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The Parts Do Make the Whole

Nathan Andary, CMA

May 2009

New York City

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ö

Special thanks to Bruna Fiuza, my dancer, friend and confidante; Gary my

partner—he has supported me through all I am involved. I am eternally grateful to him. I

would like to especially thank John Chanik, my advisor and guide through the creation of

my thesis, for your commitment and dedication. You have provided a model of

excellence that I look to replicate through my own practice and teaching of Laban’s work

and wisdom. I would also like to thank the LIMS faculty in NYC. Your words and

wisdom are forever fused in my soul; creating a space for new ideas and relationships

through Laban’s work.

Laban’s Lemniscate

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

THESIS…………………………………………………………………….Page 4

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...Page 4

METHODOLOGY/PROCESS…………………………………………...Page 5

WHAT IS DNA…………………………………………………………….Page 12

ANALYSIS OF DNA’S MOVEMENT…………………………………..Page 12

THE RULES OF THE PROJECT………………………………………..Page 14

ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………………Page 17

EFFORT ANALYSIS……………………………………………………...Page 26

LMA AS A CHOREOGRAPHIC TOOL………………………………...Page 31

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….Page 34

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………..Page 37

Appendix A: Motif #1……………………………………………..Page 37

Appendix B: Motif # 2…………………………………………….Page 38

Appendix C: Rules of the Project………………………………..Page 39

Appendix D: DNA Strand and Chromosome……………………Page 40

BIBLIOGRAPHY..………………………………………………………..Page 41

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THESIS

The four building blocks of Laban Movement Analysis (Body (B), Effort (E),

Space (S), and Shape (Sh) synergized a choreographic project through the human DNA

model facilitating the concept: the parts that make the whole.

INTRODUCTION:

While studying Laban’s work in New York City, I found myself trying to define

the meaning of Space Harmony. As a choreographer, I thought examining the

relationship between the parts of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) would be best served

through a choreographic project. This opportunity provided me a means to experience

through the construction of a movement piece the parts of LMA and how the parts make

the whole.

I researched the basic foundations in human genetics while reading theory and

application of Laban’s work on Space Harmony. Journal methodology guided my

practice throughout this process, and I took notes detailing my thoughts, discoveries,

theoretical connections through application, and experiences. I worked alone and with a

dancer in the studio for a number of hours in order to test my findings and put into

practice the contents of my research and findings. This thesis contains the results of my

research and notes from my journal.

Amy Matthews (LIMS Instructor) discussed Laban’s concept of Space Harmony

in my LMA class involving gems and crystals. She shared that Space Harmony referred

to the quality of the relationship between the parts. She also discussed the differences

between organic and natural. Amy stated that an organic process was creation from the

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inside / out and that a natural process was a culmination of organic elements conjoining

on the outside. This process of accumulation was evident in the creation of the crystals

that I observed in that class.

Laban’s Inner/Outer theme, coupled with the conversation on organic vs. natural,

started off as the focus for my choreographic project. My curiosity of how the inner body

affected the outer body’s movement expression (and vice versa) grew as I delved deeper

into the LMA work. I recognized prior to my study, at the Laban Institute for Movement

Studies, my own movement signatures and knew that my personal movement Initiated

from the spine through a radial Pathway to the Distal Parts of my Body. However, I

found that Shape Flow, Effort Flow (Bound and Free) were always dominant when I

created movement in which to give to dancers.

I was curious if the starting place for my movement was an organic place. I also

wondered if I used a natural process (rather than an organic process) in which to find the

movement. I have learned through this project, my movement comes from a deeply

organic place—my DNA, and that my choreography is a natural process. The

choreography I create culminates the elements of movement and my personal signature

creating a final product—my choreography.

METHODOLGY/PROCESS

My process was to explore and move through this project how the basic elements

of Body, Effort, Space, and Shape (B.E.S.S.) create a piece of choreography. Through my

explorations, the realm of possibilities for me expanded. The project provided me another

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means to examine how I create a piece of choreography, and break down the formal

academic structures I learned in college.

