Download - The Parts Do Make the Whole
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The Parts Do Make the Whole
Nathan Andary, CMA
May 2009
New York City
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Special thanks to Bruna Fiuza, my dancer, friend and confidante; Gary my
partner—he has supported me through all I am involved. I am eternally grateful to him. I
would like to especially thank John Chanik, my advisor and guide through the creation of
my thesis, for your commitment and dedication. You have provided a model of
excellence that I look to replicate through my own practice and teaching of Laban’s work
and wisdom. I would also like to thank the LIMS faculty in NYC. Your words and
wisdom are forever fused in my soul; creating a space for new ideas and relationships
through Laban’s work.
Laban’s Lemniscate
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THESIS…………………………………………………………………….Page 4
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...Page 4
METHODOLOGY/PROCESS…………………………………………...Page 5
WHAT IS DNA…………………………………………………………….Page 12
ANALYSIS OF DNA’S MOVEMENT…………………………………..Page 12
THE RULES OF THE PROJECT………………………………………..Page 14
ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………………Page 17
EFFORT ANALYSIS……………………………………………………...Page 26
LMA AS A CHOREOGRAPHIC TOOL………………………………...Page 31
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….Page 34
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………..Page 37
Appendix A: Motif #1……………………………………………..Page 37
Appendix B: Motif # 2…………………………………………….Page 38
Appendix C: Rules of the Project………………………………..Page 39
Appendix D: DNA Strand and Chromosome……………………Page 40
BIBLIOGRAPHY..………………………………………………………..Page 41
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THESIS
The four building blocks of Laban Movement Analysis (Body (B), Effort (E),
Space (S), and Shape (Sh) synergized a choreographic project through the human DNA
model facilitating the concept: the parts that make the whole.
INTRODUCTION:
While studying Laban’s work in New York City, I found myself trying to define
the meaning of Space Harmony. As a choreographer, I thought examining the
relationship between the parts of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) would be best served
through a choreographic project. This opportunity provided me a means to experience
through the construction of a movement piece the parts of LMA and how the parts make
the whole.
I researched the basic foundations in human genetics while reading theory and
application of Laban’s work on Space Harmony. Journal methodology guided my
practice throughout this process, and I took notes detailing my thoughts, discoveries,
theoretical connections through application, and experiences. I worked alone and with a
dancer in the studio for a number of hours in order to test my findings and put into
practice the contents of my research and findings. This thesis contains the results of my
research and notes from my journal.
Amy Matthews (LIMS Instructor) discussed Laban’s concept of Space Harmony
in my LMA class involving gems and crystals. She shared that Space Harmony referred
to the quality of the relationship between the parts. She also discussed the differences
between organic and natural. Amy stated that an organic process was creation from the
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inside / out and that a natural process was a culmination of organic elements conjoining
on the outside. This process of accumulation was evident in the creation of the crystals
that I observed in that class.
Laban’s Inner/Outer theme, coupled with the conversation on organic vs. natural,
started off as the focus for my choreographic project. My curiosity of how the inner body
affected the outer body’s movement expression (and vice versa) grew as I delved deeper
into the LMA work. I recognized prior to my study, at the Laban Institute for Movement
Studies, my own movement signatures and knew that my personal movement Initiated
from the spine through a radial Pathway to the Distal Parts of my Body. However, I
found that Shape Flow, Effort Flow (Bound and Free) were always dominant when I
created movement in which to give to dancers.
I was curious if the starting place for my movement was an organic place. I also
wondered if I used a natural process (rather than an organic process) in which to find the
movement. I have learned through this project, my movement comes from a deeply
organic place—my DNA, and that my choreography is a natural process. The
choreography I create culminates the elements of movement and my personal signature
creating a final product—my choreography.
METHODOLGY/PROCESS
My process was to explore and move through this project how the basic elements
of Body, Effort, Space, and Shape (B.E.S.S.) create a piece of choreography. Through my
explorations, the realm of possibilities for me expanded. The project provided me another
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means to examine how I create a piece of choreography, and break down the formal
academic structures I learned in college.
In one exploration, I moved through Laban’s B-Scale. I sought to feel a
connection between Body and Space. However, I did not understand why the Body was
moving and I did not feel kinesthetically, emotionally, mentally attached to the 12 Spatial
Points in the B-Scale. I thought to myself, “Is there a reason for moving in this Scale
other than choosing too”. I wondered why should I move the B-Scale [because the faculty
told me too and because it was part of my training in Laban’s work].
I asked my dancer to move the Spatial points of the B-Scale. After doing so, she
immediately said, “It feels like DNA”. She did not offer any more feedback than that. I
was perplexed still. I moved the B-Scale repeatedly. The Spatial points took me far off
center and I was stumbling through the Scale. I became dizzy and then after repeating it, I
got “lost in Space”.
I lost all sense of myself and was emptied. I felt nothing. I was nothing. It was as
if I had become consumed by the Space around me and all of my molecules were
absorbed by the molecular structure of the floor [that supported my Body] and the air
[that surrounded my body]. I became scared and stopped immediately. I was dizzy and
frightened. I touched the wall in front of me and held on to it. I was not sure why I held
onto the wall, other than that is what I needed to do. Looking back, I understand now
what happened. I needed a physical connection to something solid (like the wall) to
realign my emotion with my Body with the Space. I was consumed by the Space and
became fully a part of the Space and the Space became fully a part of me.
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I always believed that movement came from an organic place from within the
Body. However, the organic origin of movement started to mean something more after
attending Amy’s class on crystals and Geodes.
I had been asking the questions, “How can the body’s internal movement impact
and influence the body’s expressivity through dance and the dance making process?”
