Laban Movement Analysis for Conductors R

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Spring 2009 Volume 1 Number 1, Edited by Elin Lobel, Ph.D.

Official Publication of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS)

Journal ofLaban Movement Studies

Inside this Issue

Applications of Laban Movement Analysis:

An Integrated Approach to Voice, Speech, and

Movement Training for Actors.

Laban Movement Analysis for Conductors:

Revealing the Equivalence Between Movement

and the Sounds of Music.

Inter-relationships Between Laban MovementAnalysis and Psychoanalysis: A Qualitative

Research Project.


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Volume 1, Number 1, 2009 Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies-LIMS, New York, New York

Journal of

Laban Movement StudiesOfficial Publication of theLaban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies-LIMS

EditorElin Lobel, Ph.D., CMA

Department of KinesiologyTowson University, Towson, MD

Assistant EditorsLinda Almar Caldwell, Ph.D., CMA

Department of Dance

Texas Womens University, Denton, TX

Kate Jobe, M.A., CMA, Dipl. P.O. Psych., RSMT/EProcess Work Institute

Portland, OR

Editorial BoardThomas Casciero, Ph.D., CMA

Karen Studd, MS, CMA, RSMT & RSMEBarbara Nordstrom-Loeb, MFA, CMA, ADTR, MAMFT

Ann Axtman, Ph.D., CMAMartie Barylick, CMA

External ReviewKaren Bradley, M.A. CMA

Julie A. Brodie, MFA


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The Journal of Laban Movement Studies (JLMS)is a publication of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Move-ment Studies (LIMS). It publishes scholarly articles, book reviews, and reports of scholarly conferences,archives, and other projects of interest to the field. We accept submissions for publication consideration fromboth members and nonmembers of LIMS. Scholarly articles are peer reviewed.

The Journal of Laban Movement Studies (JLMS) considers for publication original manuscripts on topics relatedto the theoretical, methodological, historical, and practical aspects of Rudolf Labans movement studies andtheir applications. Articles may present current research, scholarly reviews, or an application to a practice,research, or teaching methodology. All manuscript submissions should follow theJLMSauthor guidelines.

The Journal of Laban Movement Studies (JLIMS) is a refereed publication, using a blind review process. TheEditor and at least one outside reader independently review all articles before an editorial decision is made.Authors are advised of the editorial decision as soon as it is available.

Call For Papers

Laban Movement Studies in the World of Theatre (secondissue)

TheJournal of Laban Movement Studies (JLMS) is requesting submis-

sions in the area of Laban Movement Studies (Laban MovementAnalysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals) and its relationship to thediscipline of Theatre. Particular areas of interest at this timeinclude, but are not limited to, research, historical perspective,applications to theatre practices, and the development and execu-tion of pedagogy or training methodology.

There is great potential for Laban Movement Studies (LMS) in afield as diverse and expressive as Theatre. The Guest Editor envi-sions and encourages a wide range of possible topics the role ofLMS in acting and actor training, alignment, clown, Commedia,cirque training, directing, devised theatre, historical contexts,mask work, physical characterization, set design, stage combat,tension release, voice pedagogy (general or specific), Viewpointstraining, and more.

Direct all manuscripts and inquiries for the Theatre issue to:Tom Casciero, Ph.D., Guest Editor,JLMSTheatre DepartmentTowson University8000 York RoadTowson, MD 21252Tel: 410-704-3503, Fax: 410-704-3914Email: [email protected]

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all who participated in making this journal possible by donating technical, personal and editorialskills. Some of those people are:Ann Axtman, Karen Bradley, Martie Barylick, Linda Almar Caldwell,Thomas Casciero, Kate Jobe, Elin E. Lobel, Alyson Nehren, Barbara Nordstrom-Loeb, and Karen Studd.

Journal and cover design:Kate Jobe

Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, LIMS - Board of Directors: Executive Committee, VirginiaReed, President of LIMS. Regina Miranda, LIMS Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Karen Brad-

ley, LIMS Vice-Chair and Director of Research. Board Members: Bob Bejan, Jane Bonbright, Nanette Burst-ein, Luis Cancel, Marcia Feuerstein, Marjorie Hamilton, Lucinda Lavelli, Bala Sarasvati, Keith Sedlacek, JanWhitener.

The Journal of Laban Movement Studies is published semi annually by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute, LIMS.520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 304. New York, NY 10018. Tel: 1.212.643.8888; Fax: 1.212.643.8388. LIMS website:www.limsonline.org. Contact LIMS at: [email protected]

Copyright 2009,Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies (LIMS). No part of this publicationmay be reproduced (except brief excerpts for the purpose of review or citation and except where otherwisenoted) by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher. The opinionsexpressed in The Journal of Laban Movement Analysisare those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed bythe Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS).

