How is Laban linked to Therapy?

Laban therapy

During my first movement analysis class of this year, Laban was reintroduced as a practitioner. He is someone that I have had experience researching and applying his methods for choreography, but when therapy was mentioned on a side note I realised it was something I was not aware of or thought could stem from his research.

Laban created terminology based on action, space, dynamics and weight to better help people describe and communicate for analysis. He termed this “labanotation”. This system and an awareness of 3D space (not just performing facing the front) has opened up the idea of movement, looking away from ballet, and into its “expression”. Dance therapy came from laban by using his notations to begin the client-practitioner relationship. The use of space from the four functions (action, space, weight and dynamics) allow a client to readjust their body-mind situation. Laban therapy is centered on an idea that both body and mind are in tuned to one another and can act as gateways into the other. By bettering your body\physical attitude you can mend your mind.

Laban therapy (simplified) aims to take his movement nets (varying mathematical shapes, such as a 3D hexagon) to enable the body to reach each corner of the imagined shape and increase movement from a clients previous small kinosphere to a larger space (or in reverse). This approach aims to develop ones; emotional, cognitive, social, behavioural and physical needs.

A trained Laban therapist looks at the individuals movement and looks beyond first impressions. Instead of just seeing someone who plays with their ears a lot, they will look at movement on a deeper level analysing what it means and what movement-wise would help. The therapy looks at both the present and past motions in someone’s body and mind seeing issues that could have occurred at childhood or developed over an adults life.

Many practitioners have stemmed off of Laban’s initial theory, many being his students. The practitioners I shall be mentioning are; Warren Lamb, and Irmgard Bartenieff though this list does not cover all theorists but the ones I have felt a stronger artistic pull to.

Warren Lamb

Warren Lamb is stated as a "movement pattern analysis". Him and his principles have bee used in varying fields, such as business, to predict behaviour from movement patterns. Not only can this determine if someone is truthful, it also allows us to have an inkling of their future decisions. Basically he uses movement as a personality test.

Warren proves the point that everybody in the world moves differently, even if given the same gesture. We have our own dynamics, rhythm and personality we put into our expressions. However, when Lamb observes a participant he does not look at the gesture. Instead he sees the journey of how one got there.

Lamb worked under Laban for many years, discussing ideas as colleagues instead of student/teacher.

As a result he has establishes 7 concepts.

1. Decision

2. Posture and gesture (movement patterns)

3. Effort and shape (in making a decision)

4. Relationship (between decision, posture and effort)

5. Flow (effort and shape)

6. Frameworks

7. How flow develops (from childhood)

The idea of internal and body-mind relationship is still present (that can be seen as his Laban influence), with the idea of thoughts controlling actions and reversing this process to see the initiation.

Warren Lamb: “although it’s still a very small minority that understand movement like we do, nevertheless a lot of progress has been made”.

Warren Lamb talks about movement as more than dance, but as an essential human function that can relate and help an audience understand dance but also be applied into the ‘real world'.

Irmgard Bartenieff

Bartenieff was born in Germany, 1890. When she first met Laban she was not a student of his, but working on her own movement. Outside of dance, she was training as a physical therapist and graduated with her qualification in 1943. Her background of dance was not in a balletic field, even though her husband was a ballet dancer, so her ideas came from modern styles. Working as a therapist was the moment for her to start looking at how individuals can move within their body. She began working with Polio patients and began develop in her principles here. Her ideology was that movement can be for everyone and to find a unique way for each person. She once stated “ the absense of movement taught me what movement was about”. This has led her method (with a beginning influence from Laban) to be applied to dance, yoga, martial arts and theatre, with its simplicity to learn and teach allowing it to be so well spread.

In 1965 she received her Laban Movement Studies qualification and was the first person in the USA to hold one. It was from this moment, and becoming a laban student, that she went on to work with him to create Laban/Bartenieff institute in 1978.

Her fundamentals are based around the relationship of the body and the mind. One leads into the other and they cannot be detached. Bartenieff believes that all movement originates from the first few years of life and to correct bad habits in movement patterns you have to relearn. This principle brought about the “basic six” breaking down the way the body can move and how to strengthen each aspect. As a result, the technique brings about a deep sensory awareness.

By practising Bartenieff you will develop: dynamic alignment, an understanding of where a shift of weight is initiated from, execution, recuperation, stability and mobility.

Her work shows strong correlations with that of Rudolph Laban, due to his teachings to her and their similar shared views. They both see movement even in times of still. Laban was fascinated but the subties of the body when being still, how everything internally moves, maintaining balance against gravity. Laban saw the body as part of nature and a constant movement of life, breathing, pulsing, and digestion. As a result the focus is shifted to the internal aspects of a dancer. This being looking at how the bones, muscles and skin create movement

Labans' practices are now used by many leading practitioners and therapists to help increase movement through set exercises but also as a global way to monitor and write about client progress.