“How do Laban’s four themes of Function/Expression, Inner/Outer, Mobility/Stability,
and Exertion/Recuperation manifest through my project?”
In this project, I wanted the choreographic process to start from an organic
perspective and relate to LMA. In the past, my choreography developed from a concept
or idea that was not relative to the body. I used socio-political topics or concepts, a news
byte that really sparked my values and emotions, or I used choreography as an
opportunity to share my views on the Western world’s human oppression and inequality.
However, I required that this process utilize the Body as a vehicle in which to derive the
expression of thought and creativity and not the concept or idea.
In my explorations, I chose to learn more about the nature of human expression. I
read in Laban’s Choreutics that expression is closely aligned with our emotional content.
It contains the meaning or imagery [humans] used to convey an idea, experience, and the
links between the Body, the movement. Laban states that the Dynamosphere is where the
emotional content of movement is presented. That content, called the Shadow Forms, is
considered secondary movement to the physical reflection of the content better known as
Trace Forms that are found in the Kinesphere. The Shadow Forms are likened to musical
overtones with reduced tension. (Barteneiff, page 109)
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Ellen Goldman remarked in her book As Others See Us on how posture and
gesture, when integrated with verbal communication, express fully a person’s emotional
content, thoughts, decisions, etc. (Goldman, Ellen; page 2)
In non-verbal communication, researchers who have studied movement looked selectively at the human body. Some people watched gestures, some watched postures, positions, eye blinks, eye directions, pointing……As in all observation, the choice of what is observed shapes the result.
Though Ellen Goldman’s passage relates to non-verbal communication in the
pedestrian world; I find that it is insightful on how this choreography can communicate
its beginning. Her passage also illustrates the connectivity of movement, thought,
emotion, voice, Space, and Body. It speaks of Integration.
I decided, from the onset, that the expressive nature of this choreographic project
would come through the whole of the parts. The Dynamosphere would be charged with
the emotional meaning contained within the [human] movement and not applying
emotional content onto the movement. However, I was still asking myself where does the
movement come from; what is its point of origin?
I returned to the studio and started with the affined Efforts of the Laban Diagonals
for another exploration. This time I brought a friend of mine who is an illustrator and
does design work for Osh-Kosh in New York City. We discussed and sketched each of
the words in the Diagonals: Float, Punch, Glide, Slash, Dab, Wring, Flick, and Press. I
showed her each one and discussed the Effort life of each word. From there we
characterized each word so that a child could understand it.
In creating Float, we decided on the image of a little girl moving in a field of
dandelions on a summer day; wearing a sun-dress and her arms floating in the air with the
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wind whirling softly around her body. This conveyed the Efforts of Light, Free, and
Sustained. I moved like the girl and Laura sketched my movement. We did this for each
of the words representing the parts of Laban’s Diagonals.
This exploration was helpful in fusing the image to the movement, but it was
creating movement from a thought or idea. I replicated a familiar process and crafted the
expressivity through the movement and the props as they responded to the originating
concept of the Diagonal. The choreography produced by this project needed to have its
own life and identity as determined by the movement, not the choreographer.
I turned to the Body for more exploration. There is movement in our Body
waiting to be released. Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen discusses in her book that the organs
provide a sense of volume and full-bodiedness. The organs move independently, based on
its specific function, of what the full body is doing. This idea of movement within
movement or movement influencing movement is deepening my search. (Cohen, pg 28)
Laban’s Shape Flow uses the movement of the organs. Breathing causes a
Widening, Bulging, Hollowing, Narrowing movement experience that is seen and felt
externally as well as internally for the dancer. The inhalation of the breath causes the
Lungs to swell creating a Bulging action or a Widening action in the Torso.
This was my insight for how the project manifested. The shape, of not only the
organs, but also of the bones and the muscles create movement within the body. In Sally
Fit’s Dance Kinesiology, she speaks of the Spiriallic nature of the bones and their
resulting strength. The Spiral as a Functioning structure in human bones replicates the
Spiraling DNA in the human cell. The bones maintain their strength because of their
Spiral shape. If one of the long bones (i.e. Tibia, Radius, Femur) were flat, then they
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would be more susceptible to breaking in relation to their location in the Body and their
function in the Body.
Going deeper in the Body, the DNA is one of the core elements of movement
within the human Body. According to Pfeiffer’s The Cell, the human DNA is molecular
in nature and moves in a liquid environment within the cell. The Spiraling movement of
the DNA’s double helix is the most complex movement pattern of the Body’s movement
according to Laban scholar and psychoanalyst, Judith Kestenberg. Through Kestenberg’s
theory of Developmental Patterning, Cross-Lateral and Spiral movements are the most
developed forms of movement and the Body’s relationship to Space. DNA contains all
the genetic coding that is used to control functions, behavior, and development of an
organism. It characterizes and informs the part of the body where it exists.
I studied the basic genetics of DNA and found it to be a natural process within the
Body. Its affect on the Body is determined through the culmination of its parts. The
coding that is created through the addition of the Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, and
Guanine determines how and why it functions in the Body. In turn, its “character” is
determined by its makeup and not by the maker. I was not seeking to characterize the
dance piece created through this project. However, the emotional content of the
movement should be derived from the moving and not a preconception.
I found the start to my project. I went to the Body and it gave me what I needed.
The DNA construct provided a nice model to incorporate all of the parts of LMA; the
Body, Effort, Space, and Shape. I replaced the four nucleotides of DNA with
B. E. S. S. I used Random Selection of the LMA parts to create the choreography. By
doing this, immediately a Motif of choreography was created. I brought my dancer into
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the studio and we went through this process. I discuss more of this process in greater
detail later in the paper.