All correspondance regarding the current issue should be directed to: Elin Lobel, Ph.D., Editor,Journal ofLaban Movement Studies, Department of Kinesiology, Towson University, 8000 York Road,

Bartenieff Fundamentals (thirdissue)

TheJournal of Laban Movement Studies(JLMS) is requesting submissions in thearea of Bartenieff Fundamentals.

Direct all manuscripts and inquiries forthe Theatre issue to:

Elin Lobel, Ph.D., Editor,Journal ofLaban Movement Studies,Department of Kinesiology,Towson University,8000 York Road,Towson, MD 21252-0001,Fax: 410-704-3912 ,[email protected].

Deadline: June 9, 2009 is the

deadline for inclusion in thissecond and third issue ofJLMS.

For complete submission guidelines

please refer to www.limsonline.org


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Journal of

Laban

MovementStudiesVolume 1, Number 1, 2009

Editorial

Documenting Laban Movement Analysis in the 21stCentury: The First

Issue of the Journal of Laban Movement StudiesElin E. Lobel, PhD, CMA

Feature Articles

Applications of Laban Movement Analysis: An Integrated Approach to

Voice, Speech,and Movement Training for ActorsBarbara Adrian, MFA, CMA

Laban Movement Analysis for Conductors: Revealing the Equivalence

Between Movement and MusicCharles Gambetta, DMA

Interrelationships Between Movement Analysis and Psychoanalysis: A

Qualitative Research ProjectKatya Bloom, PhD, CMA

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21

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Laban Movement Analysis for

Conductors: Revealing the Equivalence

Between Movement and Music

Charles Gambetta, DMA

Abstract

Most modes of live musical perfor-

mance require the synchronized participa-

tion of mind and body. Some certainly

require greater physical activity than others,

and all traditional instrumental and vocal

music performance endeavors share the

same direct link between the movements

required to generate sounds and the sounds

themselves. Upon producing sounds, musi-

cians receive simultaneous aural feedback

that informs them of the level of congru-

ency between their imagined interior per-

formance and the external, aurally

experienced performance. Continuous

comparison of that external flow of musical

events with the interior flow of audiation or

music thinking enables performers to

make adjustments to their movements

(including the breath) and to the physical

relationships with their instruments in

order to maintain control over all elements

of their performance. Such adjustments

might include fingering changes, embou-

chure adjustments, adding or ceasing a

vibrato, postural shifts and changing the

qualities of bow strokes or tonguings.

Conductors, unlike their collaborators

in the orchestra or choir who wed move-

ment to sound through the context of aninstrument, have no direct physical contact

with an instrument that produces musical

sounds. Yet highly skilled conductors know

the precise musical effects their movements

will produce before they execute them in

spite of this apparent absence of such physi-

cal contact. Therefore conductors, more

than all other musical performers, must cul-

tivate within themselves the confluence of

musical and physical expression to such a

degree that they are able to audiate sound

and movement together as a single gestalt.

The resulting condition of mind and body

suggests a consciously induced state of Syn-


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The Journal of Laban Movement Studies Spring 2009 Volume 1, Number 1

21

esthesia wherein an individual seems to hear

movements and touch sounds. Conductors

who have so merged their kinesthetic and

musical abilities have found the genuineequivalence between music and movement.

The application of Laban Movement Analy-

sis (LMA) presented in this essay introduces

an approach to conducting that augments

traditional emphasis on beating in repetitive

patterns with Effort/Shape instruction.

Exposure to and experience with these trans-

formative qualities of movement present

conductors with the opportunity to discover

the single common source of their musical

interpretations and expressive movements.

The Problem

Conducting technique is a highly spe-

cialized, extremely rich form of nonverbal

communication through gesture. Conduc-

tor Hermann Scherchen (1891-1966) identi-

fies gesture as the conductors one and only

medium during performance. He further

maintains that conducting gesture must

indicate perfectly clearly the metrical course

of the work; and at the same time, it must

convey in unequivocal fashion the varying

expression and general shape of the work.1

In other words, the conductors gestures

should convey tempo, rhythm, articulation,dynamics, character, style, breath and

shapeevery nuance the orchestra needs to

complete a mutually satisfying musical per-

formance.2Consummation of this marriage

of music to movement comes only when the

conductor has established a deep and

unbreakable physical connection between

his gestures and his fully formed abstract

representation of the sounds of music. To

effectively communicate musical intentionsto an ensemble, conducting gestures must

demonstrate an understanding of the funda-

mental equivalence between movement and

music. Laban described this relationship on

several occasions including his 1958 address

to the Annual Conference of the Laban Art

of Movement Guild.

