Of the concepts that I have been introduced to in Analysis thus far, I am most interested in the area of Laban Movement Analysis. This concept is the most interesting to me because of its openness to interpretation and ability to be applied to all types of movement. Defining and describing the body, space, and effort qualities of movement are way more appealing to me compared to Labanotation or Motif notation. There is something about language that can closely capture the feel of movement and that cannot be translated into a score.
I am interested in pursuing choreography and performance, and I feel that Laban Movement Analysis is highly relevant in both of these fields. When generating movement, defining the effort quality of it can change the entire mood and theme of a piece. For example, taking any phrase of movement and performing it in a free quality or a bound quality will give completely different meanings to the dance being performed. Performing with these effort qualities in mind can change a static performance into a dynamic performance.
I would like to apply this concept in choreography through defining effort quality to help deepen meaning and in performance by finding the effort qualities of each movement to fully perform it with an intention. Understanding the body articulation of movement helps define the action of the movement, and this is useful in the articulation of movement through speech from the choreographer and the articulation of movement through the body of a performer. Language can help describe movement by articulating its body flow, initiation points, or trace forms. Now after being introduced the body, space, and effort qualities possibilities of movement, I am able to comprehend it in sense that is not only physical.
I anticipate using the concept of Laban Movement Analysis in my everyday dancing to further understand movement. It is a helpful technical tool, and as a performer, application will be in asking questions about effort qualities or trace forms will help me perform movement as the choreographer intends. As a choreographer, application will be in the articulation to the performer of movement. I have seen these application used in dance classes, and I find it to be very useful in articulating a language of movement.
Marissa Thomas 