Sharing our sorrow: Laura Cox has died

Laura Cox photo
Laura Cox

With deep sadness, we share the news of our colleague Laura Cox’s death (Feb 4, 2025). 

Laura was one of the original founders of WholeMovement.  A complex, multifaceted person interacting in the world in many capacities, Laura was a dancer, a movement educator, LBMS practitioner, Registered Somatic Movement Educator/Therapist (ISMETA), animal lover and an avid Renaissance Festival fan.  Her favorite holiday was Halloween.

Students and colleagues will remember Laura for the joy and energy of her teaching and for her fierce devotion to the power of LBMS to transform people and the world we interact in. 

Laura’s international presence in the LBMS community included serving as a core faculty member in two Scotland training programs as well as helping to establish the first WholeMovement training program in Rome. She co-authored (with Karen Studd) EveryBody is a Body, a guide to human movement from an LBMS perspective, which is used in training programs worldwide.  

Laura was a bright and inspiring presence who has affected so many people in the movement community.

For sharing memories of Laura, the WholeMovement Facebook page is one place to visit.

It was one of Laura’s final wishes that those who might want to honor her memory could make a donation to WholeMovement. Such donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Dance Box Theatre.  

Mourning this sad loss to our teaching coterie and to the larger community,

Ali, Cat, Esther and Karen

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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

Time

image of Salvador Dali’s Persistence of Memory from Wikipedia

In the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS) the phenomenon of time is not explicated and is not identified as a discrete component of movement in the system.

Time is addressed implicitly, but it is not identified (generally speaking) as a separate entity. Tangentially, it is interesting to note that in the models of contemporary Physics the concepts of time and three-dimensional space are regarded as fused in a four-dimensional continuum identified as “spacetime”. 

Aspects of time are present however in several parts of the Laban/Bartenieff system. Time is concretely and specifically addressed in phrasing patterns. In a phrase time is expressed as sequence. So, in a phrase the order of actions through time is indicated. There are multiple examples of this temporal aspect of movement expressed through sequence and identified as “phrasing” in the theory and practice of LBMS.

From the perspective of the Body Component for example, we might identify  a phrase in which the progression of action through the body is initiated in the core and progresses to the limbs. Or in an Effort Component example, we might see a phrase which  begins with a Strong/Free/Quick action and then changes as it resolves into an action that is Bound/Direct , i.e. Passion Drive becoming Remote State. Or from the Space Component we can look to the practice of Steeple and Volute Phrasing in the transverse A and B movement scales. These two patterns of spatial phrasing are  practiced as a technique to gain insight into larger patterns of Space Harmony,  where change over time is experienced as either abrupt or gradual. And for an example coming from the Shape Component, we can identify the Modes of Shape Change in their developmental progression (over a much longer duration of time and a more macro perspective than the previous examples).  Starting from the infant’s Shape Flow actions and continuing to the child’s developing Directional Movement capacity and then finally to being able to articulate the action of Shaping. This is  an example of a sequence of time seen through the progression of psycho-motor development starting in infancy.

Time is also addressed in LBMS through relative duration. This allows us to identify how long an action is – i.e.  how much time an action takes.  Time duration can also link to rhythm  (although it should be noted that rhythms can be focused on emphasis and/or proportion separate from the consideration of time).

There is, of course, one aspect of time that the system does explicate. This is time as a qualitative part of the dynamics of movement. This is addressed in the system as the Time  Effort Factor which identifies the experience of time and expressed through the process of acceleration or deceleration in action. In the Time Effort Factor, Time is characterized as either being indulging – as expressed in the lingering affect of deceleration, or condensing by the intent of actions revealing the intention of acceleration process. Thus, Time Effort addresses the process, observed or experienced, in moments of slowing down or speeding up.

Tempos of time are not specifically addressed in LBMS, and this is a point that could bear more consideration because clearly how fast or how slow change occurs can be a significant aspect of revealing the meaning and intent of the movement process and also tempo can impact the functional efficiency of action and can also be significant in the expressive aspect of movement.  Remember, movement is the process of change and how long and how fast or slow is the process clearly is a part of what is discernable in movement.