My dancer moved the first Motif and I was not pleased. Her movement and
execution of the Motif was accurate, however, the choreography itself was not satisfying
to me. Somehow it did not achieve enough characteristics of human DNA. I did not want
the choreography to replicate human DNA, rather it needed to correlate to [human] DNA.
I condensed the Time separating the parts of the original Motif by merging multiple
movements into one movement. The complexity and the Space Harmony created by this
decision were satisfying and gave more in which to correlate the movement to DNA. The
choreography created by the DNA model gave me movement to extrapolate meaning.
When reviewing the two different motifs later in this paper, you can see how the
complexity of the movement expanded. I get into more detail of how that complexity was
formed through the process later. However, the process of this project produced both
motifs and the fascination to continue with this project.
When I gave my dancer the rules for the choreographic process, she wanted to
know more of where the movement was coming from and the potential meaning behind
it. I comforted her and suggested that we stay true to the task of developing the
movement before we add on the next layer of expression. I was curious to see how the
expressive nature of the movement and choreography was impacted or affected by the
function of piecing the LMA parts together.
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WHAT IS DNA
DNA is made of four simple building blocks known as Adenine (A), Thymine
(T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G). According to Methuen’s Biochemical Monographs,
these 4 building blocks contain all the information necessary to build an organism. Each
of the four, when paired up, formulates a sequence. Their arrangement within a sequence
determines certain things like the color of someone’s eyes or hair. These genetic
sequences (or codes) are what make each human unique.
Adenine is always paired with Thymine and Cytosine is always paired with
Guanine. When the pairings are grouped in their sequences, they form a ladder known as
the double helix. (Pfeiffer, John; pg. 70)
I have replaced the 4 building blocks of DNA (A, T, C, G) with Body, Effort,
Shape, and Space (B.E.S.S.). To identify each of the four LMA building blocks, I used
the first letter of Body, Effort, and Space. I used Sh for the marking of Shape within the
DNA inspired segments.
The segments of DNA are also called genes and contain specific instructions that
make each individual unique. The B.E.S.Sh. act in a similar way when examining
movement. Body, Effort, Space, and Shape are the building blocks for LMA and contain
information and instruction for examining and applying LMA to one’s movement.
ANALYSIS OF DNA’S MOVEMENT
I immediately connected LMA to the video footage found on www.youtube.com
of DNA I watched. The double helix construct of a DNA strand creates a Twisting
motion as it Spirals along its length using Even Phrasing losing a sense of Time Effort.
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The Twisting motion made me think of Shape Flow giving the Shape of its external
structure connectivity to its internal parts. The double-helix construct of the strand
formulates a stair-step structure creating a length, a height, and also a width in the
formation of the DNA components. Its rotational axis is Planar, but the Mobility of the
DNA strand exists in the Icosahedron.
The rules for human DNA helped organize the use of LMA. While reading the
rules established for the construct of human DNA, I decided that the choreography must
have specific instructions and rules for its construction. I felt that the choreographic
structure benefited from the rules and instructions of the human DNA and provided a
more connectivity to LMA. Furthermore, I was intrigued by how the parts of LMA would
relate to each other using an organic structure like DNA in discovering more meaning
behind Laban’s Space Harmony.
Working through the model of DNA and the rules established from the DNA
highlighted the process of creating the dance. I find that the Function of dance and dance
making can be interruptive to the creative process for me. If I focus, too much, on the
individual movements and how the body completes them, the expressivity of that
movement gets lost in the mechanics. This project eliminated that type of focus from me.
I found more freedom to create the movement and make decisions regarding Initiation,
Effort life, and Expression without forcing it to convey the originating idea, mood,
concept, or emotion. The process is more organic to the creation and development of the
dance piece.
Laban’s Function / Expression theme was a helpful vehicle to also explore the
organic nature in creating the choreography. I read multiple articles on DNA and each
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one commented on the Spiralic movement of the DNA’s double helix. I also observed
this quality in the many videos of DNA that I watched. The DNA strands Locomote
within the body’s cell to form a Chromosome and moves in a winding motion stuffing its
content into the nuclei of a cell within the body.
The base pairs that make up the length of DNA are organized into chromosomes.
The formation of a chromosome, according to the video footage on a microscope, showed
Quick Time and Free Flow as it Knotted in its midsection creating the shape of an “X”.
This is the shape of the human Body. The Knotting maintained its Quick Effort and
added Strong Weight as it strengthened the bond through its midsection. The
chromosome used both Mobile and Rhythm States.
The chromosome, then, Enclosed on itself in order to pack and fit tightly into the
nuclei of the cell. It did this with Quick time and Direct Spatial Effort wrapping around
its midsection. It moved in Awake State.
THE RULES OF THE PROJECT
The rules I established in starting this project culminated from a number of
sources as explained below. I used the Nucleotide Pairing, Transversals in Laban’s B
Scale, Random Selection, and Effort to enhance the characteristics of each sequence.
A critical feature of human DNA is the ability of the nucleotides to make very
specific pairing. In the pairing process of the 4 nucleotides; Adenine is always paired
with Thymine, Cytosine is always paired with Guanine. The same rule of pairing was
applied to the project. Body was paired with Space and Effort was paired with Shape.
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There was no concern or consideration for the quality of pairing in the DNA
process applied to this project. I felt that if I were to explore this route, I would be off
course. This is a project about LMA and choreography and not DNA. I am not a
geneticist, so the amount of time it would take in researching fully the human DNA
would not afford me the time to produce an effective project. However, I do feel that the
environment that DNA exists and moves is important to the qualitative environment the
final dance piece would exist and move about. As stated earlier, the dancer was off her
center as if she were moving in a container full of fluid. This was much like a baby in the
womb or the DNA in the cell. That is another exciting part to this large project I have
started.