In one exploration, I moved through Laban’s B-Scale. I sought to feel a

connection between Body and Space. However, I did not understand why the Body was

moving and I did not feel kinesthetically, emotionally, mentally attached to the 12 Spatial

Points in the B-Scale. I thought to myself, “Is there a reason for moving in this Scale

other than choosing too”. I wondered why should I move the B-Scale [because the faculty

told me too and because it was part of my training in Laban’s work].

I asked my dancer to move the Spatial points of the B-Scale. After doing so, she

immediately said, “It feels like DNA”. She did not offer any more feedback than that. I

was perplexed still. I moved the B-Scale repeatedly. The Spatial points took me far off

center and I was stumbling through the Scale. I became dizzy and then after repeating it, I

got “lost in Space”.

I lost all sense of myself and was emptied. I felt nothing. I was nothing. It was as

if I had become consumed by the Space around me and all of my molecules were

absorbed by the molecular structure of the floor [that supported my Body] and the air

[that surrounded my body]. I became scared and stopped immediately. I was dizzy and

frightened. I touched the wall in front of me and held on to it. I was not sure why I held

onto the wall, other than that is what I needed to do. Looking back, I understand now

what happened. I needed a physical connection to something solid (like the wall) to

realign my emotion with my Body with the Space. I was consumed by the Space and

became fully a part of the Space and the Space became fully a part of me.

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I always believed that movement came from an organic place from within the

Body. However, the organic origin of movement started to mean something more after

attending Amy’s class on crystals and Geodes.

I had been asking the questions, “How can the body’s internal movement impact

and influence the body’s expressivity through dance and the dance making process?”

“How do Laban’s four themes of Function/Expression, Inner/Outer, Mobility/Stability,

and Exertion/Recuperation manifest through my project?”

In this project, I wanted the choreographic process to start from an organic

perspective and relate to LMA. In the past, my choreography developed from a concept

or idea that was not relative to the body. I used socio-political topics or concepts, a news

byte that really sparked my values and emotions, or I used choreography as an

opportunity to share my views on the Western world’s human oppression and inequality.

However, I required that this process utilize the Body as a vehicle in which to derive the

expression of thought and creativity and not the concept or idea.

In my explorations, I chose to learn more about the nature of human expression. I

read in Laban’s Choreutics that expression is closely aligned with our emotional content.

It contains the meaning or imagery [humans] used to convey an idea, experience, and the

links between the Body, the movement. Laban states that the Dynamosphere is where the

emotional content of movement is presented. That content, called the Shadow Forms, is

considered secondary movement to the physical reflection of the content better known as

Trace Forms that are found in the Kinesphere. The Shadow Forms are likened to musical

overtones with reduced tension. (Barteneiff, page 109)

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Ellen Goldman remarked in her book As Others See Us on how posture and

gesture, when integrated with verbal communication, express fully a person’s emotional

content, thoughts, decisions, etc. (Goldman, Ellen; page 2)

In non-verbal communication, researchers who have studied movement looked selectively at the human body. Some people watched gestures, some watched postures, positions, eye blinks, eye directions, pointing……As in all observation, the choice of what is observed shapes the result.

Though Ellen Goldman’s passage relates to non-verbal communication in the

pedestrian world; I find that it is insightful on how this choreography can communicate

its beginning. Her passage also illustrates the connectivity of movement, thought,

emotion, voice, Space, and Body. It speaks of Integration.

I decided, from the onset, that the expressive nature of this choreographic project

would come through the whole of the parts. The Dynamosphere would be charged with

the emotional meaning contained within the [human] movement and not applying

emotional content onto the movement. However, I was still asking myself where does the

movement come from; what is its point of origin?

I returned to the studio and started with the affined Efforts of the Laban Diagonals

for another exploration. This time I brought a friend of mine who is an illustrator and

does design work for Osh-Kosh in New York City. We discussed and sketched each of

the words in the Diagonals: Float, Punch, Glide, Slash, Dab, Wring, Flick, and Press. I

showed her each one and discussed the Effort life of each word. From there we

characterized each word so that a child could understand it.

