Laban Movement by Jillian Campana

T
a
P
S

M
A
S
T
E
R

C
L
A
S
S

R
E
S
O
U
R
C
E

P
A
C
K
:

L
a
b
a
n

M
o
v
e
m
e
n
t

A
n
a
l
y
s
i
s
:

A

T
o
o
l

f
o
r

a
n
y

A
c
t
o
r

b
y

J
i
l
l
i
a
n

C
a
m
p
a
n
a

N
o
v
e
m
b
e
r

2
0
1
1
,

H
o
n
g

K
o
n
g
TaPS Master Class Resource Pack
Laban Movement Analysis: A Tool for any Actor
Jillian Campana November 2011, Hong Kong
!
Master Class: Laban Movement Analysis: A tool for any actor by Jillian Campana

Man moves in order to satisfy a need. Rudolph Laban

Introduction

What is Laban Movement Analysis?

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) is a study of the basic principles of movement
structure and purpose. Created by Rudolph Laban (1879-1958), LMA is both a clear
and concise language for describing human movement and an analysis of movement.
Laban, who was born in Bratislava, Hungary, (this area is now Slovakia) is recognized
as the father of European modern dance, though he applied his theories to many areas
including visual art and efficiency studies of factory workers. Theatre practitioners use
LMA to 1) create and describe character movements, 2) explore how objectives can be
physicalized in action, and 3) to experiment with disparate movements in an effort to
pair movement with character personality.
Laban exercises are based on the belief that by observing and analyzing
movements, both conscious and unconscious, it is possible to recognize the objectives
of the mover and to become aware of an inner attitude that precedes an action. Laban
helps actors create momentary moods and long-standing personality characteristic
through movement.
We know that actors need to be able to move well because our bodies are a
principal tool in the storytelling process. In addition to being able to use our bodies to
communicate on the stage we invariably need to overcome our own physical
idiosyncrasies, habits and movements so that our characters can be created from a
blank physical slate rather than bringing our own personal bodies to the character.
Laban helps actors understand their own movement patterns and abilities and then
offers a way to explore completely different ways of moving. LMA also helps actors
work with Objectives and Actions. At times actors can become disengaged from their
bodies and instead of using the body in the service of their actions they intellectualize
and become awkward and heady. LMA helps actors join Objective and Action to rhythm
and movement so that the way they move through space directly links to what the
character wants. Actors also use LMA to explore ways in which to create a character.
By using Laban!s exercises actors can experiment with movement in the character
creation process rather than creating the character and then adding movement as an
afterthought. There are many types of physical exercises that actors use from dance to
Tai Chi to yoga. These are wonderful but are not directly connected to acting. Laban
helps actors find the right movement to express the character!s behavior in a given
situation. Laban!s exercises are a perfect pairing of relating personality to movement.
#
LMA classes, often called Art of Movement Classes, introduce students to the
basic principles of movement. Actors learn to study where their character is going in
space, how their character is getting there, what kind of movement energy or effort their
character is using to carry out their actions.
Laban Movement Analysis breaks down movement to the tiniest detail using
Labanotation, a system of recording human movement that Laban developed in the
1920!s. This method allows us to record all movement from the simplest of moves to
the most complex. Labanotation gives us a record of movement for future use, a
terminology for describing movement and an analysis of that movement. In the forward
of Ann Hutchinson!s book Labanotation Laban himself describes the notation as a,
literature of movement and dance. With a vertical staff representing the body and
elongated symbols to denote exact duration of action can be applied to all forms of
movement from everyday motion to dance to theatre. But it is precisely because of his
interest in movement in everyday life that his system is not based on any personal style
or form but on universal laws of kinetics.
LMA work investigates the Flow, Space, Time and Weight of all movement and helps
actors think specifically about why their character may move in a jerky, fast, light and
direct manner verses a heavy, slow, indirect and uninterrupted manner:

Flow: Bound or Free
Space: Direct or Indirect
Time: Sudden or Sustained
Weight: Strong or Light

Laban called Flow, Space, Time and Weight the Four Movement Factors. He
believed that all movement made use of these factors and his exercises in the factors
can help actors understand their own movement and provide a great way to explore
how characters they portray might move differently than themselves.

Space: asks actors, What direction do you move? Is it a direct movement or
are you getting to your destination in an indirect way? Spatial exercises isolate
direction from time and weight thereby offering more clarity and specificity to the
movement and ultimately the character.

Time: asks actors, What speed do you move? Is it fast or slow and a
combination of the two? Explorations into time also help actors understand
internal rhythm and to pair that with objectives. Rather than thinking about time
in terms of fast or slow, Laban asks us to consider a continuum that focuses on
$
suddenness and sustainment. Within each movement there will be moments of
acceleration and deceleration which will change depending on the circumstance.

Weight: asks us to think, What weight do you give your actions? Do you do
things with a heavy force or a light force? How does this change depending on
the action you are carrying out?

Flow: asks us, Are your movements free or bound? Flow has an uninterrupted
quality whereas movements that stop and start have a jerky quality. Of course
when paired together a movement could be direct (Space), Sustained (Time),
Heavy (Weight) and Jerky (Flow).

