Phrasing is a foundational Pattern

The Phases of the Moon are perceived as Phrases in the moon’s cycle

Phrasing is key to movement – All movement is change. From simple to complex, changes in body position, location in space, muscle tension, focus (etcetera) create the patterns of our actions. Understanding movement is through the process of recognising and interpreting the patterns. Phrases are containers . They hold the content of intention. They allow a large whole to be organised into smaller increments (or units of change ) as illustrated in the above photo of the cycle of the moon. Unlike another Foundational Pattern – the pattern of Thematic Duality, Phrasing is temporal as it is a sequence through time. Phrasing is one of the ways that the phenomenon of Time is part of Movement Analysis and LBMS.

A series of linked actions, connected through sequences of time, create the phrases of our human movement. Phrases may be seen at different “levels”, from a more macro to a more micro perspective. For example: seasons of the year, to months, weeks, days, hours, is starting from a more macro way of phrasing time and becoming increasingly more micro in how we parse sequences of time.

Aspects of phrasing include duration or length of phrases as well as if the phrases are discrete or overlapping, where one phrase blends into another.  In addition, if there is an emphasis in a part of the phrase, for example at the beginning or ending, this too can create a pattern or type of phrasing linked to its meaningfulness.

A phrase is often described as a “complete thought” in language. In this way a phrase , is both a whole in itself, as well as a part of a greater whole (Part/Whole theme).

Phrasing creates and supports meaning.  Below are some language examples of this idea. * The words below, in example “A”, are somehow meaningless until the phrasing creates the containers for the content and intent in example “B”.

(A) That that is is that that is not is not

(B) That that is, is; that that is not, is not.

When we change the Phrasing, we change the meaning as illustrated in using the same sentence with 2 different phrasings (below)

Woman without her man, is a savage. – -or – – Woman: without her, man is a savage.

Examples of phrasing can be found in phenomena of all kinds. Phrasing can be seen in everything from functional structural designs (architecture and engineering come to mind) to the expressive compositional phrasing of music, poetry and dance. Language as it is sounded, spoken and written is phrased in its patterns. Learning movement, teaching movement, re-patterning movement all are dependent on the phrasing of movement.

Body Phrasing – In looking at the phrasing of human movement we can start from identifying the functional phrasing of body organisation. For example, kinetic chains, or the neuromuscular initiation and sequencing of actions are examples of Body level Phrasing. Does a sequence progress from the upper unit and sequence to the lower unit, for example? Or from the distal end of a limb to its proximal end, or vice versa?

Unsupported or “disconnected” movement often is the result of breaks or interruptions in the sequence of a body phrase and may be a key, both in identifying a problematic pattern as well as finding a solution through re-patterning the phrasing of the movement.

More BESS Phrasing – In addition to Body aspects of Phrasing, we can also look at spatial (Space Component) and dynamic (Effort Component) aspects of movement phrasing (Space Phrasing and Effort Phrasing) .  Understanding the spatial and dynamic aspects of a phrase may assist in clarifying the intent of the mover.

A spatial phrase creates a pathway – or several pathways – through the mover’s space (the Kinesphere). Such a phrase might be seen in a linear progression in the Vertical Dimension from high to low, or a sweeping Planal arc, or in a more complex spiraling sequence through the 3 Dimensions of Space.

The dynamic Effort changes in action support both functional as well as expressive aspects of the phrasing of movement. Looking at the dynamics of a phrase we can see what changes, what is emphasized, or if there are accented moments.  These Effort Dynamics including their phrasing reflect the mover’s attitude and intent underlying a sequence of actions.

Emphasis in some part of a phrase at the beginning, or in the middle, or at the end – creates an identifiable type of phrasing pattern. Emphasis may be observed in Space or Dynamics/Effort or Body or Shape Phrasing. In other words Phrasing can be observed and experienced in all the BESS Movement Components.

Rhythm and Phrasing are interconnected concepts. Patterns of duration, holding and emphasis create rhythm , thus rhythm is linked to the concept of phrasing. Rhythms are linked to repetition and patterns emerge from repetition.

Rhythmic patterns can be seen in space through movement ( as well as the rhythms seen in art and architecture of line, design proportion) . Rhythm divides or breaks up the ongoingness of Flow (here addressing Flow as baseline from which all patterns emerge). The rhythms of our flow become the phrasing patterns of our movement sequences.

Fundamental Rhythms – The nature and feeling of duple and triple ( 2’s and 3’s )

TWO (2) is a statement of a line, an ongoing progression. But also creates the simple clarity, of beginning and ending. And in this way it describes opposites. Two ends of a continuum creating an either/or polarity. This duality can describe a harmony of balance and symmetry.