In creating Float, we decided on the image of a little girl moving in a field of

dandelions on a summer day; wearing a sun-dress and her arms floating in the air with the

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wind whirling softly around her body. This conveyed the Efforts of Light, Free, and

Sustained. I moved like the girl and Laura sketched my movement. We did this for each

of the words representing the parts of Laban’s Diagonals.

This exploration was helpful in fusing the image to the movement, but it was

creating movement from a thought or idea. I replicated a familiar process and crafted the

expressivity through the movement and the props as they responded to the originating

concept of the Diagonal. The choreography produced by this project needed to have its

own life and identity as determined by the movement, not the choreographer.

I turned to the Body for more exploration. There is movement in our Body

waiting to be released. Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen discusses in her book that the organs

provide a sense of volume and full-bodiedness. The organs move independently, based on

its specific function, of what the full body is doing. This idea of movement within

movement or movement influencing movement is deepening my search. (Cohen, pg 28)

Laban’s Shape Flow uses the movement of the organs. Breathing causes a

Widening, Bulging, Hollowing, Narrowing movement experience that is seen and felt

externally as well as internally for the dancer. The inhalation of the breath causes the

Lungs to swell creating a Bulging action or a Widening action in the Torso.

This was my insight for how the project manifested. The shape, of not only the

organs, but also of the bones and the muscles create movement within the body. In Sally

Fit’s Dance Kinesiology, she speaks of the Spiriallic nature of the bones and their

resulting strength. The Spiral as a Functioning structure in human bones replicates the

Spiraling DNA in the human cell. The bones maintain their strength because of their

Spiral shape. If one of the long bones (i.e. Tibia, Radius, Femur) were flat, then they

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would be more susceptible to breaking in relation to their location in the Body and their

function in the Body.

Going deeper in the Body, the DNA is one of the core elements of movement

within the human Body. According to Pfeiffer’s The Cell, the human DNA is molecular

in nature and moves in a liquid environment within the cell. The Spiraling movement of

the DNA’s double helix is the most complex movement pattern of the Body’s movement

according to Laban scholar and psychoanalyst, Judith Kestenberg. Through Kestenberg’s

theory of Developmental Patterning, Cross-Lateral and Spiral movements are the most

developed forms of movement and the Body’s relationship to Space. DNA contains all

the genetic coding that is used to control functions, behavior, and development of an

organism. It characterizes and informs the part of the body where it exists.

I studied the basic genetics of DNA and found it to be a natural process within the

Body. Its affect on the Body is determined through the culmination of its parts. The

coding that is created through the addition of the Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, and

Guanine determines how and why it functions in the Body. In turn, its “character” is

determined by its makeup and not by the maker. I was not seeking to characterize the

dance piece created through this project. However, the emotional content of the

movement should be derived from the moving and not a preconception.

I found the start to my project. I went to the Body and it gave me what I needed.

The DNA construct provided a nice model to incorporate all of the parts of LMA; the

Body, Effort, Space, and Shape. I replaced the four nucleotides of DNA with

B. E. S. S. I used Random Selection of the LMA parts to create the choreography. By

doing this, immediately a Motif of choreography was created. I brought my dancer into

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the studio and we went through this process. I discuss more of this process in greater

detail later in the paper.

My dancer moved the first Motif and I was not pleased. Her movement and

execution of the Motif was accurate, however, the choreography itself was not satisfying

to me. Somehow it did not achieve enough characteristics of human DNA. I did not want

the choreography to replicate human DNA, rather it needed to correlate to [human] DNA.

I condensed the Time separating the parts of the original Motif by merging multiple

movements into one movement. The complexity and the Space Harmony created by this

decision were satisfying and gave more in which to correlate the movement to DNA. The

choreography created by the DNA model gave me movement to extrapolate meaning.

When reviewing the two different motifs later in this paper, you can see how the

complexity of the movement expanded. I get into more detail of how that complexity was

formed through the process later. However, the process of this project produced both

motifs and the fascination to continue with this project.

When I gave my dancer the rules for the choreographic process, she wanted to

know more of where the movement was coming from and the potential meaning behind

it. I comforted her and suggested that we stay true to the task of developing the

movement before we add on the next layer of expression. I was curious to see how the

expressive nature of the movement and choreography was impacted or affected by the

function of piecing the LMA parts together.

