Laban and Dynamics

Through this process I have been looking mainly at dynamics and how I can use them to create an interesting dance piece, with depth, clarity and detail. When looking at dynamics there are a lot of things to think about; time, weight, qualities etc. and so this is why I thought I could benefit from using dynamics as a main focus.

The Dynamospher

The Dynamospher is Rudolph Laban's mapping structure for the eight basic effort actions, it is used as a choreographic tool to help utilise the body in different ways; accentuating movement with different dynamic qualities or efforts. 

I chose to look at the Dynamospher when thinking of dynamics, as a way to fully understand the main effort actions the body has so that I can use them within my work. A starting point for me was looking at the words 'direct' and 'sudden', these two words sparked the most interest in me, and allowed me to begin thinking theoretically when creating material. (see workshop 5 - Layered Dynamics: 'What Happened')

The Laban Movement Analysis Framework 
"Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Labanotation stem from the same historical root and are based on the same theoretical framework. Labanotation, is a comprehensive notation system for recording the structural features of human movement, attending to spatial direction, pathway, floor pattern and degrees of flexion, extension and rotation of individual joints. This system is exemplified by the Dance Notation Bureau in New York whose work is primarily oriented to the documentation of dance choreography. LMA includes the quantitative analysis but additionally addresses qualitative changes of movement in space and time as well as qualitative analysis of dynamic elements of movement expression."
(http://movement.nyu.edu/projects/lma/intro.html , 2014, NYU Movement)