Examples of duality in the LBMS organisation of perception and experience of the patterns of movement can be found in:

            LBMS Themes – Inner/Outer, Exertion/Recuperation, Function/Expression Mobility/Stability as well as other themes often addressed including: Simple/Complex, Self/ Other, Beginning/End, Part/Whole, Macro/Micro

            Effort – Condensing/Indulging creating the 2 Elements of each Factor ie. Light/Strong, Direct/Broad, Free/Bound, Quick/Sustained. Effort Phrasing which emphasises either the beginning (Impulsive) or the end ( Impactive) of a phrase

            Space – the phrase of the progression of space which connects the two ends of each Dimension, the two ends of each Diagonal, the two ends of each Diameter.

            Body – our bilateral symmetry and our organisation relative to our form for example in the rhythm and phrasing of our walking. And in a more macro phrase sense beginning (our birth)/ end (our death) And all the many duple rhythms of our biological existence – inhale/exhale, heartbeat, ingestion/excretion etc. etc.

            Shape – The Concave/Convex Relationship, the Gathering/Scattering actions and in Shape Flow linked to the 3 dimensional of our form through lengthening /shortening, bulging/hollowing and widening /narrowing, The Spoke-like Directional mode in actions towards and away from self, which in turn is based in Self/Other duality. Other examples in the Shape category are the oppositional polarities of the Core Shape Qualities – Spreading/Enclosing, Advancing/Retreating, Rising/Sinking

THREE (3) is often curvilinear in its nature but can also create the form of a triangle Which in turn can create a loop or cyclic progression around the closed triangle. In a 3 rhythm there is more differentiation as the idea of the middle emerges. This suggests more complexity and a shift in emphasis to what happens between the beginning and the end. The process becomes even more important – the life between the birth and the death – the dash between the dates on a tomb stone depicting the date of birth and date of death which has always seemed such a reductionist way of recording the phrase of one’s life!

Rhythms of 3 can also create Stable Triangular patterns and can be linked to aspects of our Dynamic Alignment (Body Component ) through our bony architecture but also to all the BESS components such as what we identify as a 3 ring as a Spatial sequence.

Examples of a tri-partite rhythmic patterns in the LBMS system of organization of perception experience of the patterns of movement can be found in:

            Body – our experience of the volume our 3D form, true spirals in gradated rotation of the whole body kinetic chains connecting flexion/extension, abduction/adduction & inward/outward rotation as well as in the progression from 1D to 2D to 3D.

            Effort – Effort is constantly fluctuating as we move between and among the constellations of the States and Drives and the link to 3 can be seen in how each Drive combines 3 of the 4 Effort Factors and in addition how each Drive is supported by 3 “Cluster States” linked to the Drive.

Space – A phrase of 3 directions linked as 2 pathways in theTransversal progression of: Flat, Steep, Suspended in Icosahedral Scales including the Axis and A or B Scales. (These are Space Harmony Scales practices in LBMS Movement Analysis training programs)

Space Harmony – In the Harmonic structure of the rhythms of Space, in the Transverse A & B Scales of the Icosahedron, Rudolph Laban identifies the Steeple type phrasing as a “bipartite rhythm of diagonal directions” (The Language of Movement: A Guidebook to Choreutics p 154). He goes on to identify the Flat, Steep, Suspended phrasing as a type of tri-partite rhythm through which to experience the space harmony of patterns of human movement.

More about Phrasing and phrasing types

Please read this.      I see what you mean.

Please read this.      I see what you mean.  or I see what you mean

Please read this.      I see what you mean.  or I see what you mean

Please read this.     I see what you mean.

Try clapping a simple 3 rhythm accenting the 1 over and over. Switch to the 2nd beat. Switch the accent to the last beat. What is the nature, feeling or mood in each case?

 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3       1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3        1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 

Impulsive Phrasing – the emphasis is at the beginning of the phrase. It may be abrupt – as when happens when someone interrupts. It may be aggressive or intrusive. It may also be excited – the initiation of a big new idea – “I’ve got it!”. Or being impressed “Way to go!”. Impulsive Phrasing can also be found in duple rhythms such the double pulsing often used in jump rope. 