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WHAT IS DNA

DNA is made of four simple building blocks known as Adenine (A), Thymine

(T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G). According to Methuen’s Biochemical Monographs,

these 4 building blocks contain all the information necessary to build an organism. Each

of the four, when paired up, formulates a sequence. Their arrangement within a sequence

determines certain things like the color of someone’s eyes or hair. These genetic

sequences (or codes) are what make each human unique.

Adenine is always paired with Thymine and Cytosine is always paired with

Guanine. When the pairings are grouped in their sequences, they form a ladder known as

the double helix. (Pfeiffer, John; pg. 70)

I have replaced the 4 building blocks of DNA (A, T, C, G) with Body, Effort,

Shape, and Space (B.E.S.S.). To identify each of the four LMA building blocks, I used

the first letter of Body, Effort, and Space. I used Sh for the marking of Shape within the

DNA inspired segments.

The segments of DNA are also called genes and contain specific instructions that

make each individual unique. The B.E.S.Sh. act in a similar way when examining

movement. Body, Effort, Space, and Shape are the building blocks for LMA and contain

information and instruction for examining and applying LMA to one’s movement.

ANALYSIS OF DNA’S MOVEMENT

I immediately connected LMA to the video footage found on www.youtube.com

of DNA I watched. The double helix construct of a DNA strand creates a Twisting

motion as it Spirals along its length using Even Phrasing losing a sense of Time Effort.

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The Twisting motion made me think of Shape Flow giving the Shape of its external

structure connectivity to its internal parts. The double-helix construct of the strand

formulates a stair-step structure creating a length, a height, and also a width in the

formation of the DNA components. Its rotational axis is Planar, but the Mobility of the

DNA strand exists in the Icosahedron.

The rules for human DNA helped organize the use of LMA. While reading the

rules established for the construct of human DNA, I decided that the choreography must

have specific instructions and rules for its construction. I felt that the choreographic

structure benefited from the rules and instructions of the human DNA and provided a

more connectivity to LMA. Furthermore, I was intrigued by how the parts of LMA would

relate to each other using an organic structure like DNA in discovering more meaning

behind Laban’s Space Harmony.

Working through the model of DNA and the rules established from the DNA

highlighted the process of creating the dance. I find that the Function of dance and dance

making can be interruptive to the creative process for me. If I focus, too much, on the

individual movements and how the body completes them, the expressivity of that

movement gets lost in the mechanics. This project eliminated that type of focus from me.

I found more freedom to create the movement and make decisions regarding Initiation,

Effort life, and Expression without forcing it to convey the originating idea, mood,

concept, or emotion. The process is more organic to the creation and development of the

dance piece.

Laban’s Function / Expression theme was a helpful vehicle to also explore the

organic nature in creating the choreography. I read multiple articles on DNA and each

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one commented on the Spiralic movement of the DNA’s double helix. I also observed

this quality in the many videos of DNA that I watched. The DNA strands Locomote

within the body’s cell to form a Chromosome and moves in a winding motion stuffing its

content into the nuclei of a cell within the body.

The base pairs that make up the length of DNA are organized into chromosomes.

The formation of a chromosome, according to the video footage on a microscope, showed

Quick Time and Free Flow as it Knotted in its midsection creating the shape of an “X”.

This is the shape of the human Body. The Knotting maintained its Quick Effort and

added Strong Weight as it strengthened the bond through its midsection. The

chromosome used both Mobile and Rhythm States.

The chromosome, then, Enclosed on itself in order to pack and fit tightly into the

nuclei of the cell. It did this with Quick time and Direct Spatial Effort wrapping around

its midsection. It moved in Awake State.

THE RULES OF THE PROJECT

The rules I established in starting this project culminated from a number of

sources as explained below. I used the Nucleotide Pairing, Transversals in Laban’s B

Scale, Random Selection, and Effort to enhance the characteristics of each sequence.