I required that the 12 Spatial Pulls found in Laban’s B Scale represent Space in
the random selection process. I did this in order to capture, or strive to capture, the
Transversal movement of the DNA I saw on the video. The DNA represented such a Free
Flow of Mobility and I wanted to illuminate that in the choreography. The DNA does not
have the same movement around Center like the human body. So, I altered my thinking
from DNA movement to movement of the Body and I chose the Spatial Pulls that are not
in the Octahedron. The sense of Center (of the dancer’s body) in relation to gravity will
act as the Stabilizing force in the movement.
The Transversal was an important component to the project. As the DNA winds in
on itself to create the chromosome, Shaping was evident. I saw the DNA not only
Condense and Narrow, but also Carve through Space to make the chromosome that
illuminated volume in Space with which it interacted. The ends of the DNA strand folded
in on itself with Enclosing.
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This rule of the Transversal was pivotal in keeping the dancer’s body relating to
space through Shaping/Carving. I recognized that after the first trial of the choreography
that the body was not fully engaged in the Transversal. I state later in the paper that this
was “boring” to me. The choreography produced specific body parts active in
Shaping/Carving. But the DNA’s entire strand was involved and not just a part. This rule
enhanced Mobility of the dancer’s body through Space using Transversals like the DNA
strand and not just a part.
The formula, or Motif, of the choreography relates directly to DNA through the
process of Random Selection. After the rules were established, came the “how to” part in
making the work. A Lesbian couple, that is dear friends to me, just had their first child
where one of the women was artificially inseminated. They spoke of their experience in
choosing what characteristics their child would have after visiting the Sperm Donation
Center. They were able to choose Navi’s (the baby’s name) multiple ethnicities and
gender. They assumed certain aspects, like skin tone/color and hair color, because of the
ethnic choices they made. This selection process happens, unconsciously—maybe
consciously, when a male and female decide to have a baby. The selection process is
narrowed down because of the two individuals creating the child. However, the
uncertainty in which genes will dominate and which will be less dominant is high.
I placed all LMA elements on individual cards. Each of the cards were shuffled
and placed in a container. I had my dancer draw from the bag a series of cards. These
cards were placed on the table in a row. The sequences were developed in a 3/4 musical
meter with one sequence of 4/4 musical meter. The sequence initiation through random
selection were: Effort, Effort, Space \ Body, Space, Body \ Shape, Body, Body \ Body,
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Shape, Body, Shape \ Body, Space, Effort \ Shape, Body, Shape. This pattern created one
rung of the LMA/DNA double-helix ladder. The rules established for the project forced
the dancer to draw out of the bag of LMA cards the matching B.E.S.Sh. card completing
the other rung of the double-helix ladder.
When a basic Body action was drawn in the Effort category, a second card was
drawn until an actual Effort was found. The Effort card attached directly to that Body
action when putting together the DNA sequence.
ANALYSIS:
I was not pleased with the original phrase created by using the model of random
selection. The movement did not make a strong enough connection to the human DNA
and its movement. It was missing the Shaping element involved in the movement of the
DNA. The construct of the choreography helped to relate the movement to the DNA, but
qualitatively, the movement did not pick up the Sprirallic, Off-Centered movement
aesthetics of the DNA as it formed through Nucleotide fusion, the Knotting of the
Chromosome, or the binding or winding as it condenses its size to fit into the Nuclear
Envelope of the Human Cell.
The full body movement appeared simplistic and was unappealing to me as a
choreographer. I wanted to feel the breadth of the LMA parts through this experiment.
The dancer maintained her Verticality throughout the movement structure. There
did not seem to be a strong connection of Core/Distal in the choreography. Her
movement was primarily Distal and did not involve the Core as much as I would have
liked.
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The sequences felt scripted and kinesthetically felt that way as a viewer. I found
that I wanted more to come from the dancer and see how the Efforts radiated from the
Core through the Distal and out into Space. This choreography did not represent my own
complexities in movement aesthetics and was disengaging of Space.
You can see in the sample motif of the Phrasing and how it was determined
through the DNA model. The Phrasing seemed Even and there were natural endings to
each of the phrases. It appeared that when the dancer changed her facing the next phrase
would begin. This facing change was a natural response to the motif created by the
random selection of the LMA parts.
The random selection did not determine the dancer’s starting place or position or
use of Body Part. I made those decisions as the choreographer. I started the dancer
standing on both Feet with both Legs fully Extended, her Weight evenly distributed
between both Feet, and facing Forward using Room Key.
Please keep in mind while reviewing the Motifs that they focus on the “essence”
of the movement. The following Motifs will go back and forth between gesture and full
body in the Motif. This is different than the Effort Analysis that comes later in the paper.
The Effort Analysis focuses only on full body movement in its Motifs.
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Motif #1 using Random Selection in the
DNA model.
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She s3tarted the first phrase Hollowing her Right Shoulder as if to catch the wind
and then Spread with Light Effort. The image of the wind (an external catalyst) was used
in which to begin the movement or offer a starting place. The dancer, then, moved into
her Left Hip for the second part of phrase 1 and Ascended with Bound Flow. She traveled
the Vertical Plane with her Sitz Bones as if she were raising something heavy with her
Left Hip. Again, an external catalyst was used for imagery. The dancer Extended to Left
Low with Bound Effort carefully crossing her Legs at the bottom of her Pelvis as if to
touch something Lightly and Directly that was Low Left.; and finishing the phrase with
her Right Leg Extending to Left Low behind her Support Leg. The phrase was clean and
easily executed.