Swing Phrasing – the emphasis is in the middle of the phrase.  It builds to a climax then recedes. An example may be cracking a whip (preparation – snap – withdrawal). A wave breaking on the shore, skipping rhythm. Although a Swing type phrase requires 3 parts – a beginning, middle and end – you will frequently find rhythms of 2’s and 3’s layered. As in the common 6/8 meter which can also be experienced as duple feel with emphasis on 1 2 3 4 5 6.  In LBMS the interconnectedness of 2’s and 3’s can be seen in the States associated with a Drive or the nature transverse movement and more specifically the pathways of Transversals in space. Where the 2D nature of each individual plane is interwoven through a cycle (pattern) of moving through all 3 Planes. In addition, the relationship of the (2 D) Planal Diameters experienced as deflections of the 3D Diagonal

Impactive Phrasing – the emphasis is the conclusion. This can be about being definite it builds up to a conclusion. It may be authoritative, or absolutist used to show determination or resolve.   “That’s It!

Phrasing style is an important aspect of one’s baseline Personal Movement Signature.

So far so good –  but what exactly is a Phrase?  A phrase is often (to use a word I heard CMA Carol Lynne Moore apply to the concept of the Dynamosphere) a “fuzzy” concept in LBMS. It is fuzzy in that the edges are unclear. Although perhaps unclear is a poor word choice as it is clear to the individual observer. According to CMA and non-verbal communication researcher Martha Davis, observers each seemed “to have an individually consistent approach to delineating phrases. However, the observer’s recording very often differed from each other. They do not appear to share concepts of phrase boundaries.” This would seem to resonate with the idea that Phrasing can be viewed from both a Macro as well as Micro perspective – something we do all the time as we shift our attention to the phrasing of a day morning, noon and night, to seasons of a year, or patterns of time into epochs. We do this as well in LBMS, looking both at the BIG movement picture as perhaps revealed through the larger lens of a particular theme, or in a small movement unit of a single action. Like fractals larger patterns are composed of smaller patterns which, when magnified, become the larger pattern.  Theme of Part/Whole

*Thanks to my WM colleague Esther Geiger (CMA) and her husband Joel for reminding me about these examples from language

Post by KStudd – Updated Summer 2022 from earlier document of 2015

More about Time

considering how we experience time

K. Studd Nov. 2021

This post is in response to questions I often encounter about where Time fits into the LBMS structure.  And also, to what I have recently been thinking about and exploring in relation to this inquiry with several classes.

Flow – Breath – Time:

The Action ofBreath – a foundational experience that is linked to our developing a concept of time

The action of our breath and the ongoing process of breathing is a life definer. Indeed, we generally demarcate our lives starting from the first breath at our birth and ending with the last breath when we die. We see this demarcation through the dates carved on tombstones with the dash in the middle representing the entire life lived in between these dates!  I have remarked about this image in many classes and how this reveals the significance of the beginnings and endings as phrase boundaries. In addressing this tombstone motif, I have also joked about how the “main action” of this life phrase is denigrated to a minus sign in the middle! However, this horizontal dash line, separating the beginning and ending, can also be viewed as the flowline – the flowline/timeline of the life of an individual. (Remember that in LBMS Motif, Flow is represented as a horizontal line).

In the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System flow is considered as the foundational basis of movement. This baseline flow is the successive and fluctuating “ongoingness” of life energy. In this way the flow construct is aligned with (or perhaps even synonymous with?) the experience of our perception of time i.e. as a continuous streaming of life.  This flow base is the universal flow of all life.  However, although we as individuals are part of this universal life flow, we also have our own personal flow, and this is the basis of how we experience the action of control through the withholding or releasing the flow of our actions. This control action includes breathing as an experience of life’s ongoing energy.

Our breathing itself is a duality expressing states of both “being” as well as “doing”. These states, in turn can be associated with the Body/Mind and Mind/Body duality/wholeness of the human condition. We breath as a part of being alive (linked to our “being”) and this does not require any attention, agency or choice. But we can also actively choose to intervene in our personal breath process (by doing). We can hold our breath (at least for a while). We can take a deep breath; we can slow down our breathing or forcefully breathe out.

(NB I am addressing breath in a context of relatively stable health and well-being, not in cases of disease or physical impairment that are experienced for example in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD or asthma).

SpaceTime

Our personal flow as expressed in the breath process is a part of the greater universal flow. This personal/universal duality can be linked also to the LBMS Duality Theme of the Inner/Outer relationship.  We experience this continuum as we breath, taking in oxygen from the air of the outer environment and then giving out carbon dioxide back to the outer environment. Through the breath process we experience ourselves as connecting Inner/Outer. Many classes in the LBMS practice start from this place of awareness of breath (Body) and Space. In these classes we experience the Body as a container of Space and the action of breathing being the foundation of finding the continuum from the inner space (what we now identify as Innersphere) to the outer space, the space of our Kinesphere and beyond into the shared General Space of the environment.