Many people will associate this world,in their minds, with the realm of

music. This is quite right so far as one

considers the branch of the art of

human movement resulting in the pro-

duction of works which become audi-

ble to the ear. Few people realize that

all music, vocal or instrumental, is pro-

duced by movements of the body.3

The means to experience and fully

exploit this equivalence continues to eludemany conductors (save those fortunate few

blessed with a natural inner kinesthetic

sense) because they lack the direct physical

connection to the sounds of music that con-

tact with an instrument provides. Yet effec-

tive conductors, like the musicians under

their direction, know the precise musical

effects their movements will produce before

they execute them. My study of Laban Move-

ment Analysis (LMA) led me to develop an

approach to conducting gesture that sup-

plies every conductor with the tools and ter-

minology he needs to discover and traverse

his own personal path towards the conver-
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gence of music thinking (audiation) and

movement thinking that is the essence of

the art of conducting.4

Related Research

Thirty years ago, Neale King Bartee

(1977) introduced conductors to Labans

theoretical framework with his groundbreak-

ing thesis, citing the limited familiarity that

conductors have with the possibilities of

movement as the most significant motiva-

tion for his investigation.5Foremost among

Bartees proposals was his assertion thatthorough grounding in the practice of

Effort/Shape sequences can help conduc-

tors create gestures that better convey the

mood and feelings reflected in their inter-

pretations of the music. Paraphrasing

Laban, Bartee maintains:

[The] performance of sequences of

Effort and Shape structures can pro-

duce moods and feelings which corre-spond to [these sequences]. This

concept implies that certain move-

ments express certain effects and that

the conductor can learn which pat-

terns better express the mood he is try-

ing to achieve in the music.6

While he stops short of describing a

specific method for using LMA to unite ges-

ture with musical intent, Bartee extends thistheoretical application from moods to

expression, observing that Labans link

between movement and inner feeling pat-

terns gives the conductor a basis for develop-

ing expressive movements corresponding to

his conception of the expressive line of the

music.7 After adding a lengthy list of spe-

cific implications to support these two over-

arching themes, Bartee sums up his

exploratory thesis by concluding that theconductor can improve his ability to use

expressive gesture by studying movement as

it is practiced in the movement arts.8

Interest in LMA training for conduc-

tors has since waxed and waned in cycles

that seem to follow the publication of new

research studies and the introduction of

LMA workshops and seminars at academic

and professional conferences. Researchers

Hibbard (1994) and Benge (1996) arranged

for Certified Movement Analysts to observe

experienced conductors in rehearsal and/or

performance. Results from their analyses

revealed a number of possible connections

between the conductors gestures and the

expressive qualities of the music they were

conducting.9Several additional studies usedvarious research modelssome experimental

and some descriptiveto investigate the

effects of LMA training on conductors or

ensemble members.

Billingham (2001) used the eight Basic

Effort Actions (BEAs) as the basis for a

vocabulary of conducting gestures that

proved to be partially successful.10

After pre-paring one choir with LMA training and the

other with traditional rehearsal technique,

choral conductor Holt (1992) found that the

LMA-trained choir performed better than

the traditionally prepared choir.11 Miller

(1988) split two populations of conducting
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students into two treatment groups and two

control groups respectively. The treatment

groups were given a combination of LMA

training and traditional instruction whilethe control groups received only traditional

training (beat patterns, expressive gestures,

preparations, releases, fermatas, dynamics,

etc.). The results showed that the treatment

groups scores were consistently higher than

those of the control groups.12Yontzs (2001)

repeat of Millers study added some impor-

tant refinements and produced results that

clarified and confirmed Millers findings.13

Neidlinger (2003) combined pedagogical

and observational approaches to study the

effects of LMA training on young conduc-

tors ability to perceive expressiveness in

movement. Although her findings were

somewhat inconsistent, she was still able to

conclude that LMA training for young con-

ductors did help them improve their obser-vational skills.14

Currently, a growing but still surpris-

ingly small cadre of conductors and teachers

integrate the principles of LMA into their

performance and teaching activities, but the

discipline has yet to gain widespread accep-

tance. Some resistance may stem from con-

tinuing mistaken perceptions of LMA as a

specialized field for dancers only. Additional

skepticism flows from confusion created by

flawed research and from the belief that the

validity of Labans theoretical framework

has yet to be confirmed outside, as well as

inside, the field of music. In any case, virtu-

ally all investigations of LMA training for

conductors have thus far been limited to

narrow applications of the eight Basic Effort

Actions within the confines of traditionalconducting patterns.

Looking for Answers

In 1994 I realized my conducting had

reached a plateau that I was unable to sur-

pass. My teachers were not able to help me

break through this barrier because they were

also products of the same pedagogical model

that had served me for nearly twenty years:

the organization of conducting gesture

according to metrically based beat patterns.