Time as an aspect of Space Harmony

Space Harmony, which is a foundational concept of LBMS views the Space Harmony of human movement as part of the larger Space Harmony of the patterns of nature, of the world or even of the universe . This after all was why Laban used the Platonic Solids as the models to map the movement of the human Kinesphere.  In looking to the Space Harmony patterns of space and time of the natural world, we can gain insight about our own movement.  For example, in looking at the pattern of a river’s meandering pathway we see both the ongoing change in the present through the tempo of the flow of the river’s water, but we see as well, in the shape of the banks of the river,  the change that occurs at a much slower pace and over a much longer time period that creates the river’s patterns of its lateral meanders. So perhaps this needs to be viewed as Spacetime Harmony!

The duration and tempo of time’s passing  are revealed through the structures of the world including the structures of our bodies. We see and experience growth, development, healing and aging through the process and tempos of the time of our bodies.  We see the passage of time over the structures we humans create – – our cities,  our architecture.  We see the passage of time too in the layers of rocks and this geologic time has a different tempo than the tempo of our daily experience.

Our bodies too express multiple rhythms and many tempos of time – building muscle, healing the tissues of a wound, the flow of blood or lymph or cerebral spinal fluid – all of these have their own tempos. The Rhythms and tempo of breathing and of digestion are each a unique part of what we experience in our body time . Likewise, the tempos of moving from the bones vs moving from a sense of the body’s fluids can change the tempo and experience of time for the mover.

Perhaps the time has come (pun intended)  we should  consider in the ongoing evolution of LBMS continues, to adding  the Component of Time to the taxonomy allowing for such concepts as:

  • sequencing
  • duration (relative)
  • rhythm and emphasis
  • cycles

So, BESS could be BESST perhaps!

Undeniably time contributes to patterns that we observe and experience and making the aspect of Time more explicit could further assist with the process of analysis and synthesis.

I believe also that time (not Time Effort) is often important when we identify the Dynamosphere of the environment. In this regard time can be a significant and linking the micro of the present to a more macro perspective connecting to the past. For example, when we see in the natural environment geologic forms expressed in the layers of rock formations,  part of our appreciation is connected to space/time harmony as we connect to the dynamics of change in the environment through the passage of time . And our Dynamospheric experience is linked to our perspective of time that extends beyond our personal present time.   Likewise, when we enter a space such as the Parthenon, we connect energetically to the passage of time) that is not limited to the time of present day of our own Kinesphere but in the sense of time/space of past movers i.e. Dynamospheric space/time.

I believe that Space Harmony illuminates the Part/Whole duality and connection through time as a crucial part of the process of change through time.

K.Studd 2021

A Fundamental Movement Principle: Utilizing Rotation

by Karen Studd, updated Spring 2020

Rotation is both a body action and a larger meta concept (meta in the sense of beyond) constructed from the physical sensorial experience of rotation.

There is something inherently beautiful about rotationspinning, twirling, spiraling twisting, turning, rolling – Ferris Wheels, the Wheel of Fortune – The mind-boggling discovery of the wheel!

Universal Pattern/Individual Experience

Rotation gives us access to the entire world around us. Rotation allows us to change perspectives and supports access to alternative possibilities. Rotation is a universal pattern of movement. The earth rotates on its axis and in its orbit, it revolves around the sun. Children love to spin turning around and around till dizzy. The ballerina, in pirouetting, sublimely expresses the wholeness of the theme of Mobility/Stability through her rotary action. The spatial Vertical Dimension aligned with the pull of gravity and the dancer’s vertical thoroughness are the stable center around which the mobile turning action is performed. This graceful action reflects both the celestial rotation of the heavenly bodies but also how humans indulge in this experience – the same action that the child relishes. And too, this same connection – that of the unique individual human experience to the universal pattern is also reflected in the Sufis whirling dance of devotion.

Rotation creates a circular pathway and the circle is an eternal form; it is endless, having no beginning or ending. The circle is harmonious, the circle creates a safe-haven. On the inside its center is stabile, creating a harmonious balance of inner and outer. In a circle, all points are equal. This is the idea of the Knights of the Round Table. The circle’s center can focus us by becoming the “center of attention”. Rotation connects us both to ourselves as well as to our environment. We “circle our wagons” or we get lost “running in circles” or we get stuck in place and simply “spin our wheels”.

The Shape of Space

To experience rotation is to experience space taking shape. One fundamental shape revealed through rotation is the screw shape form. You may recall that the screw along with the lever, pulley and inclined plane, is one of the basic “simple machines” (and keep in mind that the pulley relies on the wheel shape).