I believe that as part of our functional experience of breath and our personal expression through the breath process, we come to identify/create the concept of time. Humans are both pattern makers as well as pattern perceivers. The parts of the time concept can be found in the actions – in the phrasing and rhythm – of our breathing including: tempo, duration, emphasis. (NB Remember that Function/Expression is one of the four major Duality Themes recognized as foundational patterns in LBMS)

Experience

To explore the idea of time linked to breath, try this – – simply breathe and become aware of the Phrasing of the actions of your breathing. Start by sensing the breath phrase as having two parts – the inhale, the exhale. Next also become aware of the transitions between these two actions, in the active stillness at the end of the inhale before the exhale, and then also at the end of the exhale before the next inhale. Note the relative duration of all these parts.  Are they all the same or do they take different amounts of time?

What about the tempo of your breath rhythm – is it moderate or slow or fast? 

Is there an emphasis at the beginning or middle or end of the phrase of a breath? Or is it even? If there is an emphasis, is it linked to acceleration or deceleration?

Now explore making specific changes in these aspects of time through altering the breath phrase.  Explore changing duration of the different parts. Change the tempo by breathing faster or slower. Explore places of emphasis in the phrase of a breath – at the beginning of the inhale or at the transition between the inhale and exhale or at the end of the exhale.  What happens when you intervene by altering the duration, tempo or emphasis of the parts of the breath phrase? What feels natural, familiar or weird? What memories or images or associations occur?

Time has a universal aspect. This is the time recognized in our conceptualizations of the Physics of SpaceTime. In addition, we functionally identify and create constructs of time that we use to measure and capture the ephemeral phenomena of time. We identify seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and eras, measuring from the micro to macro shorter and longer increments of duration.

But we also have our own personal relation to time and how we relate to this streaming. We identify our past, and our future as well as the moment-to-moment experience linked to what in LBMS we identify as the Time Effort Factor. Time Effort is an expression of how we feel about the flow of time as we accelerate and decelerate. As we hurry up or linger, as we perceive time’s passing and our need or desire to expand or condense time.

Different cultures view time in different ways .  This could be material for a whole other blog post! But this is not my intent in this post so I will save this topic for a later time! 

But it is interesting to note that there is well-known a phenomenon identifying two distinct perceptions of the movement of time: one is the experience of time from what is called an ego-moving perspective of time and the other is the time-moving perception of time. For a user-friendly explanation of this take a look at:

In the ego-moving perspective you perceive yourself as moving forward through time. In the time-moving perspective your perception is more that you are stable and time is flowing through you.  ( Ask yourself –  “Is the end of the week coming?” or “are you moving towards the weekend?”)  These two perspectives have a connection to the Mobile/Stable Theme used in LBMS.  And I connect the idea of these two perspectives to questions I often ask of those I have engaging in a breath awareness experience (not attempting to change but simply experiencing the way they are breathing) – “when you breath in, are you pulling in air (you doing)? Or is the air rushing in filling a vacuum or empty space?” “And when you exhale are you sending the air out or is it flowing out in the same way that water runs downhill?” This is also a returning to the theme of being/doing that I addressed earlier

As we well know breath and flow are vital somatic experiences and offer endless opportunities for connecting to oneself and to the world. They are at the heart of somatic practices.

You might want to ask yourself as you connect to yourself through breathing- How do you feel about time’s passing? – To the flowline/timeline of your life?

K. Studd Nov. 2021

Space Harmony

So, what is Space Harmony?

Let’s begin by identifying the parts

Space – Space can most simply be described as the environment, the totality of what surrounds us – the medium we exist within.

Harmony – in understanding harmony looking at synonyms can enlighten us. Some examples of these include: balance, coherence, concinnity, consonance, orchestration, proportion, symmetry, symphony, unity.

Space Harmony – thus, I would define Space Harmony as patterns expressing concinnity of the universe. These patterns explicate part/whole relationships which support growth, life, continuity, development, life’s progression. These patterns are frequently fractal in nature and often self-replicating or cyclic but also allow for change (evolution).  The image of the spiraled nautilus shell is frequently used as an example of Space Harmony and Sacred Geometry is rife with Space Harmony patterns and images.