Eight basic effort actions

Laban!s theories of Flow, Space, Time and Weight are incredibly useful and
come with a plethora of exercises actors can take part in. The Four Movement Factors
are further broken down into the Eight Basic Effort Actions:

Pressing movements
Wringing movements
Gliding movements
Floating movements
Thrusting movements
Slashing movements
Dabbing movements and
Flicking movements

These Eight Basic Actions are the most helpful to me as an actor, teacher and director.

SPACIAL
DIRECTION
TIME WEIGHT EFFORT ACTION
direct sudden strong punch
direct sustained strong press
direct sudden light dab
direct sustained light glide
indirect sudden strong slash
indirect sustained strong wring
indirect sudden light flick
indirect sustained light float

%
The Eight Basic Effort Actions can be looked at as external movements but they
can also be thought about as internal attitudes or tendencies, which can be very helpful
for actors. They can be combined or separated and they can be indulged in or fought
against. The Efforts help actors understand not just how a character might move but
why they might move in that way. Laban was interested, as he himself wrote in,
"Mastery of Movement on the Stage!, in That part of the inner life of man where
movement and action originate. Laban exercises in the Efforts help actors think
specifically about why their character may move in a jerky, fast, light and direct manner
verses a heavy, slow, indirect and uninterrupted manner.
Master Class overview: exercises and questions
Introduction of the Four Movement Factors: Flow, Space, Time and Weight.
Ask students to move around the room at their own pace and in their own way. As they
do this ask them to think about their own movement and to try to identify if their
movements tend to be Bound or Free? Direct or indirect? Sudden or sustained? Strong
or light?
Space Investigation: (direct or indirect) What direction do you move? Where do your
limbs move in space? Your head? Your torso? Where do your feet take you?
Shake hands with a partner
Repeat exactly the same movement
Repeat
Close eyes
Repeat
Notice movements. Watch other. Which is direct and which is indirect?

In circle. Shake hands
Up, down, behind you. Close, far, flexible, don!t turn the body. Just move the
arm. Are your handshakes direct or indirect?
Time Investigation: (sudden or sustained) At what speed do you move? Does your
speed change depending on where you are going? Why you are going there? Does
your speed ever change mid-route?
Ask half of the class to line up/ moves from one side to other as slowly/
consistently as possible. Switch.
Partners: 1 closes eyes other watches watch for 30 seconds. Closed partner
stays still and tries to understand time. Do again and this time the partner with
&
eyes closed makes a movement and ends with stillness when they think their
time is up.
Make a fast movement of short duration. Try with a sound.
Make a movement which accelerates. Add sound.
Make a slow movement with long duration. Add sound.
Weight Investigation: (strong or light) What level of strength do you use to carry out a
task?
Take Stance: lighten force, heels barely on floor. (Weight evenly matched)
Exaggerate this. Try to overcome the sense of gravity.
Imagine you are decorating a Christmas tree. On ladder, trying to be as light as
possible. Some objects are heavy and some are light. Reach, turn and twist to
put it all on the tree.
Imagine you are riding a bus with no seat or bar to hold onto. Sense the direction
and adjust your balance. Feel a bump. Another bump. A jolt. A stop.
Flow Investigation: (bound or free) Do you find your movements to be bound or free?
Move in a tranquil manner, avoid pausing
Move in an interrupted and jerky manner
Try rolling down free
Crouch down like a stone, quickly and pause when down, jump up
Introduce the Eight Basic Effort Actions: pressing, wringing, gliding, floating, thrusting
(or pushing), slashing, dabbing and flicking.
Pressing: direct, sustained, strong:
1. Feel it in your palms, press down. Press forward. Diagonally. All spatial
directions. Low, high, medium.
2. Back presses. Knees press. Feet press, elbows, head.
3. 2 parts press in different directions.
Wringing: flexible, sustained, strong:
1. Imagine you are wringing out a wet towel. Twist one arm right and the other left.
Go further. Wring as strong as you can; get all the water out!
2. Try wringing your arm as if IT were the towel. Try wringing your leg.
3. Place your feet firm on the ground. Move your right foot so that your right leg
wraps around your left leg. Continue this upward so that you are wringing your
full body as if it were a wet towel.
'
Gliding: direct, sustained, light
1. Imagine your hand is an airplane. Allow it to glide through the air, tranquilly. Add
your arm to the action. Add your feet so that your hand is carrying your body
around the room.
2. Lie down on the floor with knees bent and soles of your feet firmly on the floor.
Let your feet glide on the ground. Keep them in contact with the floor.
3. Try gliding to a standing position. How might a glider get off the floor? What is
your pace? Keep it direct, sustained and light.
Thrusting: (Punching): direct, sudden, strong
1. Imagine you are facing an enemy. Punch them in their face with your fist. Try it
again. Be specific with where your target is. Try it again reinforcing the direct,
sudden and strong movement.
2. Punch with your elbows. Your knees. Your head, your hips and your chest.
3. Lie down on the floor and raise your feet. Punch the air with your feet, your legs.
Come to a standing position in a punch like move.
Floating: flexible, sustained, light
1. Try leaping in the air. What would happen if you could slow down that leap and
elongate the moment after the take off and before the descent. This is the float.
2. Try floating downward to a sitting position.
3. Keep your energy high, forward and outward, try floating around the room.
Slashing: flexible, sudden, strong
1. Try imagining you have a sword in your right hand. Slash down from your upper
right side to your lower left side. Let your arm lead the effort. Switch sides.
2. Slash both your arms in different directions.
3. Try slashing with your legs. Your torso. Your head.
Dabbing: direct, sudden, light
1. Imagine you have a computer in front of you. Dab at the keys to type something
out.
2. Imagine you are a painter and you have made a mistake on your canvas. Use
the dabbing movement to clean the canvas with a cloth and water.
3. Try walking. How would a Dabber move around a space? Keep it direct,
sudden and light.
Flicking: flexible, sudden, light:
(
1. Imagine a fly on your shirt, flick it away by twisting your wrist and fingers.
2. Flick every part of your kinesphere. High, low, medium. Behind, forward,
sideways.
3. Try the flicking movements with a voice or sound.
_______________________________________________