A critical feature of human DNA is the ability of the nucleotides to make very

specific pairing. In the pairing process of the 4 nucleotides; Adenine is always paired

with Thymine, Cytosine is always paired with Guanine. The same rule of pairing was

applied to the project. Body was paired with Space and Effort was paired with Shape.

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There was no concern or consideration for the quality of pairing in the DNA

process applied to this project. I felt that if I were to explore this route, I would be off

course. This is a project about LMA and choreography and not DNA. I am not a

geneticist, so the amount of time it would take in researching fully the human DNA

would not afford me the time to produce an effective project. However, I do feel that the

environment that DNA exists and moves is important to the qualitative environment the

final dance piece would exist and move about. As stated earlier, the dancer was off her

center as if she were moving in a container full of fluid. This was much like a baby in the

womb or the DNA in the cell. That is another exciting part to this large project I have

started.

I required that the 12 Spatial Pulls found in Laban’s B Scale represent Space in

the random selection process. I did this in order to capture, or strive to capture, the

Transversal movement of the DNA I saw on the video. The DNA represented such a Free

Flow of Mobility and I wanted to illuminate that in the choreography. The DNA does not

have the same movement around Center like the human body. So, I altered my thinking

from DNA movement to movement of the Body and I chose the Spatial Pulls that are not

in the Octahedron. The sense of Center (of the dancer’s body) in relation to gravity will

act as the Stabilizing force in the movement.

The Transversal was an important component to the project. As the DNA winds in

on itself to create the chromosome, Shaping was evident. I saw the DNA not only

Condense and Narrow, but also Carve through Space to make the chromosome that

illuminated volume in Space with which it interacted. The ends of the DNA strand folded

in on itself with Enclosing.

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This rule of the Transversal was pivotal in keeping the dancer’s body relating to

space through Shaping/Carving. I recognized that after the first trial of the choreography

that the body was not fully engaged in the Transversal. I state later in the paper that this

was “boring” to me. The choreography produced specific body parts active in

Shaping/Carving. But the DNA’s entire strand was involved and not just a part. This rule

enhanced Mobility of the dancer’s body through Space using Transversals like the DNA

strand and not just a part.

The formula, or Motif, of the choreography relates directly to DNA through the

process of Random Selection. After the rules were established, came the “how to” part in

making the work. A Lesbian couple, that is dear friends to me, just had their first child

where one of the women was artificially inseminated. They spoke of their experience in

choosing what characteristics their child would have after visiting the Sperm Donation

Center. They were able to choose Navi’s (the baby’s name) multiple ethnicities and

gender. They assumed certain aspects, like skin tone/color and hair color, because of the

ethnic choices they made. This selection process happens, unconsciously—maybe

consciously, when a male and female decide to have a baby. The selection process is

narrowed down because of the two individuals creating the child. However, the

uncertainty in which genes will dominate and which will be less dominant is high.

I placed all LMA elements on individual cards. Each of the cards were shuffled

and placed in a container. I had my dancer draw from the bag a series of cards. These

cards were placed on the table in a row. The sequences were developed in a 3/4 musical

meter with one sequence of 4/4 musical meter. The sequence initiation through random

selection were: Effort, Effort, Space \ Body, Space, Body \ Shape, Body, Body \ Body,

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Shape, Body, Shape \ Body, Space, Effort \ Shape, Body, Shape. This pattern created one

rung of the LMA/DNA double-helix ladder. The rules established for the project forced

the dancer to draw out of the bag of LMA cards the matching B.E.S.Sh. card completing

the other rung of the double-helix ladder.

When a basic Body action was drawn in the Effort category, a second card was

drawn until an actual Effort was found. The Effort card attached directly to that Body

action when putting together the DNA sequence.

ANALYSIS:

I was not pleased with the original phrase created by using the model of random

selection. The movement did not make a strong enough connection to the human DNA

and its movement. It was missing the Shaping element involved in the movement of the

DNA. The construct of the choreography helped to relate the movement to the DNA, but

qualitatively, the movement did not pick up the Sprirallic, Off-Centered movement

aesthetics of the DNA as it formed through Nucleotide fusion, the Knotting of the

Chromosome, or the binding or winding as it condenses its size to fit into the Nuclear

Envelope of the Human Cell.