A picture containing invertebrate, mollusk, indoor, chambered nautilus

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Patterns of Space Harmony also express dualistic patterns of universal balance in change and constant, symmetry/asymmetry, building and destroying, development and decay. All of which are expressions of order/chaos and the patterns of life and death – whether it be of an individual organism or of a star.

Much of Laban’s work is based in the Space Harmony expressed through the patterns of human movement.  His writings, both the theoretical, more technical text,  as well as the more philosophical words confirm this. And Laban, as something of a crystallographer, used the models of the spatially harmonic Platonic Solids in his mapping the patterns of human movement of the mover’s personal space (or what we define as the Kinesphere). Therefore, Space Harmony is a foundational idea of the theory, practice and one could even say, philosophy of the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS) as based in Laban’s work.

In LBMS we can identify the essential Self/Other Theme with two foundational components of movement: Body (Self) and Space (Other). Juxtaposed with this Body/Space framing of Self/Other, is the Inner/Outer Theme, as we identify Space as existing on a continuum from inner to outer. We experience that we are containers of Space – perhaps most easily sensed in how our inner volume expands and condenses as we breathe (but also experienced in other inner body spaces). WholeMovement identifies/names the space contained within the Body as the Innersphere.  In addition to experiencing the space within, we can also experience that we are contained by space i.e., that we exist within Space. In the system we identify the containers of this space outside, and which surrounds us, as our personal space of the Kinesphere, the General Space of our localized environment and continuing outward to the totality of the cosmic/universal space. I frequently use a picture in a class “handout” that illustrates this idea of the containers of space, in which the image of a series of Russian Nesting dolls represent the spatial continuum. It starts with the smallest doll representing the Innersphere, then the next in size representing the Kinesphere , and then the next representing the General Space and finally the largest doll representing the Universal Space.

I also use a handout that illustrates a modified model of the BESS frame that shows the Components in a slightly different relationship. Rather than a simple horizontal progression of 4 letters (B – E – S – S) I use a vertical progression that starts at at the top with Body/Space and under this is the Shape Component and under this is the Effort Component. Remember, systems and models, as well as all bodies of knowledge, are ways we use to conceptualize parts in relationship.  In other words, how we organize our perceptions and frame the ideas that arise from the part/whole relationships of our lived experience. Remember too, that we humans are both pattern discerners as well as pattern makers in the experience and creation of our reality.

The Theme of Inner Outer Inner/Outer can also be linked to the ways in which we engage with the phenomenon of human movement in the theory and practice of LBMS. We do this primarily in two contexts: 1) from what we observe (outside ourselves) and 2) what we experience (part of our inner self).  We should, of course, acknowledge that these 2 perspectives overlap in human experience but are also differentiated. In other words, LBMS attempts to understand human movement from the perspective of the mover and also from the perspective of the observer.

We use these perspectives in describing, interpretating and finding the meaning in our patterns of action, reaction and interaction. In other words, the analysis and synthesis (part/whole relationship) in the practice of movement analysis.  

The System (LBMS) itself continues to evolve due to practitioners’ applications, other bodies of knowledge and other systems for identifying and codifying human movement which overlap with LBMS.

NB – this post is meant as a macro perspective and does not in any way explicate the highly developed practice of Space Harmony as a movement technique that explores the directions, pathways, forms, body support and dynamospheric relationships of the Spatial Scale sequences developed and codified by Laban. 

K. Studd 2021 

Seeing a Pattern/Choosing a Change

My favorite thing about LBMS is that it helps me look for patterns, in myself, my interactions, my environment, and my life.  Finding the pattern makes it possible to choose what, if any, change(s) to make.

Patterns of Movement / Changing to Heal

Years ago, when I first immersed myself in LBMS studies, I developed a knee injury that sidelined me from dancing, performing, even walking. Physical therapy exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles helped only temporarily; the injury kept recurring.  Finally, I realized that the LBMS training was changing an old pattern of mine.  Decades of dance technique – mostly Graham and other early Modern forms – had strengthened me through Binding.  Now the multifaceted world of LBMS exploration was encouraging me to let go.  Which I did, into Passive Weight, dropping all the holding and dumping the stress into my knees.  Once I noticed that pattern, I could begin to think in terms of “what else is possible” rather than just “either/or”.  I discovered that, instead of releasing from holding into collapse, I could release into activation.  As I practiced this new movement pattern, my injury gradually healed.

Patterns in Interaction/Changing to Get Along

While administrator at a large yoga center, I heard complaints from two employees in conflict.  “She’s pressuring me, she’s pressuring me! If she would just slow down!” cried T, a careful, methodical worker.  “She won’t get moving; she’s not getting anything done! She needs to hurry up!” declared B, whose Quick Impulses kept her flying through her day. 