The circle in 3D becomes the sphere, the coil becomes the 3D vortex. A spiral or a twist can change everything or bring us round again. A “twister”, that is a tornado, can bring chaos and destruction. The “windup” can be a powerful preparation before the baseball pitcher releases the ball. The spiral twist of upper body against lower is the key to perfecting the golfers swing.

The Movement of Rotation

With our first full body rotation – when in infancy we turn over- the whole world changes, not only for ourselves providing a new perspective, but also for our caretakers as we are now mobile and will no longer stay put!

Rotation enables us to accommodate by allowing us to wrap ourselves or parts of ourselves around things. It is the cornerstone of our ability to move 3 dimensionally. It allows our form, our body’s shape to accommodate to our environment as we master wrapping our hands around tools or ourselves around another in an embrace.

Rotation is key to our survival as it allows us to scan the full view of our environment. And while we do not have the ability to twist our heads like an owl, we are able to, with access to our entire spine and joints of the pelvis and legs scan 360 degrees.

Our spines rotate, our proximal joints rotate, and embracing the fully rotary action we are endowed with through all our parts, liberates our movement potential. The elderly loose this function if they do not stay in touch with their joints mobility and such tasks as backing up a car where you must rotate head and spine to see become limited. Rotary actions often appear more fluid because they involve a harmonious phrasing of multiple joints, rather than the simpler single joint actions of flexion and extension and of abduction and adduction.

Rotation is connected to fluidity of motion. This link goes to the essence of the nature of fluids – a drop of water adopts a spherical shape. Water, in its fluid form, also adapts to the shape of a container. Shaping expresses a mutual relationship. So while water can take on the shape of a vessel containing it – it can also shapes its containers – think about how rivers shape the canyons through which they run, expressing a mutual relationship of the elements of earth and water, a merging of contents and container.

Experience Understanding Metaphor

Our experience of the body’s action(s) of rotation leads to the conceptual understanding of this phenomenon leading to metaphors based in the experience. An abundance of metaphors grow out of this movement experience.

Some images/ideas/metaphors to think of in relation to rotation:  

Play – balls of all sorts in all manner of sports!

Planets – the sun the moon as eternal ongoing cyclic images

Cycles of all sorts from the cycle of life, and the daily and monthly cycles associated with the sun and the moon, to the traditional clock face with the “hands” cycling its “face”.

More Metaphors and the languaging based in the foundational experience of this concept

“Roll with the punches” to address the larger idea of accommodation. Or descriptions of chaotic situations described as “spinning out of control”.

Rotating an image to get a different perspective or rotating around something to see it from differing points of view are common images. We say that we “turn” things over in our minds. The metaphor of “turning something over” conveys a means of smooth transition to the next phase or next person and provides continuity and continuation. Rotation therefore can be seen as an action in support of development and evolution.

We ask students to “turn in” their papers or assignments.

We say that there was a good “turn out” for an event.

We encourage children to “take turns”

The expression, “One good turn deserves another”

We talk about an unexpected “turn of events”

We express confusion as becoming “all turned around”

Use the expression, “Leave no stone unturned”

Refer to a new start as, “Turning things around”

The Laban/Bartenieff Movement System links to the action and concept of  Rotation – a few of the links to the BESS components  (Body, Effort, Space and Shape)  

Now let’s address the LBMS of Rotation – thinking about the connection between rotation in Bartenieff Fundamentals and to the notion of Space Harmony – the body as spatially harmonic in form and function and a part of the Whole!

The concept of rotation from the perspective of the Body includes the anatomical action of joint rotation as well as the more macro construct of, in LBMS terms, the Basic Body Action of Rotation as well as the BFP – the Bartenieff Fundamental Principle of Rotary Support.

Rotation allows us to take in information from the environment (Body and Space) and then to engage, accommodate and to adapt as wanted or needed (Shape). This, in LBMS terms, is the way in which the action of rotation (both anatomical action as well as the more generalized Basic Body Action) supports the Mode of Shaping (Shape). And this connection of rotation to interaction in the environment also links this action to the Space Factor (Effort). Rotation allows us to get a new perspective, specific perspective and/or access a wide perspective. In this way, rotation relates to the senses and Body Action that support Indirect and Direct Space Effort, allowing us to scan our environment or to swivel to hone-in on something. Access to rotary motion also supports finding the full 3Dimensional volume and access to all zones and Directions of the Kinesphere (Space).