The dancer started the second phrase by Flexing her Right Hip to Forward High
with Quick Time. With Spatial Intent, her left Knee arrived to Forward High with the
Flexion in the Hip Socket. She moved as if someone had punched her in the abdomen.
She, then, Spoked her Right Elbow to Back Right with Strong Weight. She moved the
Back of her Pelvis to Forward Low with Strong Weight in a scoot along the floor as if to
get out of the way. The dancer Flexed her Right Hip Socket to Forward High with Quick
time, then her Right Elbow Initiated the Torso’s movement to Back Right.
The dancer’s third phrase started by Advancing with Free Flow. She sent her
Head Forward in the Sagittal while her Torso followed on the floor. The Change of
Support to Low Right with Sustained Time followed. She, then, rolled her entire Body on
the floor to the Right with Sustained Time Effort. The dancer, then, rolled Backwards
onto her Shoulder by initiating through Spatial Intent, her Right Foot, with Bound Effort,
to the Body’s Back Low Space. This was the Motif of any Rotation to Back Low with
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Direct Space Effort. The movement sequence finished with the Back of the Pelvis
sending the entire Body to Forward Low causing the dancer’s knees to bend and change
her Support from her 2 Feet to her 2 knees. Again, the phrase was clean, concise, and
easily executed.
As written, the movement was executed in a clean and linear way. However, it did
not connect to the inner body and the human DNA the way I thought it should. The
movement conjured up external image sources rather than internal, biological or organic
images. There seemed to be an emotional content to the movement that supported the
body’s relationship to those external sources for images.
The movement was not intriguing enough for me, the choreographer. The dancer
was clear in her movement through Space and Effort. The Body Parts selected were
identified and gave me little room for interpretation.
I had the dancer repeat these 2 phrases back to back multiple times. I thought
experimenting with the series of the sequences that it would make a deeper connection to
the DNA. She danced them with clarity and ease, but still no connection.
From a dancer’s perspective, I wanted her to struggle in getting the movement in
her body. I wanted to feel ”fullness” in her performance that had not yet been seen or felt.
My movement, naturally, is very complex spatially and often has multiple movements
happening simultaneously. I thought about this and found that this was how I will solve
my upset in her dancing.
I had not considered, fully, the amount of time each movement would get for its
performance. Unless Time had been articulated through the random selection of LMA, I
determined that the length of time for each movement would be determined in the
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execution of the movement by the dancer. This involves the movement’s pathways and
paths in Space. The movement would also determine whether the Pathway was
Transversal, Peripheral, or used Peripheral Tension for its completion.
I wanted those decisions to be organic to the discovery process instead of
scripting that element out. I was not satisfied with the images used catalyzing the start
place of the movement experience. The organic discovery of Pathway and Tension is
directly related to how the environment affects the DNA in one’s body. In turn, the
process (environment for the dance to exist and Breathe) affects the performance of the
movement (Pathway and Tension).
I told my dancer that the 3 movements within each phrase were now one large
movement. And that she had to move, Quickly, each of the 3 movements in order to
make 1 new movement. This was a difficult challenge because of the naturally occurring
Pathway from movement to movement to movement. I also changed the dancer’s start
position from standing on both Feet, to her Weight Supported by both Knees. I
maintained her Facing to Front (Room Key).
These changes were dramatic and satisfied my need to have multiple movements
happening simultaneously. It increased the interest of the dancer’s movement
immediately and offered more physical challenge to her as we worked through the new
sequences. You can see in the second motif how it became more complex than the
original motif. The essence of the movement was transformed through this process of
addition. In turn, the motif also transformed.
The process of addition for the movement likens to the creation of humans. When
2 parents donate their genetic material to create another human, there is a process of
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addition through human DNA. So, the next layer of complexity follows the process of
genetic information from 2 participants in creating a product.
More movement phrases were created through the random selection process. The
movement material could be analyzed wholly in order to examine how this DNA inspired
choreographic structure worked.
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Motif #2 involving
Motif #1 and more
Random Selection
using the DNA model
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In the adapted version, the dancer starts resting on her Folded legs on the floor
facing Forward. She uses her Breath as a starting point in order to activate and organize
her Effort Intent with her Body. Her sensory focus goes internal before beginning the
movement phrase.
She started the phrase by moving as if to hold something large or to protect
someone from something behind her. She Ascended, then, her fingertips Arced the Arms
through Space while the Left Leg followed. All of this was done with Light and Direct
Effort. The Spreading of her Back allowed her to Enclose the front side of her body. The
Fingers Arced toward each other similar to the nucleotides attaching making the rungs of
the DNA double helix. The overall Shape her Body made illustrated the Rotating and
Twisting nature of the entire double helix.
Then, she changed her Support from her Knees to her Foot and Right Hand as
preparation to shift her Pelvis Emphatically Forward by sliding on the floor with
Strong/Quick/Direct Effort or in Action Drive. This brings in the idea of the fluid
environment that the DNA lives. She rolled over her Right Shoulder using Spatial Intent
with her Feet and then slides forward on her abdomen across the floor.
This section of movement showed the DNA double helix rotating in the cell. The
fluid environment allows the double helix to migrate through all the planes making it
hard to discern a Key. It is very circular in space and has the dancer going off of her
center and back again. The back and forth nature of Spatial and Effort Intent is interesting
to watch and definitely highlights the fluidity of Laban’s Inner/Outer Theme and the
Lemniscate.
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She rolls across the width of her Back while rotating at the Waist using Spatial
Intent through her Feet and Rhythm State of Light/Quick Efforts. This motion is similar
to the winding/unwinding or Knotting/Unknotting that the double helix performs in
making the Chromosome.