I spoke to each of them:
“T, I’ll bet, when you are cooking, you read the recipe, then line up all the ingredients, then read the recipe again before you follow the steps one by one.”  “Yes! How did you know?!”

“B, when you cook, I imagine you might have glanced at a recipe for ideas, and are assembling and chopping stuff while you’re throwing things in the pot, and keeping it stirred, right?”  “Of course!” she exclaimed.

“Well, here, you are both cooking the same stew; you just have different ways of going at it.  Let’s see how you can get the thing done together.”

We looked at what changes to choose: which tasks were best assigned to whom; how to sequence their assignments, align their goals and adapt their expectations.  Perhaps B should swoop in to open and unpack all the boxes and get the props on the shelves, then have T focus time on comparing the inventory to the packing slip and logging everything in to the online system.  The idea was to allow each to use their own preferred patterns in support of each other and the job at hand.

Patterns in the Environment/Changing its Functioning

“Why are they all just running in circles and yelling? There are plenty of things for them to play with. They’re going to crash into each other!”  The day care director and I were watching as the children emerged from their small classrooms into a large open gym, strewn with a few small climbers, some tricycles, jump ropes, balls and miscellaneous building toys.  Clearly, they experienced that Phrase – from enclosed space to open area, from quiet activities to recess, from stillness to motion – as a Becoming: now I can get big and go fast and be loud.  Given the pattern inherent in the space, the timing and the children’s bodies, the director needed to choose an intent for their gym time.  Running in circles might be just right for that moment in the day’s rhythm.  But, if she saw it as dangerous, or “unproductive” (that’s a different article), she could reorganize the space for a different result.  

We talked about setting up “landing” areas around the periphery, with a section for building, one for jump rope games, etc.  Still leaving running space, but perhaps taping lanes or a large circle on the floor for the trikes, to safely separate the riders from the runners.  The next time I visited, there was still lots of high energy, but a little less scary chaos.

Pattern as Metaphor/Change as a Choice

In the middle of downward facing dog pose, C exclaimed “It’s my life!  Dog pose is my life and it’s staring me in the face!”  The class paused and he explained.  “I want to get strong, so I decided to practice holding dog pose for five minutes.  I built up gradually, minute by minute.  One day, I held the pose for five minutes!  I’m so pleased with myself, the next day I took off and didn’t practice at all.  It’s my life – staring me in the face!  I have a girlfriend, we work on our relationship, it gets pretty solid.  Then I leave.  Dog pose is my life, staring me in the face!”

C had discovered a Phrasing pattern that he’d applied unconsciously, in yoga practice, in life. Now that he sees the pattern, he has options for changing – or not.

What I love most about LBMS is that, by helping me find patterns, it gives me choices about change.

3 Things We Need to Sustain Us, Now More Than Ever

Why Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support (a Bartenieff Fundamental Principle ) are the key.

By K. Studd (2020)

Recently, in connecting to the students of an LBMS international training program, I encouraged the group to really continue to find how movement can help sustain them in these very challenging times. I said, in closing an email, “to keep moving and, in particular, to draw upon Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support.” One of the group’s members (P) asked why I singled out these 3 specific LBMS concepts in particular. Here is my reply:

In answer to your question, P – Well, several reasons –

First, because these 3 things are the baseline of all our movement, so the most basic foundational place to get in touch with ourselves. They can give us access to find our grounding, to find the capacity for both Mobility and Stability, and often also for active Exertion as well as passive Recuperation – NB we do not have to always activate to exert, of course, or become passive to recuperate, but these often go together and are built into the waking/active vs. sleeping/passive pattern of all animals. So, again, these activities are a baseline of Exertion and Recuperation balance.

Second, also remember that Flow is associated with empathy and with a universal life force that contains and connects us all. Whereas Weight is our own experience of ourselves in the world – self agency. So, finding this universal/individual aspect, too, is essential I think in such times.

Third, Breath helps us on so many levels. It links directly to Flowsensing and all manifestations of Flow, and it also allows us (through active awareness and sensation) to experience the ongoing connection between Inner and Outer. Breath is vital and has become such a sensitive image symptomatic of this pandemic. Our breath is something we take for granted. Generally, we experience that we will breathe with or without our awareness. But we can also modify how we breathe. We can choose how to breathe and use this capacity to actively breathe more fully or change its rhythm and phrasing. This makes breath a very unique part of the human movement equation.