Rotation as expressed in both form and function is an aspect Space Harmony. This is well illustrated in the spiral shapes illustrating the Fibonacci sequence as can be found in the spiraled shape of a Nautilus shell. Rotary forms such as the spiral and the helix are also about an efficiency of Space. The form of chromosomes containing our genetic code in the DNA molecules are in the shape of double helixes, a form that allows a lot of information to be contained in a small space – expressing the efficiency of this rotational form.

Like the endless circle there is always more that can be expressed about the phenomena of rotation. And when in doubt one can always rotate!

** this document was initially written at the request of students in a movement analysis training program and was based on a class I taught in 2009 to that group. Most of these ideas /musings have subsequently been included in the text, EveryBody is a Body written by me with my WholeMovement collaborator Laura Cox.

More about BF “Heel Rocks”

Class notes for Karen Studd’s WholeMovement Class Session April 17th 2020

A WholeMovement approach to Bartenieff Fundamental’s traditional “Heel Rock”(s) – starting from the basics and clarifying the intent of this action. Then continuing to explore possible variations and linking the action to BF Connections, BF Rhythms and BF Principles and the Basic 6.

What is the “Heel Rock”?

I am (in this document and representing the WholeMovement approach), defining this BF action as:

A repetitive, rhythmic, successive phrase of movement that is generally done through a lower to upper, successive, sequencing linked to the foundational aspects of the human form. The action is standardly performed from a lying supine position. Heel Rocks are based on, and stimulate, our foundational kinetic chains of action.

In other words, the BF Heel Rock (generally speaking), is a phrase of action that is initiated in the lower body and follows through the upper body, synergistically connecting parts to whole. Heel Rocks support and bring awareness to the efficient and harmonic patterns of our whole body’s innate postural actions (through limb/core differentiation and integration). It is linked to our design – i.e. to stand and walk upright. (I stress “generally” as Heel Rocks can, and from my perspective should be, explored in many ways)

What is the idea of Heel Rock?

Why do it?

Why is it significant in the practice of BF?

The “Heel Rock” is used to explore and experience whole body connectivity in order to:

  • prepare
  • recuperate
  • mobilize (activate through directing the internal paths of our flow through our kinetic chains)
  • diagnose (through observation, awareness and/or sensation)
  • intervene (to support change or a shift in emphasis)

How and why it works

The Heel Rock is based in the Vertical Throughness of our Axis of Length

In the Space Harmony of our human design our length is dominate. We are of course 3-Dimensional, but we have mostly length. We are taller than wide or deep. And our length (in our vertical upright stance) is a foundational part of the pattern of our species design in relation to gravity and to the environment. We are defined by our bilateral upright stance to interact with, and to locomote through, the world. The BF Heel Rock action is both based on, as well as supportive of the function and expression of our essential design.

To reiterate: The action of the Heel Rock supports Whole Body Connectivity through the Axis of Length. And awareness of our Axis of Length is a Bartenieff Fundamental Principle.

The human Axis of Length is linked to our spinal column, and as vertebrates the spine defines our midline. In addition, our spine is foundational to the Patterns of Body Organization, starting from the Spinal Pattern and linked to what BF identifies as the Head /Tail Connection. The spine, with its 2 ends (head end and tail end) is also the foundation of our Upper/ Lower aspects of Body and the Upper/Lower Pattern of Organization. And then subsequently the basis of the Body Half (Side/Side) Organization, because the spine as our postural midline, provides the structure to frame how the 2 sides are organized – toward /away from midline through the anatomical actions of adduction and abduction. Furthermore, the spine (and Axis of our Postural Length) is a significant aspect of Cross Lateral Patterning, where the midline (as demarcated by the spine) is crossed. And this culminating contralateral developmental pattern is linked to our walking pattern (and thus back to the essential function and form of our design: our upright stance and bipedal locomotion). This Cross Lateral Pattern is also linked to other ‘crossing the midline activities’ such as the corpus collosum bisecting the right and left sides of our brain…

Spinal design

There is a synergistic relationship of the spines parts which we can experience in several ways.

One way is accessing the Rhythmic interplay between Skull and Sacrum. This is what WholeMovement identifies as the Occipital/Sacral Rhythm. WholeMovement’s perspective of LBMS includes the Occipital/Sacral Rhythm as one of the 3 identified BF Rhythms – the other 2 are the Gleno-Humeral Rhythm and the Ilio-Femoral. ( I can talk about these in another context!) This is NOT the same rhythm as addressed in the Craniosacral Therapy – although of course may be linked to this work. In the Heel Rock action the spinal curves of the lumbar and cervical sections have a reciprocal, inverse response as the wave like action travels through the torso along the Axis of Length.