She then changes Support to her Feet through Ascension as preparation to Turn
Emphatically in the air, traveling down a straight Path while the Right Arm/Hand moves
a Turning Path to the Right (over Head) leading with the Fingers. This continues the
double helix’s Chromosome formation theme while Knotting/Unknotting and floating in
a fluid environment.
The sequence ends with the dancer Descending Right/Low to her Right Leg while
the arms Gather into the Body through Mobile State using Bound Flow/Sustained Time.
The entire dance is to be repeated so that the dancer can get lost in the Expression of the
movement and ride the Spatial Pulls, Effort Life, and overall characteristics within the
sequences.
EFFORT ANALYSIS
The Effort configuration of the 1st 2 phrases in the 1st movement sequence created using
random selection is listed above.
Please keep in mind while reviewing the Motifs in this section that they focus on
the “essence” of the movement. The following Motifs focus on full Body movement.
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This is different than the Motifs in the Analysis section earlier in the paper where the
Motifs go back and forth between Gesture and full Body movement reflecting the essence
of the overall movement phrase.
The sequence started off with Increased Phrasing in Rhythm State using
Light/Sustained Efforts. The movement used the image of wind moving the dancer’s
shoulder, which was consistent with the Efforts used. The beginning movement of the
sequence was followed by a preparatory move in the same State adding Weight to make
it Strong and Quick Time. This was the step leading into the next movement where the
Right Leg crossed the body’s mid-line to Left/Low without attending to Space. The
dancer Ascended throughout this movement. The Weight was dropped from the step for
Free Flow and Sustained Time making Mobile State. She finished the Phrase with Bound
Flow and Sustained Time. The Accent Initiated the start of the second Phrase. As stated
earlier in the paper, the entire Phrase seemed to have image initiation that was outside of
the body. It felt like there was a quality of environment in the execution of the Phrase.
Although there were Spatial points in the Motif, she did not use Space Effort in any of
her movement.
She started the second Phrase of the movement sequence with Quick time in the
Flexing of the Right Leg to Place High using again, Mobile State. She placed a light
Accent at the end of the Leg Flexion, also known as a kick. She stepped out of the Kick
using the same Right Leg in Rhythm State using Light and Quick Efforts.
She loaded a 3rd Effort Increasing her movement to Passion Drive using Strong
Weight, Bound Flow, and Sustained Time. She dropped the Weight Effort in the next
movement, which was a preparation for the end. This movement released into her Right
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Hip Socket allowing for her Right Leg to change her facing back to Front (Room Key) in
Mobile State. She switched her Bound Flow to Free and her Sustained Time to Quick.
She finished the phrase using Rhythm State. She kept the Quick Time, but traded the Free
Flow for Strong Weight as if to point a point on the end of the movement sequence.
Again, she created a quality of environment in this Phrase without attending to
Space. It was as if she came from a personal place emotionally to perform this movement
sequence. The dancer’s Inner Expression related to the overall idea of the DNA
molecules Expression through movement. However, it conjured up an emotional or
value-ladened connection bringing out her natural tendency to move in Passion Drive. In
fact, all of the States used in the movement sequence are found in Passion Drive. This
leads me to believe that the entire movement sequence was executed from that
personal/emotional content.
The Effort configuration of the 2nd movement sequence is a modified version of
the random selection model is listed above.
The dancer started this Phrase from her Shape Flow using Breath Support. She
initiated from her Breath using Quick time as a preparation into her Increased Passion
Drive made up of Sustained Time, Light Weight, and Free Flow. It was as if her
Fingertips were magnetically charged and attracted the opposite hands together. Her next
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move was a Change of Support through Mobile State. The State comprised of Bound
Flow and Quick Time, and preparation for the next move.
She loaded Strong Weight to her Mobile State and created an Increasing Passion
Drive as she slid her Pelvis Down the floor. Her body was off center and the Lengthening
of the Torso right before it Folded reminded me of the length of the DNA strand I
watched on the videos mentioned earlier in the paper. She went right into an Increased
Remote State and Decreased just as much while rolling Backwards on her Back. This
State was made up of Indirect Space and Free Flow and had a sense of being in a liquid
environment. She had no weight be yet she was rolling on her back. Again, she was off
her center and had an Indirect sense of an Upward/Downward, Sideward, or
Frontward/Backward.
Her next two movements were preparations for the final movement in the Phrase
carried the liquid environment. The Time Effort in the two preparations went from
Sustained to Quick. The Bound Flow in the first movement was replaced by Strong
Weight so that Flow came back in the final movement when she rolled Across the width
of her Back on the floor. Each of the two preparations was Rhythm States that gave way
to Remote State, which closed the Phrase.
The dancer started the second Phrase with Spell Drive made up of Indirect Space,
Bound Flow, and Strong Weight. This movement was indicative of the winding and
Knotting that the DNA performs as to fit snug into the Human Cell. In doing so, she freed
her right Hip with Remote State (Free Flow/Direct Space) and stepped down the
Diagonal with her right Foot in Dream State (Strong Weight/Bound Flow). Her Body
rotated in the air in Passion Drive using Light Weight, Bound Flow, and Quick Time. She
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finished the rotation and the second Phrase with Mobile State made up of Quick Time
and Bound Flow.
The third Phrase was Even and used only one movement in Spell Drive made up
of Bound Flow, Direct Space, and Strong Weight.
This movement sequence, unlike the first, uses a couple different Drives and is
not reflective only of the dancer’s natural tendency of Passion Drive. Space Effort is used
throughout the Phrases. Although, Flow was the dominant Effort; Time and Weight were
used secondarily. The momentum through the varying Drives and States created a Wave-
like Rhythm in the execution of the Motif. The dancer was taken off of her center and her
sense of Forward/Backward and Upward/Downward were skewed by the constantly
changing Body/Room Keys.