So all of the 3, Flowsensing, Weightsensing and Breath Support can serve us and do not require us to “do” too much, but rather connect us to a balance between our “being” and “doing” selves.  Connecting to the thematic dualities and continuum of Inner/Outer, Exertion/Recuperation, Mobility/Stability, Universal/Individual, Being/Doing are an essential ingredient in continually finding balance and Wholeness.

About “Body Language”

Debunking the Myths

by K. Studd (2020)

Body language is a trendy term that is used frequently without discretion.  We need to be wary of using this term too generally or using it inappropriately. By inappropriately I mean in ways which oversimplify the complex and interwoven multiple layers of non-verbal communication.

The non-verbal components of communication have a long history of interest and study. These nonverbal aspects have been proven in some studies to convey more than 60% of the information delivered. This means that the verbal content – the words by themselves – in some contexts, convey less than 1/2 of what is being communicated. In addition, when there is perceived inconsistency between the verbal and nonverbal message, the non-verbal aspects are what the observer/interpreter often relies upon and uses in deciphering the “real” message being conveyed.

Non-verbal communication is much more than specific gestures. It runs the gamut from tone of voice, tempo and phrasing, eye contact, weight shifts, facial expressions, use of space in both postural and gestural actions and much, much more. Non-verbal cues have many layers and include universal components, culturally specific components and individually unique aspects. This is why the non-verbal is so significant – it connects the personal to the cultural and to the universal and it is why we call upon the information it conveys in making judgments about others.

Think for a moment about overhearing a conversation in a “foreign” spoken language. For example, if I get on an elevator with others who are speaking in a language that I am not familiar with I have a limited ability to understand what is being communicated. In fact, I can, in this one-time observational context, only know minimal things about the nature of the communication. I can observe that words/language are being used to express, or to communicate, or interact. I might be able to discern some of the intent. If for example there is laughter, or loud voices or whispering this might lead me to some partial and limited conclusions – however much of this understanding is coming not from the words but the vocal tone, eye contact, and spatial proximity in the relationships of those engaged in the conversation. But any “translation” (interpretation) is very limited. I might intuit many things but to have any real access to true understanding I would have to observe-listen-see much, much more.

What is identified as “Body Language” too often assigns specific intent to discrete actions. The idea, for example, that an action of crossing the arms across the chest can be assigned a specific meaning is very misleading. It might, depending on the context, be that I cross my arms across my chest to hide a stain on my shirt, or because I am chilly, or as a way to connect to and sense myself to help me focus my thinking before replying in a situation, or it might be that I am creating a boundary, as an expression of either power or vulnerability. But it would be very dangerous and misleading to assign some fixed definition to this action such as “self-protection” without much more information about the person performing the action and in what context it is occurring. Repetition is necessary for pattern to emerge and context matters. The language of the body has universal aspects but also has significant cultural components and also has personally unique aspects. All are important in assigning meaning to the actions and interactions referred to as Body Language. Misunderstandings can and do occur as easily from a lack of understanding the language of the body as from a lack of understanding the words used when express ourselves and when we communicate with others.

The Case for LBMS

The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System
& Why LBMS is a “System”

by K. Studd
(Updated December 2019)

To begin, let’s start with what is a “system”? 

A system is defined as:  

An organized, purposeful structure that consists of interrelated and interdependent parts. These component parts continually influence one another (directly or indirectly) to maintain their activity and the existence of the whole system, and to achieve the goal of the system. NB this definition has been gleaned from several sources.

A system is a set of interacting and interdependent component parts forming a complex/intricate whole. Every system is delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning.

My own definition:  A system is a representation of a complex whole. A system is defined through relationships of interwoven parts combining to form a dynamic whole. Systems want to ensure their success, so they adapt and evolve to survive and thrive, i.e. remain relevant – or they risk becoming extinct.

The above definitions make it clear that this body of knowledge, i.e. the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS), as it is presented in theory and practice is a system. Anyone who has studied the Laban/Bartenieff material cannot deny that the above definitions of “system” clearly apply to how we identify the BESS Components in relationship. And that this is in fact, the heart, core and essence of the material. Therefore, any problem with using the term “system”, from my perspective as a longtime teacher and practitioner of the work, is a misguided perspective and one that should be re-examined.

I have been told that Bartenieff did not like the term, and I have also encountered others who told me exactly the same thing about what Laban reportedly said. However, no one has offered further clarification or evidence of these supposed views of either Bartenieff or Laban. Such hearsay does little to advance and promote the work! The work of these legendary individuals continues to evolve – as it should. Movement is, after all – change. Clearly movement is a complex phenomenon that in analyzing we parse into parts that we then identify in relation to the whole of the context of the movement event and its significance. In our work process is done systematically.

