Expressivity through Laban Movement Analysis

University of Utah, Dance Studio in Marriott Building

I am learning about Expressivity in Laban Movement Analysis, and I am really enjoying the process. Well, actually it's two in one: Functionality-Expressivity. Let's say you have a choreographed section of a piece where your dancer just puts his arms up and down. That is the functionality of the movement. You might say, "Dancer, please put your arms up and down any way you like." After a while, you decided you want more energy and liveliness in the body, so you think to yourself hmmm, (s)he should be in Passion Drive! (Check out Robin Konie's Effort Bank site by clicking here for more details!) So you tell your dancer to add some weight effort, time effort, and flow effort into the mix of the function. Now the dancer is living in Passion Drive as the Functionality. However, there is something missing---a je ne sais quoi? Of course! EXPRESSIVITY. Hazzah! Expressivity is my new favorite topic in our LMA theory and movement classes because it involves creating images, characters, and worlds to help you achieve the clarity and goal of your choreography and/or movement. That is to say, for example, you tell the dancer -- Your arms remind me of a sling shot being stretched and then released, can you move with that image in mind? And you would explore this and watch the dancer move. Or you can create a small narrative like, You are five years old, you just found out your mother died. You run to your bedroom balcony and reach up to the heavens because you know your mom is living among the clouds. You want to be with her, but your arms get tired and you have to give away to the weight and drop them. Suddenly the dancer is not just moving the arms up and down, but now other parts of the body enliven. The face, the fingers, the tension in the neck, everything is involved. The face of an eager five-year-old reaches up desperately towards the sky, her/his toes are pushing against the ground with desperation, and perhaps the dancer becomes emotional. Then the dancer's body gives up and drops down with weight, but this time (s)he falls all the way down to the floor, defeated and heavy. Not only are you being clear with your dancer, but you are taking them on a journey. In addition, you are watching the choreography become clearer, cleaner, and more alive. The quality has improved. There are many other ways to practice Expressivity, but I was just introduced to it and I'm taking it all in one step at a time.

In our sessions, we will be doing more explorative movements in the next few days. I cannot wait to see what other wonderful tools my LMA/Bartenieff Fundamentals training with Integrated Movement Studies will provide me with. I hope this inspires you to bring some Expressivity into your own creative lives. To me, it feels like freedom.

LMA Effort Bank: http://www.lmaeffortbank.com
IMS: http://imsmovement.com