had a reduced risk of dementia compared with those who rarely or never danced.
Of 11 physical activities considered, only dancing was tied to a lower dementia risk, Verghese tells WebMD.
Most dancers did ballroom dancing, says Verghese. He's an assistant neurology professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

The Dancing Brain

How might ballroom dancing help the brain? Verghese outlines three possibilities:
  • Increased blood flow to the brain from the physical exercise
  • Less stress, depression, and loneliness from dancing's social aspect
  • Mental challenges (memorizing steps, working with your partner)
"Dance, in many ways, is a complex activity. It's not just purely physical," says Verghese.

An 'Exciting' Option

No one is prescribing ballroom dancing, and Verghese's study doesn't claim dancing drove the results.
To get real proof, a study could assign one group of people to ballroom dancing, comparing them to inactive people.
So says Carl Cotman, PhD. He directs the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, Irvine.
"There aren't any experimental models in animals that would be equivalent to ballroom dancing, that's for sure," says Cotman. His rat studies have shown brain benefits from voluntary running.
If dance is aerobic enough, it could aid the brain, says Cotman. The social and mental aspects could also help.
"You've got togetherness, and ... training the brain to do a new motor skill," says Cotman. "I think it's pretty exciting."
No one knows how much or what kind of exercise the brain needs, says Cotman. He'd like to see such studies done.
Meanwhile, "there's no evidence that it's going to hurt anything," says Cotman.

Check Your Ego at the Door

Here's some advice for beginners from New York dance therapist Jane Wilson Cathcart, LMSW, ADTR, CMA:
  • Look for a good teacher who emphasizes what you can do, not your limits.
  • Don't be a perfectionist about it.
  • Don't worry about your size. Dance is for everyone.
  • Get into the music, as well as the movement.
"Take in all the good feedback you're getting and give your inner judge a couple of dollars to go to the movies," says Cathcart.
"We are usually our own worst critic," says Cathcart. "Think of how many other times your critical judge has limited you from doing something."
New skills can bring confidence. At parties and social events, dancers may head to the dance floor feeling good about themselves without a martini's encouragement, Richards jokes.
"Lay the pathwork of positivity through it," says Cathcart. "The coolest dance begins with one step. The rest will follow."

SOURCES: Catherine Cram, MS, exercise physiologist, Comprehensive Fitness Consulting. USDA, "MyPyramid.gov: What Is Physical Activity?" CDC: "Physical Activity: Recommendations." Ken Richards, spokesman, USA Dance. Janice Byer, group exercise director, The Courthouse Athletic Club. Joe Verghese, MD, assistant neurology professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Carl Cotman, PhD, director, Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia; professor of neurology and psychobiology, University of California, Irvine. Jane Wilson Cathcart, LMSW, ADTR, CMA, dance therapist.
Reviewed on January 27, 2006