IADMS Miami 2000   [back to the Category]

The Use of Laban Movement Analysis in the Teaching of Pilates-Derived Exercise and Rehabilitation   [read the french version]

Author :   Nancy E. Stotz M.F.A., C.L.M.A.

Author: Nancy E. Stotz M.F.A., C.L.M.A., Core Connection, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

This presentation will describe ways in which the language of Laban Movement Analysis can be used to clarify and define goals for core movements in Pilates. Participants will be exposed to movement sequences drawn from the basic Mat repertoire, which will be initially introduced as a series of actions. We will then examine those aspects of the sequence that are essential to achieving the maximum benefit for the mover, and identify the elements in Laban Movement Analysis that support the goals of the sequence/exercise.

Laban Movement Analysis reinforces many of the elements of good coaching, supporting the instructor/therapist to enable the student in the following ways: amplifying the student’s understanding of proper initiation and follow through, orienting the student to deeper kinesthetic awareness, and providing a conceptual framework for the rehabilitation process.

In Pilates-derived rehabilitation, basic concepts of breath, flow, physical integration, alignment and spatial intention, are emphasized to maximize the work and aid in the over-all neuromuscular repatterning of the individual. This presentation will illustrate the use of the Laban system to provide a theoretical framework and precise language to address the body use of the individual as they progress through a Pilates session. In addition, a Laban approach can give insight into optimal patterns of functional movement that can guide the assessment and prescriptive processes necessary in designing a course of rehabilitation.

Laban Movement Analysis addresses four general arenas. This presentation will examine each of the four briefly, and then apply them to specific exercises. While all of these are operating simultaneously, certain aspects can be highlighted for clarification purposes in different instances.
Body: This part of the system defines and clarifies use of the Patterns of Total Bodily Organization, and how recognition and support of these patterns can open pathways for movement.
Effort: How the individual’s use of Flow, Weight, Space, and Time can amplify or modify a particular movement sequence.
Space: The ways to bring conceptual awareness and use of spatial intention and three dimensionality to stabilize and align the body.
Shape: How the process of shaping the body throughout movement sequences can enhance bodily organization.

Training regimens must have relevance in their application to movement patterning that is essential to the art of dance. The teacher/therapist can model a clarity of intention in movement which is not merely for an “exercise” per se, but speaks to the underlying physical patterning which supports fully expressive movement.

It is becoming increasingly common for dancers to “cross train” in other movement modalities. Examination of the underlying essentials of movement during this adjunct training/rehabilitation process creates a learning environment that supports the mover’s understanding and awareness of their body. This can only help to create a dance artist with a broader range of energetic and stylistic capacity.

This is the abstract of a paper presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, held 27-29 October 2000 in Miami, Florida, USA. All rights are reserved by the individual author(s).