The full body movement appeared simplistic and was unappealing to me as a

choreographer. I wanted to feel the breadth of the LMA parts through this experiment.

The dancer maintained her Verticality throughout the movement structure. There

did not seem to be a strong connection of Core/Distal in the choreography. Her

movement was primarily Distal and did not involve the Core as much as I would have

liked.

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The sequences felt scripted and kinesthetically felt that way as a viewer. I found

that I wanted more to come from the dancer and see how the Efforts radiated from the

Core through the Distal and out into Space. This choreography did not represent my own

complexities in movement aesthetics and was disengaging of Space.

You can see in the sample motif of the Phrasing and how it was determined

through the DNA model. The Phrasing seemed Even and there were natural endings to

each of the phrases. It appeared that when the dancer changed her facing the next phrase

would begin. This facing change was a natural response to the motif created by the

random selection of the LMA parts.

The random selection did not determine the dancer’s starting place or position or

use of Body Part. I made those decisions as the choreographer. I started the dancer

standing on both Feet with both Legs fully Extended, her Weight evenly distributed

between both Feet, and facing Forward using Room Key.

Please keep in mind while reviewing the Motifs that they focus on the “essence”

of the movement. The following Motifs will go back and forth between gesture and full

body in the Motif. This is different than the Effort Analysis that comes later in the paper.

The Effort Analysis focuses only on full body movement in its Motifs.

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Motif #1 using Random Selection in the

DNA model.

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She s3tarted the first phrase Hollowing her Right Shoulder as if to catch the wind

and then Spread with Light Effort. The image of the wind (an external catalyst) was used

in which to begin the movement or offer a starting place. The dancer, then, moved into

her Left Hip for the second part of phrase 1 and Ascended with Bound Flow. She traveled

the Vertical Plane with her Sitz Bones as if she were raising something heavy with her

Left Hip. Again, an external catalyst was used for imagery. The dancer Extended to Left

Low with Bound Effort carefully crossing her Legs at the bottom of her Pelvis as if to

touch something Lightly and Directly that was Low Left.; and finishing the phrase with

her Right Leg Extending to Left Low behind her Support Leg. The phrase was clean and

easily executed.

The dancer started the second phrase by Flexing her Right Hip to Forward High

with Quick Time. With Spatial Intent, her left Knee arrived to Forward High with the

Flexion in the Hip Socket. She moved as if someone had punched her in the abdomen.

She, then, Spoked her Right Elbow to Back Right with Strong Weight. She moved the

Back of her Pelvis to Forward Low with Strong Weight in a scoot along the floor as if to

get out of the way. The dancer Flexed her Right Hip Socket to Forward High with Quick

time, then her Right Elbow Initiated the Torso’s movement to Back Right.

The dancer’s third phrase started by Advancing with Free Flow. She sent her

Head Forward in the Sagittal while her Torso followed on the floor. The Change of

Support to Low Right with Sustained Time followed. She, then, rolled her entire Body on

the floor to the Right with Sustained Time Effort. The dancer, then, rolled Backwards

onto her Shoulder by initiating through Spatial Intent, her Right Foot, with Bound Effort,

to the Body’s Back Low Space. This was the Motif of any Rotation to Back Low with

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Direct Space Effort. The movement sequence finished with the Back of the Pelvis

sending the entire Body to Forward Low causing the dancer’s knees to bend and change

her Support from her 2 Feet to her 2 knees. Again, the phrase was clean, concise, and

easily executed.

As written, the movement was executed in a clean and linear way. However, it did

not connect to the inner body and the human DNA the way I thought it should. The

movement conjured up external image sources rather than internal, biological or organic

images. There seemed to be an emotional content to the movement that supported the

body’s relationship to those external sources for images.

The movement was not intriguing enough for me, the choreographer. The dancer

was clear in her movement through Space and Effort. The Body Parts selected were

identified and gave me little room for interpretation.

I had the dancer repeat these 2 phrases back to back multiple times. I thought

experimenting with the series of the sequences that it would make a deeper connection to

the DNA. She danced them with clarity and ease, but still no connection.

