History of Laban Movement Analysis
Analysing, describing and recording movement is an endeavour which has been developing across many disciplines since the early nineteen hundreds. Some more successful than others (none more so than LMA) and many disappearing without trace.
LMA originates from the early work of Rudolf Laban, a typical central European polymath of the between wars years. It is now the intellectual legacy of the many individuals who studied with Laban and have developed his early work into a free standing science. As Antja Kennedy of Eurolab has written:
Laban wanted the art of dance to gain equal respect as other arts and he paved the way for scientific studies of dance by researching the complexity of movement. Laban wanted to promote "movement-thinking" to put it in the same category as "word-thinking", so that "the two kinds of thinking can finally be re-integrated in a new form"
(The Mastery of Movement on Stage, p.19-20)
In recent years specialist applications have developed from Laban's ideas:
- Labanotation – a vertical score, parallel to a musical score, depicting the movement sequences in detailed actions.
- Motif writing – a vertical score showing the pathways and actions of a movement sequence.
- Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory (MPI) – movement coding sheet developed by Dr. Martha Davis as a tool for diagnosing pathology through movement.
- Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA) - a system of understanding the role of gesture and posture in communication. Warren Lamb has developed this framework in his recognition that '[-] self-expression of the personality [can] be best understood as a pattern of action motivation.' Lamb, W. & Watson, E. 1979. Body Code: The Meaning in Movement. New Jersey US: Princeton Book Co.
- Laban Movement Analysis training programmes – interdisciplinary training courses in qualitative movement analysis. Also a support framework in some somatic trainings.
- Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) - A formalised multi-tiered system of movement notation and analysis drawing upon early years study by Dr Judith Kestenberg. KMP offers a tool for the coding and interpretation of movement as a bridge toward an awareness of development and meaning of movement behaviour.