These movement phrases likened to the movement of the DNA double helix when
the Nucleotides attach forming the helix like the beginning of the sequence when the
dancers hands were drawn together through Space. The rolling over her shoulder, across
her back and sliding on her abdomen was reflective of the Knotting in the formation of
the chromosome, and the winding when the DNA condenses into the Nuclear envelope of
the Cell. The Spiral movement in the latter part of the second phrase nods to the winding
of the DNA to fit into the Cell. Finally the Descending and Shrinking/Condensing
movement making up the third phrase is the actual packing of the DNA into the Cell’s
nuclei. The original Motif and movement phrases did not have the same full multi-
dimensional movement that the second Motif and movement phrases contained. You can
see the movement of the dancer and the DNA on video attached to this thesis.
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LMA AS A CHOREOGRAPHIC TOOL
LMA is a tool that can be used to start a new piece of choreography. It gives a
dance maker the parts in which to work from creating a dance piece. I used LMA to start
this piece of choreography. I simply took the parts and related them to the basic function
of the human body—its DNA. I found greater insights to genetics and how it relates to
human movement. The complex movement patterns we exhibit in our daily and
performance lives originates in the movement of DNA as it is created through the
bonding of the nucleotides, the formation of a chromosome, and finally the packing into
the cell’s nuclei. Through the correlations of the body to LMA, I utilized my analytical
skills and gained deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of the LMA parts,
Laban’s theories behind the parts, and the Body.
Although, this was new for me, the use of LMA parts to create choreography is
not a new phenomenon. My exposure to Laban’s work started back in college. It was
there that I used Efforts and also the Diagonals to start new choreographies. I created one
piece where I gave the dancers varying movements focused on the Efforts of Light and
Indirect. The dancers had to create short movement phrases based upon their version of
Light and Indirect and bring their interpretations to rehearsal to teach the other dancers. I
pieced together the phrases that I gave to the dancers with the ones they created. From
this exercise an entire piece was created. Similar to my choreographic experiment in
college; the basis of movement choirs is to use the parts to bring together others through
movement. Thus a performance piece was created.
In Irmgard Bartenieff’s book, Body Movement: Coping With The Environment she
provides an example of one choreographer’s journey in creating a piece using LMA. This
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choreographer decided to work only with Spell Drive made up of Weight, Space, and
Flow.
The States that participate in Spell Drive are Stable State, Dream State, and
Remote State. For each of the States, the choreographer created a list of images to assist
her artistic process. Alongside the images, the choreographer listed out the specific
Efforts affined with the varying States.
The images she created determined which Flow Effort was necessary. For
example, she listed the image running in tar, which she determined as Light Weight and
Bound Flow from the Dream State of Spell Drive.
She wrote the following in response to her process (Bartenieff, I; page 204):
…I seemed to develop a kind of dialogue between structure and Effort. Usually the structure would start the conversation in a kind of improvised outburst. Gradually Effort would modulate this outburst. Together, in fits and starts and not without arguing, the two would begin to make some kind of sense in terms of the organization and meaning of the piece as a whole. Although she was discussing the relationship between the Kineshpere and
Dynamosphere; LMA was her starting point for the choreography and provided the
underlying structure for her piece. It was a great example of Laban’s Theme:
Function/Expression. The Function element was the use of LMA as the starting point,
structure, and accountability partner for the choreographer and choreography. Through
the Function came the Expression. The choreographer’s personality and interests were
freed because the function gave her a point of reference or guide in which to be
expressive.
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She wrote the following in response to her process (Barteneiff, I.; page 204):
Finally, I have to say something about the relationship of the piece to Effort/Shape material. I would and could not have choreographed this piece a year ago. I didn’t know about the Spell Drive then. I couldn’t have had all those interesting conversations between structure and dynamics then. I wouldn’t have had ideas about the spatial organization of movement then. Even though I worked intuitively (meaning y particular choices were arbitrary and spontaneous), Effort/Shape gave me a grasp on what was happening. I could be specific and objective at the same time I was being random and inspirational. Creating is so slippery—Effort/Shape makes a very good handle.
Liz Lerman, an accomplished contemporary modern dance choreographer, created
a dance piece at Wesleyan College based on the human genome entitled, “Ferocious
Beauty”. Ms. Lerman’s concept was to develop visual ways to communicate ideas about
complicated subjects like the genome, which contains the total genetic information or
hereditary material possessed by an organism.
I found a review of the piece in the New York Times. It was titled, Connecting
Bodies, Apples, and DNA through Dance. The title of the review is of great value to the
work of this thesis. Movement (or dance) is the core of all living things. Movement in our
DNA is the core to our living being. The review said, “One goal seems to have been to
link the arts and sciences. But “Ferocious Beauty” is most powerful when it sticks to pure
dance or pure science.” (Dunning, New York Times, 2006)
The process of correlating movement of DNA to choreography freed me to start
creating a work that was based totally on its parts. It was not an attempt to link the arts
and the sciences. Rather, it allowed for me to really connect, organically, to the construct
of choreography. From there, the movement can synergize organically, and from those
parts, I was able to derive meaning.
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The movement that I created through this project had a sense of being knocked
around or tumbling in a cylinder. Referring back to the analysis of the movement, there
was a Knotting/Unknotting with the Body’s movement. It also felt as if the dancer’s
Body was moving in a fluid environment. The DNA exists in a fluid environment and the
sense of Upward/Downward, Forward/Backward, and Sideward are skewed. The
connection of a baby moving in its mother’s womb is similar to the DNA moving about
in the cell (made up of fluid). When I compare the afore mentioned to the video
demonstrations of DNA’s movement, there was similarity in how both the body and the
DNA interact with its Space-environment. There was a constant Spiraling in both the
body and the DNA, the Space on the outside of the Body and the DNA was an active
participant in the “performance”, and multi-dimensional movement created a meditative
sense or experience.