Adherents to the beat pattern school of

conducting argue that these repetitive move-

ments are the best means to convey the

meter or number of rhythmic pulses in a

measure of music (i.e. two, three, four or

more to a bar). I also agree that certain con-

ditions may favor strict adherence to thesemetrical representationsextremely com-

plex or intricate rhythmic figures, for exam-

ple. However, maintaining the integrity of

any beat pattern for the sake of metric clarity

frequently leads to uninspired, pedestrian

performances since the shape and progres-

sion of the music often supersedes or con-

tradicts the regularity of meter. Simply put,

it is sometimes impossible to concurrently

represent the Effortor inner impulse behind

the sounds of music in the context of pre-

scriptive movement patterns.

I was introduced to Laban Movement

Analysis quite by chance at a two-hour work-
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shop presented in conjunction with the

Conductors Guild Annual Conference in

January, 1995 at Columbia University. I was

immediately attracted to Labans theoriesand specific language because I recognized

their potential as the means to help me to

evolve from beating the music to moving it.

I wasnt sure how to make use of the knowl-

edge as I had no teacher at the time, but as

the saying goes: When the student is ready,

the teacher will appear. While registering

that fall for classes at Teachers College, I was

excited to find an Introduction to Laban

Movement Analysis course taught by Jackie

Hand in the schedule. By semesters end, I

was entirely convinced that LMA would give

me the answers I had been searching for

even though I was still unsure how to inte-

grate this new knowledge into my conduct-

ing practice. My final project for that class,

an LMA novices analysis of his personalconducting practice, ignited eight years of

experimentation and investigation that

would eventually serve as the basis for my

doctoral thesis. The product of that contin-

ued research led to a fresh approach to the

practice and physicality of conducting ges-

ture based on the principles of Laban Move-

ment Analysis.

An Introduction to Effort for Conductors

The common thread that unites a con-

ductors body and mind with his musical and

artistic intentions should be an awareness of

the paired oppositional forces or qualities that

permeate both movement and music. Laban

uses the concept of bi-polar opposites to elabo-

rate his Effort theory. He identifies eight

Effort elements that arise from inner attitudes

of indulging/accepting or condensing/resist-ing the four Motion Factors: Space, Weight,

Time and Flow.15 Conductors who have

honed their capacities to experience and

observe Effort can make conscious use of

these oppositional forces to create gestures

that accurately reflect the audiatedinner atti-

tudes towards corresponding pairs of

opposed musical qualities (i.e. loud/soft,

high/low, etc.). These elements of musical expres-

sioncoalesce with equivalent qualities of move-

ment to produce the desired gestural

representation of the composers notation in

the score.16A list of these paired musical ele-

ments is easy to begin but difficult to com-

plete because the various qualities are so

numerous, and because they will differ from

one piece to the next and from one individualto the next. A generic list might include:

loud/soft, fast/slow, long/short, high/low,

sound/silence, thick/thin, firm/gentle, rhyth-

mic/melodic, connected/detached, heavy/

light, small/large, agitated/calm, consonant/

dissonant, tension/resolution, complex/sim-

ple, expressive/plain, tender/brutal, etc. A

short character piece may exhibit only a few

paired qualities while a large extended work

might include a much broader range of expres-

sion. Borrowing from Laban and Lamb, I have

assembled and organized an introductory set

of affinities between the Efforts and elements

of musical expression (see Table 1).
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The table is self-explanatory, but a brief

description of its organization scheme will

enable readers to establish and understand

connections more quickly. The Efforts are

listed in pairs in the first column, and six

among the many elements of musical expression

extend across the top of the table.

Tendencies for each Effort are listed

across its corresponding row underneath

each musical term so readers can choose to

consider the affinities in relation to any given

Effort or musical characteristic. For example,

Light Weight tends to increase tempo and

decrease dynamic intensity, but Strong

Weight tends to decrease tempo and increase

dynamic intensity. For the purposes of this

demonstration, the table is limited to six ele-

ments of music that can be expressed as con-

trasting pairs. Cues, holds, releases and

processes that occur over an extended period

of time such as crescendos, diminuendos,

accelerandos, ritardandos, etc. were purpose-

fully left off the list. These types of events

cannot be considered or properly represented

in the context of a single Effort because, by

definition, they normally appear together

with one or more additional elements of

musical expression. Since nearly all musical

events require at least two Efforts, these more

complex events are beyond the scope of thisintroductory presentation. The resulting list,

although far from complete, helps conduc-

tors establish rudimentary connections

between their powers of audiation and move-

ment thinking.17 With practice and contin-

ued study these connections can ultimately

lead to a genuine experience of the equiva-

lence between movement and music.

