(An informal monthly-ish gathering focused on Laban Movement Analysis. Attending: Peggy Hackney, Brenton Cheng.)
Highlights:
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Continuous Dream State (IMS)
For non-stretchable symbols, how should one indicate that the action continues for some length of time? In Charlotte Wile’s “Moving About”, a wavy line indicates “continue freely in the previously stated manner”, but this is then clarified as being a “repeat” rather than an extended duration. Similarly, in the first edition of Anne Hutchinson Guest’s “Your Move”, repetition is addressed but not duration for non-stretchables. In the Integrated Movement Studies cert program, we attach the Unspecified Action Stroke to the symbol via a tiny bow to indicate continued duration. However, some feel this could be confused with the initial action happening momentarily and phrasing into an Unspecified Action.
- In the IMS program, when teaching the Modes of Shape Change, we often refer to a relationship aspect of each mode, saying that Shape Flow is “self-to-self”, while Directional and Carving are “self-to-other”. While these relational intentions may be a part of *why* the mover activates a particular Mode, I have stopped making them a part of the *definition* of the Modes, because I think they depart from observable, physical description and enter the realm of observer projection on the mover. Instead, I keep my definitions strictly about Shape: Shape Flow is “non-localized, often amoeba-like shape change”; Directional is “linear or planar shape change towards a destination point”; Carving is “three-dimensional voluminous shape change”. I’m still playing with these definitions.
- At times, the various schools of Laban debate whether certain qualities “exist”. e.g. Effort is completely absent from “Your Move”. Perhaps more useful questions are: “Does the particular concept serve?” or “Does adding granularity in this way enrich the discussion of movement?” Heck, the entire LMA framework is a conceptual fabrication. But it sure makes the experience of movement and movement observation so much juicier!