WM defines Rhythms as: foundational actions expressing the Mobile/Stable, limb-core proportional relationships. (NB The spine in humans serves as both “limb” and “core” – core as the central midline and the container of the spinal cord content, but also because of the two ends, head and tail, considered in another sense as limbs (2 of the 6 limbs we identify in core limb relationships.)

So in LBMS and more specifically the Bartenieff Fundamental aspect of the system, “Heel Rock” is directly linked to these concepts of BF:

  • PrincipleAxis of Length (one of the BF Principles as explicated by WholeMovement)
  • Rhythm – Occipital/Sacral (one of 3 BF Rhythms that WM identifies)
  • Connection – Head-Tail
  • Pattern of Body Organization – Spinal

In LBMS all the BESS Components are connected so now let’s considering Heel Rocks in relation to all BESS Components

Heel Rock Link to Shape Component

Shape in Heel Rock can be addressed through the Convex/Concave relationship of the spinal curves and foundational spinal actions of our developmental progression and foundational postural actions. The Convex/Concave aspect of Shape, is a foundation of the Body Space intersection. It can also be viewed as the basis of our patterns of Basic Body Actions in postural Condensing and Expanding (Body Component) and the explication of the 3 dimensions of Space (Space Component). The length of our spine creating up-down, while dividing us bilaterally and creating side-sidedness and in the action of spinal flexion/extension exposing or protecting our “front” and “back” (anterior/posterior) surfaces, is the foundation of our relationship to the world. Remember that the Shape Component is, in essence, the Body Space relationship. So the 3 dimensions of Space as we define them come from the experience of relationship of our form’s design – in its function and expression in the environment.

Heel Rock Link to Basic 6

The link to the Basic 6 is in that it supports each of these actions as the Axis of Length is a support for all these actions. In addition, these actions can be also experienced by adding the “rock” into the Basic 6 actions themselves, and by bringing the foundational spinal action more dramatically into the awareness of the mover and supporting an emphasis on mobilization.

Heel Rock Link to Effort

The Heel Rock sets the stage for Effort to emerge as it activates foundational Flowsensing and Weightsensing as precursors to Effort. The Heel Rock actions also sets the stage for time expression, due to its rhythmic nature.

Heel Rock Link to the Space Component

Access to Space starts from the expression of the Inner Space of the Body and directing the internal flow through the Innersphere. This then can be the beginning in defining our access to the Space of our Kinesphere in preparation to engage with the world around us.  OF interest perhaps for some of you if we analyze the Space of the Heel Rock action it can be best understood as the Space of the Dodecahedral Sagittal Plan and not the Sagittal Plan that we associate with the Icosahedron. There is, as you may know, a dual relationship between the 2 forms – Dodecahedron and the Icosahedron. This relationship is something that in the WM approach we are beginning to explicate more fully in addressing the Body Space relationship of Space Harmony and the human form.

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.

Addressing Motif

What Motif is and What Motif is not

by K. Studd
(updated 2020)

From a quick internet search to define the term “motif” – I find the following:

“… In a literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme, while a theme is a central idea or message.

In a literary work, a motif can be seen as an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme.”

In this definition I have bolded several words that I find particularly relevant in connecting to the concept of motif in a literary sense to the LBMS usage of the term Motif. I will return to this quote in a bit.

In the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System Motif is a visual pictorial representation of movement essence. Essence is NOT the same as highlights or details although these can be meaningful and significant both as parts as well as in relation to the whole! Recording movement’s essence and/or revealing movement’s patterns is not the same as recording the specificity of actions. This is an extremely important distinction relating to the intent of Motif as distinct from the intent of Labanotation, and this critical distinction is too often lost particularly in light of many who claim to be using Motif but are actually using a modified, amended or truncated version of Labanotation. Let us return to the literary for a moment in the example of a story– The story of a vacation I take. And on this vacation:

  • It rains everyday
  • The hotel where I am staying is undergoing renovation and so is noisy and dusty
  • I loose my purse that contains all my documents including money, credit cards and my ID.
  • I get word that my house (back home) has had storm damage that will need fixing upon my return.
  • I catch a cold and am feeling sick for the majority of this vacation
  • Then the night before I leave to return home, I accidentally run into someone I haven’t seen in years and we have an amazing dinner at a delightful restaurant and “catch-up”

So the pattern of this trip (as recorded in the above list of parts of the event) is not the same as the highlight of the trip. Clearly the pattern is one of bad luck and misfortune but there is a highlight moment when I unexpectedly connect with a friend.