Examining the Efforts and their rela-

tionships with the six categories across the

top of the table, a curious yet logical pattern

emerges. Each Motion Factor is active in

four of the six categories and neutral for

the remaining two. This neutrality applies

Table 1: The Effort/Conducting Affinities

Efforts Elements of Musical Expression

Tempo Dynamics Articulations Character Precision Phrasing

Light Weight Increase Decrease Less Intensity Light Neutral Neutral

Strong Weight Decrease Increase More Intensity Forceful Neutral Neutral

Flexible Space Neutral Neutral Longer Broad Less Pliant

Direct Space Neutral Neutral Shorter Focused More Strict

Sustained Time Decrease Neutral Less Accented Calm Neutral Stretched

Quick Time Increase Neutral More Accented Hurried Neutral Condensed

Free Flow Neutral Increase Neutral Carefree Less Fluent

Bound Flow Neutral Decrease Neutral Restrained More Controlled
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only when the Motion Factors are consid-

ered singly. Its explanation helps illustrate

how the Efforts combine to emphasize spe-

cific qualities of musical expression.18

Thetendency for any single Motion Factor to

affect any of the six categories of musical

expression is neutral if: 1) it exerts little or

no obvious influence upon the considered

musical quality, or 2) it is equally capable of

communicating the effects at either end of

the spectrum. For example, because Flow by

itself suggests little or no sense of pulse, it is

difficult to imagine the representation of

tempo with Flow alone. Simply put, Free or

Bound Flow may be applied to slow or fast

tempos. Once Flow combines with Time or

Weight (or both) the pulse emerges and

tempo can be established. Space Effort is

also neutral when considering tempo

because ones attitude towards space alone

does not affect tempo. Conversely, even

though it may be difficult to conceive a

tempo with Time Effort alone, it is equally

obvious that accelerating or quick move-

ments favor faster tempos while sustained,

drawn out movements favor slower tempos.

The affinities are justified because the ten-

dency for each Time Effort is clear.

Effort/Space and Effort/Shape Affinities

As Laban developed his Effort theory,

he also noticed that the body and its limbs

are able to execute certain dynamic nuances

in movements towards certain areas in space

better than towards others.19 He observed

that lightness favors upward movement

while strong movements correlate to down-

ward directions. Movements across the body

exhibit an affinity with the quality of direct-ness or narrow focus, and roundabout, indi-

rect movements favor flexible directions that

open outward. Quick or sudden movements

relate to backwards directions while sus-

tained movements tend to favor reaching

forward. Further experimentation with

these six Effort/Space affinities in groups of

three and the continued refinement of hisEffort theory eventually helped Laban

develop the eight Basic Effort Actions and

the Effort Cube.20 Lamb validated Labans

discovery of the connections between the

Effort elements and specific spatial tenden-

cies and adopted them as the basis for his

more detailed system of Effort/Shape affini-

ties. After pointing out the correspondence

between Space and the horizontal dimen-

sion, Weight and the vertical and Time and

the sagittal dimension, he used these three

Effort/Space affinities as the organizing

principle for his Effort/Shape affinities

[Table 2].21

These relationships provide conductors

with the bond that joins the qualities of

their gestures (their Effort choices) to the

shapes their limbs and bodies create as they

carve pathways through space Affinities fre-

quently reinforce musical events like the

downward stroke that may accompany a

strong, direct, quick accent. Disaffinities
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movements that contradict natural tenden-

cies) often support some kind of musical

tension, and they can appear simultaneously

with additional affinities or disaffinities.

An extended diminuendo, for example,

might require a light, direct, sustained ges-

ture with the left arm that sinks (a disaffin-

ity), encloses (an affinity) and retreats (a

second disaffinity).

Confirmation through Research

LMA had clearly produced positive

results for me, but I needed to know if my

approach would help others as well. To find

out I conducted a study of four student con-

ductors at the University of North Carolina

at Greensboro School of Music. Following a

pretest conducting performance of the open-

ing 154 measures of Beethovens (1770-1827)

Overture to Coriolanus, Op. 62 (1808), the

four participating conductors completed five

hours of introductory LMA training basedon my ten years of study and experimenta-

tion. This mini-course included a brief

exploration of BESS but focused on the

material presented in this articleEffort, the

Effort/Space and Effort/Shape Affinities

and their specific application to musical

expression. I provided movement instruc-

tion, some of which was related to conduct-

ing, but I did not teach the course as a

conducting class. No specific applications of

the course material to the study repertoire

were prescribed, and the student conductors

received no counsel from instructors outside

the limits of the study. Participants were

asked to use homework assignments and in-

class participatory exercises as the means to

incorporate newly acquired skills into their

conducting. Upon completion of the course,

the student conductors performed the same

repertoire with the same community orches-

tra in a posttest. Both the pretest and post-

test performances were documented with a

Samsung model SD23 MiniDV camcorder

and single-point stereo microphone placed

in front of the orchestra. The resulting video

recordings were edited without any change

in content and transferred to DVD. Expert

panels of two conductors and two Certified

Movement Analysts analyzed the partici-

pants pretest and posttest performances,

and a third channel of data was collected

through post-study interviews with each par-

ticipant.