From a dancer’s perspective, I wanted her to struggle in getting the movement in

her body. I wanted to feel ”fullness” in her performance that had not yet been seen or felt.

My movement, naturally, is very complex spatially and often has multiple movements

happening simultaneously. I thought about this and found that this was how I will solve

my upset in her dancing.

I had not considered, fully, the amount of time each movement would get for its

performance. Unless Time had been articulated through the random selection of LMA, I

determined that the length of time for each movement would be determined in the

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execution of the movement by the dancer. This involves the movement’s pathways and

paths in Space. The movement would also determine whether the Pathway was

Transversal, Peripheral, or used Peripheral Tension for its completion.

I wanted those decisions to be organic to the discovery process instead of

scripting that element out. I was not satisfied with the images used catalyzing the start

place of the movement experience. The organic discovery of Pathway and Tension is

directly related to how the environment affects the DNA in one’s body. In turn, the

process (environment for the dance to exist and Breathe) affects the performance of the

movement (Pathway and Tension).

I told my dancer that the 3 movements within each phrase were now one large

movement. And that she had to move, Quickly, each of the 3 movements in order to

make 1 new movement. This was a difficult challenge because of the naturally occurring

Pathway from movement to movement to movement. I also changed the dancer’s start

position from standing on both Feet, to her Weight Supported by both Knees. I

maintained her Facing to Front (Room Key).

These changes were dramatic and satisfied my need to have multiple movements

happening simultaneously. It increased the interest of the dancer’s movement

immediately and offered more physical challenge to her as we worked through the new

sequences. You can see in the second motif how it became more complex than the

original motif. The essence of the movement was transformed through this process of

addition. In turn, the motif also transformed.

The process of addition for the movement likens to the creation of humans. When

2 parents donate their genetic material to create another human, there is a process of

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addition through human DNA. So, the next layer of complexity follows the process of

genetic information from 2 participants in creating a product.

More movement phrases were created through the random selection process. The

movement material could be analyzed wholly in order to examine how this DNA inspired

choreographic structure worked.

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Motif #2 involving

Motif #1 and more

Random Selection

using the DNA model

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In the adapted version, the dancer starts resting on her Folded legs on the floor

facing Forward. She uses her Breath as a starting point in order to activate and organize

her Effort Intent with her Body. Her sensory focus goes internal before beginning the

movement phrase.

She started the phrase by moving as if to hold something large or to protect

someone from something behind her. She Ascended, then, her fingertips Arced the Arms

through Space while the Left Leg followed. All of this was done with Light and Direct

Effort. The Spreading of her Back allowed her to Enclose the front side of her body. The

Fingers Arced toward each other similar to the nucleotides attaching making the rungs of

the DNA double helix. The overall Shape her Body made illustrated the Rotating and

Twisting nature of the entire double helix.

Then, she changed her Support from her Knees to her Foot and Right Hand as

preparation to shift her Pelvis Emphatically Forward by sliding on the floor with

Strong/Quick/Direct Effort or in Action Drive. This brings in the idea of the fluid

environment that the DNA lives. She rolled over her Right Shoulder using Spatial Intent

with her Feet and then slides forward on her abdomen across the floor.

This section of movement showed the DNA double helix rotating in the cell. The

fluid environment allows the double helix to migrate through all the planes making it

hard to discern a Key. It is very circular in space and has the dancer going off of her

center and back again. The back and forth nature of Spatial and Effort Intent is interesting

to watch and definitely highlights the fluidity of Laban’s Inner/Outer Theme and the

Lemniscate.

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She rolls across the width of her Back while rotating at the Waist using Spatial

Intent through her Feet and Rhythm State of Light/Quick Efforts. This motion is similar

to the winding/unwinding or Knotting/Unknotting that the double helix performs in

making the Chromosome.

She then changes Support to her Feet through Ascension as preparation to Turn

Emphatically in the air, traveling down a straight Path while the Right Arm/Hand moves

a Turning Path to the Right (over Head) leading with the Fingers. This continues the

double helix’s Chromosome formation theme while Knotting/Unknotting and floating in

a fluid environment.