CONCLUSION
I have learned through this project, my movement (in general) comes from a
deeply organic place—my DNA, and that my choreography is a natural process. The
choreography I have created culminates the elements of movement and my personal
signature creating a final product—my choreography.
The DNA model was fitting to use as a starting point for this study because it is
the foundational structure to the human body. It represents movement in its structural
form, and that movement is the basis for how humans can move throughout their aging
lives.
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LMA’s parts are foundational to all human movement within a gravity sensitive
environment. The exploration of these parts through gravity with DNA as a guide
expanded my explorations to include environment as a form that embodies Space.
Through this project I went to the Body for direction and support and the Body
gave me what I needed. My approach for this choreographic study utilized LMA, and had
an organic element commenting on the living nature of movement and the art
choreography. The twisted ladder (or double helix) of DNA reminded me of the
movement within the Lemniscate.
The Lemniscate is Laban’s model of what is commonly known as the Mobius or
the sign for Infinity. It represents the flow of movement from the Inner to the Outer. It
also discourses the exchange of Space and Body through movement and that neither have
a beginning nor an end. The movement found within the DNA radiates from the body’s
true essence informing and influencing our movement. That same understanding
informed the process of this thesis.
Through this project I found another way to start a new piece of choreography.
LMA offers a wide range of diversity and creativity in its application and understanding
of movement. I examined movement from a perspective relative to Body, Effort, Space
and Shape (the four categories of Laban’s work). I then compared those findings to my
findings of human DNA. The correlations were astounding and left me wondering if
humans are meant to exist in a liquid environment where the pressures of gravity are
imposed equally through volume rather than Upward being the source of most resistance
to gravity.
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The meaning of Space Harmony is richer for me as I move forward from this
project. As a choreographer, I seek to continue my explorations and understanding of the
relationship between the parts of LMA.
Human genetics has started to examine the activity level of a DNA in the body in
relation to its place in the cell’s spatial structure. The research that I have found indicates
that the DNA is dormant, or not active in making a unique signature within the host body,
when it is closest to the nuclear envelope. Instead, the DNA that lies closer to the center
of the nucleus of the cell plays out its role in determining characteristics within the host
body. Again, this idea of Space and environment are being questioned. This time through
Human Genetics.
Amy Matthews’s discussion of Laban’s Space Harmony will be a focal point for
me in the future. She shared that Space Harmony referred to the quality of the
relationship between the parts through examining Crystals. The Crystalline forms have
been a fundamental source of organization and mathematics for a number of different
fields. This, too, is a part that makes up the whole of Space Harmony.
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Appendix A: Motif of original movement from random selection of LMA parts
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Appendix B: Motif of Final Movement from adapted random selection of LMA Parts
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Appendix C: Dance of the DNA Nathan Andary Jan/2009 Rules
• DNA’s ATCG replaced with LMA’s B.E.S.S.
• Shape is represented as Sh to avoid confusion with Space • B always pairs with S • E always pairs with Sh • Use 12 Spatial Pulls from Laban’s B Scale • Use Mid-limb and Core body points (front and back) • Random Selection used to determine the DNA Sequence • When a basic Body action was drawn in the Effort category, a second
card was drawn until an actual Effort was found. The Effort card attached directly to that Body action when putting together the DNA sequence.
Gene = sequence of DNA Draw a number card to determine the Gene length (random selection) Strand = multiple genes Draw a number card to determine the number of strands (random selection) Write out Sequence:
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Appendix D: DNA Strand and Chromosome
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Bibliography:
Barteneiff, Irmgard. Body Movement; Coping With the Environment. Great Britain: Routledge, 2002. Berry, Drew. “Molecular Visualizations of DNA.” The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. 2008. Youtube. May 6, 2008. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKjF7OumYo>. Cohen, Bonnie Bainbridge. Sensing, Feeling, and Action: The Experiential Anatomy of Body-Mind Centering. Northampton, MA: Contact Editions, 1993. Davidson, J. N. The Biochemistry of the Nucleic Acids. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1950. Dunning, Jennifer. “Connecting Bodies, Apples, and DNA Through Dance.” New York Times Feb. 2006: < http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/arts/dance/06lerm.html>. Fitt, Sally. Dance Kinesiology. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996. Goldman, Ellen. As Others See Us: Body Movement and the Art of Successful Communication. New York: Routledge, 1994. Goldman, Ellen. The Geometry of Movement: A Study in the Structure of Communication. New York: Goldman, 1999. Hofstadter, Douglas R. Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. New York: Basic Books Inc., 1999. Hofstadter, Douglas. I Am a Strange Loop. New York: Basic Books, 2007. Laban, Lisa. The Language of Movement; A guidebook to choreutics. Boston: Plays, Inc., 1966. Letter to the Editor. “Corkscrew-like Umbilical Cord Twist.” Pediatric and Developmental Pathology. 5.1 (2002): 103-104. Pfeiffer, John. The Cell. New York: Time Incorporated, 1964. Ppornelubia. “DNA Structure.” Youtube. 2006. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy8dk5iS1f0>. Ullman, Lisa. The Mastery of Movement: by Rudolf Laban. 3rd Edition. Boston: Plays, Inc., 1971.
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Wiggins, Paul. “A Twist on DNA.” Paradigm Magazine. 2006. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. 2006. <http://www.wi.mit.edu/news/paradigm/fall_2006/twistdna.html>. Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2004.