Table 2: The Effort/Shape Affinities

Motion Factor

Accepting

Effort

Element

Shape Affinity

Resisting

Effort

Element

ShapeAffinity

Space Flexible Spreading Direct Enclosing

Weight Light Rising Strong Sinking

Time Sustained Advancing Quick Retreatin


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The LMA panel was able to confirm

significant changes in movement choices

and an expanded range of movement possi-

bilities for all four participants that could beattributed to LMA training. Focusing on the

participants overall presentation, one of the

CMA panelists noticed: In general the par-

ticipants were more grounded (i.e. con-

nected to their own bodies and aware of

their potential power to communicate

through movement) in the post-tests than

they were in the pre-tests. Further elaborat-

ing on these changes, she continued:

Each participant in the beginning of

his/her posttest, standing in prepara-

tion to begin the music, had an aware-

ness of his/her ability to communicate

through the choices (s)he made in his/

her inner attitude toward Space,

Weight, Time and Flow Effort. This

awareness of how those choices would

affect the music produced by the

orchestra was not as apparent . . . inthe pretest.22

The other CMA observed: All conduc-

tors in the study seemed to be able to use

shape change affinities to help crystallize

Efforts better in the posttest than the pre-

test. She explained:

In the pretest many were working in a

different plane of motin, which oftenseemed to counteract the chosen

Effort: e.g. sinking with quickness or

advancing with strength in the pretest

versus retreating or advancing with

quickness, and sinking with strength

in the posttest. 23

The conductor panel was also able to

concur that the changes they observed con-

stituted a positive development for all partic-

ipants. One found that overall, all four

participants general performance improvedsignificantly in the posttest compared to the

pretest. All four used a wider range of

motion and involved different gestural solu-

tions to inherent problems in the score. He

also reported that the participants were

more relaxed in the posttest. As a result,

the ensemble was more relaxed and

responded with overall better execution of

the piece.24 The second expert conductor

noted: In general, the four conductors

exhibited greater control of body language

in their posttest performances as compared

to the pretests. They seemed more poised

and relaxed physically and more self-confi-

dent both physically and mentally. Zeroing

in on changes in the participants gestures,

he added:

Their gestures were more focused and

more purposeful with fewer extraneous

motions in their arms or bodies. Con-

trasts of dynamics were more vividly

delineated, as were certain, but not all,

changes of character. Shaping of

phrases also benefited from the greater

physical focus, and, in some cases, eye

contact with the players improved.25

Lastly, the participants themselves

expressed unanimous approval regarding the

quality of the course content and instruc-

tion, and all agreed that they would eagerly

recommend LMA training to their col-

leagues and peers. Participant 1 reported: I


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29

find that I am much more confident with

my movement choices, and he recognized

that musicians react a lot more to a conduc-

tors gestures than most of us realize.26

Thecourse has helped participant 2 develop a

better understanding of the connection

between what I do and the sound I get and

exactly how to describe that connection.

She plans to continue to use the skills she

acquired during the course because LMA

has, for her, become a very useful frame-

work to analyze [her] movements, analyze

what other people are doing and what works

versus what doesnt.27 Before taking the

course, participant 3 didnt think of con-

ducting in terms of gesture. Through the

LMA training she has developed much

more appreciation for the art and the diffi-

culty of conducting as well as the ability to

convey a lot of things that, previously, I just

couldnt figure out. When asked how thecourse had improved the connection

between her gestures and elements of musi-

cal expression, she replied:

At the most basic level, I now have

choices to make. Before the class I felt

like I was lost in the music with no

tools or system to help me connect my

gestures to the music. After the course

I am able to look at a score and knowthat I can quickly find a solution to

almost any problem or challenge I

encounter. 28

After the study, participant 4 realized:

many of the things I already believed have

been reinforced, and he added that the LMA

training had provided him with some very

useful terminology to describe movements [he

is] already using. He reported that since the

course, he is definitely watching conductorsmore closely to try to see if their Effort choices

match their musical intentions. When asked

whether or not he would encourage friends

and colleagues to add LMA to their studies he

answered: Im convinced that LMA training

should almost be a requirement for conduc-

tors.29

The expert panels evaluations, the par-

ticipants observations and my personal

experience combine to provide convincing

evidence that conductors who choose to

master the principles of Laban Movement

Analysis have at their disposal a comprehen-

sive set of tools for conceiving and executing

potent, persuasive gestures that display genu-

ine equivalence with the sounds of music.