In LBMS Motif is used to find or express or experience movement pattern – not transcribe a sequence of a series of actions. Recording movement can be much better done through technology such as video, motion capture etc. or using Labanotation in some contexts.

Repetition is necessary for pattern to emerge. Look back at the definition at the start of this missive – recurrent was a word I bolded. Through the motif (pattern) a theme or themes are developed. In the LBMS sense this would link directly to the Duality Themes we address – such as Mobility/Stability etc – So a pattern of actions (another bolded word)create the “motif” both in the literary and movement (LBMS) sense of this term.

Motif should not be a de facto branch of Labanotation or a shorthand version of Labanotation. Although they overlap, Labanotation has a different historical development and different intent than Motif. Nor should Motif be linked specifically to another symbolic rendering of movement, the application of “Language of Dance” (LOD) as dance is only one of countless examples of the phenomenon of human movement and is much like Labanotation in its execution.

Why Motif?

The nature of Motif, by its design, shares aspects of both the verbal and non-verbal articulation we value in movement analysis training, thus it can be a valuable tool in the process.

Motif can be a bridge between movement expression/experience and the analytical process of describing/identifying movement patterns. This allows Motif to be a bridge between the analysis and synthesis ends of the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System (LBMS).

When Motif works well it is used to support the movement analysis process. It can assist with finding essence, describing essence and coming to consensus in this process. Motif can both reveal and represent movement patterns. It can also be useful in challenging patterns (the process of re-patterning or expanding range).

Like the phenomenon of movement itself, Motif is gestalt-like in its ability to capture the whole of action. Thus, for example, the spatial symbol for Right/Forward/High is not seen as 3 parts (- as the 3 words needed to express this direction are), but as the whole that is this Diagonal spatial directional pull. Likewise, the Effort symbol for Passion Drive captures the fusion of the 3 Effort Factors (Weight, Flow, Time) creating a whole rather than the accumulation of 3 discrete pieces as separate parts. This is fundamentally different than the sequential (i.e. accumulating over time) rather than simultaneous (all at one moment) and discrete nature of the language of words which require a – one word after another in a specific order to work. Yet at the same time Motif is a symbolic representation of movement and not the movement itself. Motif depicts only the essence of the whole rather than all the intricate parts (details).

Motif is a tool of the LBMS which is used to:

  • Visually capture and represent movement patterns and sequences
  • Reveal essential essence of movement patterns and sequences
  • Illustrate contextual relationship – specifically, foreground/background  (i.e. what is essential and what is a modifier)
  • Depict “choice” – both of the mover as well as of the Motif-er of the movement
  • Retain the essential patterns of movement by creating a tangible, concrete artifact of the ephemeral fleeting movement phenomenon

Motif is also used to:

  • Assist with coming to consensus in the process of observation
  • In re-patterning – through finding or creating alternative options
  • Becoming aware of or finding patterns through an emergent process (what is revealed in analyzing the motif rather than the movement itself)
  • Capturing and retaining essence in recording movement
  • Connecting macro and micro patterns

Types of Motifs: Constellations, Vertical and Horizontal Motifs

In the LBMS we use Vertical, Horizontal, and Constellation Motifs.

Vertical Motifs are primarily used to indicate when relative duration (i.e. the length of time an action requires) is an essential component, as well as to add modifiers to the main action. Thus, Vertical Motif is generally more layered and specified in its capacity to visually/symbolically capture the essentials of movement patterns. Vertical Motifs are read from the bottom to the top of the page.

Horizontal Motif represents the sequence of a pattern but does not include relative duration and generally does not include modifiers (at least in how Motif is currently conceptualized and practiced – although there is discussion about having Horizontal Motifs be able to represent modifiers to main action). Horizontal Motifs are read from left to right.

Constellations contain the essential parts that make up the whole of the movement event. In Constellations the movement content is held within 4 dots : : Constellations do not show sequence, duration or relationships between and among the parts. Constellations are a Macro approach to the overall patterns of a movement event that create the meaning and expression of the event. Constellations are a way to discern (to observe or to experience) the ingredients of the movement event but not necessarily the recipe!