Please let us give Bartenieff her due – and not address what we are teaching or framing as only “Laban” !

Anyone who has read Bartenieff’s text, Body Movement: Coping with the Environment, knows that in this text she integrates Laban’s work of Space Harmony and the Dynamics of Effort Expression with her Body explication. There is no “LMA” and “BF” presented as separate independent bodies of knowledge. These parts are one whole construct in the process of deciphering the complex phenomenon of human movement for understanding the duality and wholeness of Function and Expression. I also want to encourage all of us to not fall into the trap/pattern of saying “Laban” when what we mean is: Laban/Bartenieff. It is of course quite possible to study Laban’s work without the contributions of Bartenieff, but this is not the work that CMA’s are certified in. There is a part of me which also identifies this as a necessary feminist (or if one prefers – womanist) stance and that we must not allow Bartenieff to be given short shrift in the way that so many women have been over the course of history.

In continuing to move forward, I am pleased to report that after adopting the title/acronym LBMS in all the programs in which I teach and coordinate (both national and international) starting many years ago and continuing through today, and in addition using this term in the text EverBody is a Body (coauthored with my colleague Laura Cox and now in its 2nd edition), the acronym LBMS has become very widely used. However, I must add here that many still resist the “S” as referring to “system” and rather opt to identify this acronym as referring to Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies as noted at the start of this document. I do not use this, as Labanotation could fall under this rubric and “studies” seems to me to be an incomplete idea or at best a more theoretical notion and not clearly owning the experiential practice and applications and more importantly the nature of the Laban/Bartenieff framework.

A Quote that I have found useful in discussing a system as a way of modeling complexity:

“ Models are never true: but there is truth in models… We can understand the real phenomenon only by simplifying it.” Dani Rodrik from Economic Rules

Dani Rodrik is a Turkish economist and Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

A brief history of my case for assigning the designation of LBMS – the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System.

When I first proposed using the designation of “system” in the label of LBMS, now over a decade ago, I encountered much resistance (and still do now multiple years later as a recent discussion on the cma listserve reveals), both to my insisting that Bartenieff be equally noted in the development of Laban’s work as well as for using the term “system”. I would frequently come across persons referring to what I was teaching or what they were teaching simply as “Laban” – for example saying – “in your Laban class…” or “when I teach Laban…”

I found this (and still do) a problematic way of referring to the work we are engaged in.

Many who negatively responded to the use of the LBMS acronym wanted to retain LMA and BF as separate terms/labels (I found this to be often an inaccurate his-work/her-work approach to labeling).  I believe the resistance in both respects – combining Laban with Bartenieff (“Laban/Bartenieff”) as well as using the term “system” – is unwarranted and represents a resistance to change and a no longer useful habitual pattern of thinking.

I believe that re-patterning thinking about the work we are engaged in is much needed and in fact is key to promoting and furthering the work. I am always intrigued that in a community of movers in which transformation is valued, and that identifies movement as the process of change, that change is so very much resisted! I also note again here that “LBMS” is now at this point in time quite frequently used – However this designation is, by many using it, referring to Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies.

I firmly believe that with time this too will change and evolve. I will continue to make my case for “system” rather than “studies”. The wholeness of the duality of Change/Constant is what we teach and what we should continue to Shape!

Embodiment

We Are All Embodied Beings

by K. Studd (2019)

Embodiment is a current buzz word (at least in English) these days. And many workshops, programs and classes promise participants to become “embodied”.  I believe I understand the sentiment however; we are all already embodied beings by the fact that we exist as human being-bodies. Our bodies are both the content and containers of each of us. We live in them and through them. We construct ourselves through our body-being, through sensing and moving. Our understanding of the world is fundamentally an embodied experience. Even our capacity for abstract thinking originates in our physical engagement with the world through the actions of our physical form.

We start our lives as an undifferentiated whole, a state of “being”. Then as we grow and develop, we differentiate our “self” from “other”. In this process we move from a state of “being”, into a state of “doing”. And we then begin the ongoing process of becoming ourselves as we negotiate the reality of our physical experience. This is the process of moving through the world as we both cope with and master our environment. Through this process we differentiate ourselves and in essence create ourselves through the choices we make as we engage with the world. These choices are the choices of our physical embodiment – the expression of our presence in the world. Becoming aware of our moving selves allows choices that can best support us, as we act and interact in the life-journey we each are endowed with as embodied beings.