The Motion Factors, Effort elements and

Effort/Shape affinities are the raw ingredi-

ents conductors combine to create recipes

for gestures that perfectly reflect both the

conductors own personal movement style

and the musical and technical demands

present in the score. Such a conductors

movements illumine the music and inspire

the performers under his direction because

he has firmly, irrevocably fused his musical

intentions with his force of will and body by

grounding himself at the point of conver-

gence between his powers of audiation and

movement thinking. Lamb describes Effort

and Shape as the two processes from which


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30

movement is created.30From the evidence

presented in this essay, it also seems abun-

dantly clear that Effort and Shape together

with audiation are the three processes fromwhich music and, most specifically, effective,

compelling conducting gestures are created.

Bibliography

Bartee, Neale King. 1977. The development of a the-

oretical position on conducting using princi-

ples of body movement as explicated by Rudolf

Laban. Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign.

Benge, Timothy John. 1996. Movements utilized by

conductors in the stimulation of expression

and musicianship. D.M.A. diss., University of

Southern California.

Billingham, Lisa Adalade. 2001. The development of

a gestural vocabulary for choral conductors

based on the movement theory of Rudolf

Laban. D.M.A. diss., University of Arizona.

Gambetta, Charles. 2005. Creating a fresh approach

to conducting gesture through the principles

of Laban Movement Analysis. D.M.A. diss.,

University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Gordon, Edwin E. 1980. Learning sequences in music:

Skill, content and patterns. Chicago: GIA Publi-

cations, Inc.

Hibbard, Therees Tkach. 1994. The use of move-

ment as an instructional technique in choral

rehearsals. D.M.A. diss., University of Oregon.

Holt, Michele Menard. 1992. The application to

conducting and choral rehearsal pedagogy of

Laban Effort/Shape and its comparative effect

upon style in choral performance. D.M.A

diss., University of Hartford.

Laban, Rudolf. 1988.The mastery of movement, 4thed.

Revised by Lisa Ullmann. Plymouth: North-

cote House. Original edition, London: Mac-donald and Evans, 1980.

_____. 1974. The language of movement: A guidebook to

choreutics. Edited by Lisa Ullman. Boston:

Plays, Inc.

_____. 1971. Rudolf Laban speaks about movement and

dance. Edited by Lisa Ullmann. Addlestone,

Surrey: Laban Art of Movement Centre.

Lamb, Warren. 1965. Posture and gesture. London:Gerald Duckworth and Company.

Lamb, Warren and Elizabeth Watson. 1979. Body

code: The meaning in movement. London: Rout-

ledge and Kegan Paul.

Maletic, Vera. 1987. Body - space - expression: The devel-

opment of Rudolf Laban's movement and dance

concepts. Approaches to Semiotics 75. Berlin

and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Maletic, Vera. 2004. Dance dynamics effort and phras-

ing workbook. Columbus: Grade A Notes.

Miller Stephen W. 1988. The effect of Laban move-ment training on the ability of student conduc-

tors to communicate musical interpretation

through gesture. Ph.D. diss., University of

Wisconsin-Madison.

Neidlinger, Erica Jean. 2003. The effect of Laban

effort-shape instruction on young conductors'

perception of expressiveness across arts disci-

plines. Ph.D. diss., University of Minnesota.

Preston-Dunlop, Valerie and Charlotte Purkis. 1989.

Rudolf Laban The making of modern dance:

The seminal years in Munich 1910-1914. Dance

Theatre Journal7, no. 3 (winter): 10-13.Scherchen, Hermann. 1966. Handbook of conducting,

10th ed. Translated by M. D. Calvocoressi.

London:

Oxford University Press.

Yontz, Timothy Gene. 2001. The effectiveness of

Laban-based principles of movement and pre-

vious musical training on undergraduate

beginning conducting students ability to con-

vey intended musical content. Ph.D. diss.,

University of Nebraska.

Endnotes

1. Hermann Scherchen, Handbook of Conducting, 10th

ed., trans. M. D. Calvocoressi (London: Oxford

University Press, 1966), 14.


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The Journal of Laban Movement Studies Fall 2008 Volume 1, Number 1

31

2. The term gesture as used by Hermann Scherchen and the present author refers to a broad range of conduct-

ing movement possibilities that, in Laban terminology, may include gestures, postures and posture-gesture

mergers. Because the primary audience for this research consisted of conductors and musicians, distinc-

tions between these categories were not made.

3. Rudolf Laban, Rudolf Laban Speaks about Movement and Dance, ed. Lisa Ullmann (Addlestone: Laban Art of

Movement Centre, 1971), 40.

4. Charles Gambetta, Creating a Fresh Approach to Conducting Gesture Through the Principles of Laban

Movement Analysis (D.M.A. diss., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005), 100-23.

5. Bartee, The Development of a Theoretical Position on Conducting Using Principles of Body Movement as

Explicated By Rudolf Laban (Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1977), 2, 17-8.