Bibliography

Books

Hutchinson, A. (1977) Labanotation: the system of analyzing and recording movement.
Theatre Arts Books, Third Edition.

Kail, A. (2007) Laban Movement Analysis. In Dance Teacher. March.

Laban, R. (1950) Mastery of Movement on the Stage.

McCaw, D. (2011) (ed). The Laban Sourcebook. Routledge.

Newlove, J. (1993) Laban for Actors and Dancers. Nick Hern Books.

Panet, B and McHardy, F. (2009) Essential Acting: a practical handbook for actors,
teachers and directors. Routledge.

DVD

Taylor, B. (1989) The Eight Effort Actions. University of Winnepeg, Theatre Department.
Insight Media.

Online

http://www.limsonline.org/
Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies
_______________________________________________
Practitioner!s pathway

I was first introduced to Laban Movement Analysis as an undergraduate BFA
actor at California Institute of the Arts. I had trouble with focus and concentration and
though Tai Chi Chuan helped a lot in that area, Laban Movement Analysis gave me
)
focus and concentration when it came to putting actions to my character!s objectives. I
forgot about Laban for a while and did not use it with my students when I began
teaching High School Theatre a few years later at Cairo American College in Egypt and
later at Associacao Escola Graduada (Graded School in Sao Paulo, Basil).
I was re-introduced to Laban years later when I was doing graduate work at New
York University!s Tisch School of the Arts. I was astounded at the ease with which I
picked the work back up and began using it in my own rehearsals. I wasn!t teaching at
the time so I was able to really focus on how I used Laban Movement Analysis as an
actor. I loved the Eight Effort Actions and began to devise characters using the Effort as
my stimuli. Fortunately I was offered a university position right out of NYU at the
University of Montana and in my Acting classes I introduced Laban to my young
students as a way to help physicalize objectives. I spent a lot of time during the next
several years directing a variety of plays from contemporary plays such as The Tectonic
Theatre Project!s Laramie Project and Proof to Lorca and Classical pieces. As a
director I used Laban to help guide the actors toward character and also as a tool in the
rehearsal process to explore movement alongside character.
I eventually took time off from teaching in the US and returned abroad, this time
to India where I taught at the American School of Bombay, Mumbai University and a
new conservatory established for actors hoping to crack the Bollywood code. Here I
used Laban with all three groups to provide specificity to movement on the stage. A
discussion and exploration of Direct versus Indirect movement for example can help
focus an actor and offer a stage presence to their work. A study of Strong versus Light
can bring an awareness to the performer with regard to how much weight they spend on
various activities. I have found it invaluable to spend an entire unit of a Theatre course
exploring Laban with students. Not only does it offer a vocabulary for moving but it
helps actors experiment with characters in a specific way.
Middle and High School actors often are uncomfortable in their own bodies and
find it difficult to incorporate their bodies into their roles, often using only voice to
interpret character. LMA can bolster their physical confidence, offer ideas about
individual characters movements and as mentioned earlier help them understand how
objectives lead to physicalized movement actions. In my high school classes I have
taught three-four week Laban units that culminated in a devised performance before an
audience. On the university level in both undergraduate and graduate classes I have
covered Laban!s work in tandem with theatre productions to assist actors as they
interpret and build a role in plays. In a middle school workshop on Commedia I used the
Eight Basic Effort to help students physicalize specific characters (Il Capitano for
example is a Slasher.) This summer I will be offering a workshop on how LMA can be
used with Kabuki and Kathakali, two codified Asian Theatre practices. In other words
LMA can be studied on its own as a discrete unit or lesson, or it can be used to bolster
*
an actor!s process in productions. The permutations are endless and the work fun,
interesting and incredibly useful. I have resumed my career at the University of Montana
as the Professor of Physical Theatre. I consider Laban Movement Analysis invaluable
to any actor and continue to use them in my classes, acting and directing work.
_______________________________________________

Laban Movement by Jillian Campana

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Laban Movement by Jillian Campana

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

T

You might also like