6. Ibid., 160.

7. Ibid., 161.

8. Ibid., 192-200.

9. Therees Tkach Hibbard, The Use of Movement as an Instructional Technique in Choral Rehearsals

(D.M.A. diss., University of Oregon, 1994), 226-37. Timothy John Benge, Movements Utilized by Con-

ductors in the Stimulation of Expression and Musicianship (D.M.A. diss., University of Southern Califor-

nia, 1996), 59-61.

10. Lisa Adalade Billingham, The Development of a Gestural Vocabulary for Choral Conductors Based on

the Movement Theory of Rudolf Laban (D.M.A. diss., University of Arizona, 2001), 65-72.

11. Michele Menard Holt, The Application to Conducting and Choral Rehearsal Pedagogy of Laban Effort/

Shape and its Comparative Effect upon Style in Choral Performance (D.M.A diss., University of Hart-

ford, 1992), 9, 64.

12. Stephen W Miller, The Effect of Laban Movement Training on the Ability of Student Conductors to

Communicate Musical Interpretation Through Gesture (Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison,

1988), 105-6.

13. Timothy Gene Yontz, The Effectiveness of Laban-based Principles of Movement and Previous MusicalTraining on Undergraduate Beginning Conducting Students Ability to Convey Intended Musical Con-

tent (Ph.D. diss., University of Nebraska, 2001), 102-3.

14. Erica Jean Neidlinger, The Effect of Laban Effort-Shape Instruction on Young Conductors' Perception of

Expressiveness across Arts Disciplines (Ph.D. diss., University of Minnesota, 2003), 126-32.

15. Though far beyond the limits of the present article, a more thorough examination of Labans theories

would lead to an understanding of his fundamental views of movement as a dynamic process on a contin-

uum between polarities. Maletic, Body - Space - Expression, 52. Apart from Effort, for example, Laban orga-

nized his concept of bodily rhythms . . . in terms of polarities. Preston-Dunlop and Perkins explain: He

had developed two sources, Ionian opposites (hot/cold, right/left, big/small, etc.) and the colour contrast

theory described in Kandinskys work. Valerie Preston-Dunlop and Charlotte Perkins, Rudolf Laban

The Making of Modern Dance: The Seminal Years in Munich 1910-1914 Dance Theatre Journal7, no. 3

(winter 1989): 10-13.16. Music educator Edwin Gordon defines audiation as a cognitive process by which the brain gives mean-

ing to music. Edwin E. Gordon, Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content and Patterns(Chicago: GIA Pub-

lications, Inc., 1980), 4-5. It is the convergence of this inward hearing that Gordon refers to as audiation

and Labans concept of thinking in terms of movement allows me to find genuine equivalence between my

gestures and the sounds of music.

17. The author has been experimenting and refining this approach for nearly ten years and has expanded the

list of affinities to include combinations of two and three Efforts as well as Effort/Shape and Effort/Space

affinities.


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32

18. While all four Motion Factors are not visible in States and Drives, the absent Efforts in such cases result

from conscious or unconscious choices made by the mover. In contrast, the neutrality associated with

Effort/Conducting affinities is not the result of choice. Just as an Effort/Shape affinity exists between

lightness and rising but not lightness and retreating, an Effort/Conducting affinity exists between Weight

and dynamics but not Weight and precision.

19. Rudolf Laban, The Language of Movement: A Guidebook to Choreutics, ed. Lisa Ullman (Boston: Plays, Inc.,1974), 30-2.

20. Vera Maletic, Dance Dynamics Effort and Phrasing Workbook, 37.

21. Warren Lamb, Posture and Gesture, (London: Gerald Duckworth and Company, 1965), 63-4.

22. Gambetta, 269-70.

23. Ibid., 280.

24. Ibid., 306.

25. Gambetta, 332.

26. Ibid., 336-7.

27. Ibid., 341-2.

28. Gambetta., 346.

29. Ibid., 351-3.

30.Warren Lamb and Elizabeth Watson, Body Code: The Meaning in Movement(London: Routledge and Kegan

Paul, 1979), 81.

Conductor/composer Charles Gambettaholds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of

North Carolina at Greensboro. He is currently on the music faculties of Greensboro College, Guilford College and Winston-

Salem State University in North Carolina. A student of LMA since 1995 when he studied for a semester with Jackie Hand

at Teachers College, Columbia University, Charles addressed the 2006 Laban and the Performing Arts conference in Brat-

islava, and he will speak at the 2008 Laban International Conference in London. Maestro Gambetta has served as Music

Director of the Young American Symphony Orchestra, the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra and Assistant Conductor

of the Greensboro Symphony, the Fayetteville Symphony and the Philharmonia of Greensboro. In 2008 he accepted an

appointment to the faculty of the prestigious International Institute for Conductors.

Documents

Laban Movement Analysis for Conductors R