The sequence ends with the dancer Descending Right/Low to her Right Leg while

the arms Gather into the Body through Mobile State using Bound Flow/Sustained Time.

The entire dance is to be repeated so that the dancer can get lost in the Expression of the

movement and ride the Spatial Pulls, Effort Life, and overall characteristics within the

sequences.

EFFORT ANALYSIS

The Effort configuration of the 1st 2 phrases in the 1st movement sequence created using

random selection is listed above.

Please keep in mind while reviewing the Motifs in this section that they focus on

the “essence” of the movement. The following Motifs focus on full Body movement.

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This is different than the Motifs in the Analysis section earlier in the paper where the

Motifs go back and forth between Gesture and full Body movement reflecting the essence

of the overall movement phrase.

The sequence started off with Increased Phrasing in Rhythm State using

Light/Sustained Efforts. The movement used the image of wind moving the dancer’s

shoulder, which was consistent with the Efforts used. The beginning movement of the

sequence was followed by a preparatory move in the same State adding Weight to make

it Strong and Quick Time. This was the step leading into the next movement where the

Right Leg crossed the body’s mid-line to Left/Low without attending to Space. The

dancer Ascended throughout this movement. The Weight was dropped from the step for

Free Flow and Sustained Time making Mobile State. She finished the Phrase with Bound

Flow and Sustained Time. The Accent Initiated the start of the second Phrase. As stated

earlier in the paper, the entire Phrase seemed to have image initiation that was outside of

the body. It felt like there was a quality of environment in the execution of the Phrase.

Although there were Spatial points in the Motif, she did not use Space Effort in any of

her movement.

She started the second Phrase of the movement sequence with Quick time in the

Flexing of the Right Leg to Place High using again, Mobile State. She placed a light

Accent at the end of the Leg Flexion, also known as a kick. She stepped out of the Kick

using the same Right Leg in Rhythm State using Light and Quick Efforts.

She loaded a 3rd Effort Increasing her movement to Passion Drive using Strong

Weight, Bound Flow, and Sustained Time. She dropped the Weight Effort in the next

movement, which was a preparation for the end. This movement released into her Right

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Hip Socket allowing for her Right Leg to change her facing back to Front (Room Key) in

Mobile State. She switched her Bound Flow to Free and her Sustained Time to Quick.

She finished the phrase using Rhythm State. She kept the Quick Time, but traded the Free

Flow for Strong Weight as if to point a point on the end of the movement sequence.

Again, she created a quality of environment in this Phrase without attending to

Space. It was as if she came from a personal place emotionally to perform this movement

sequence. The dancer’s Inner Expression related to the overall idea of the DNA

molecules Expression through movement. However, it conjured up an emotional or

value-ladened connection bringing out her natural tendency to move in Passion Drive. In

fact, all of the States used in the movement sequence are found in Passion Drive. This

leads me to believe that the entire movement sequence was executed from that

personal/emotional content.

The Effort configuration of the 2nd movement sequence is a modified version of

the random selection model is listed above.

The dancer started this Phrase from her Shape Flow using Breath Support. She

initiated from her Breath using Quick time as a preparation into her Increased Passion

Drive made up of Sustained Time, Light Weight, and Free Flow. It was as if her

Fingertips were magnetically charged and attracted the opposite hands together. Her next

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move was a Change of Support through Mobile State. The State comprised of Bound

Flow and Quick Time, and preparation for the next move.

She loaded Strong Weight to her Mobile State and created an Increasing Passion

Drive as she slid her Pelvis Down the floor. Her body was off center and the Lengthening

of the Torso right before it Folded reminded me of the length of the DNA strand I

watched on the videos mentioned earlier in the paper. She went right into an Increased

Remote State and Decreased just as much while rolling Backwards on her Back. This

State was made up of Indirect Space and Free Flow and had a sense of being in a liquid

environment. She had no weight be yet she was rolling on her back. Again, she was off

her center and had an Indirect sense of an Upward/Downward, Sideward, or

Frontward/Backward.

Her next two movements were preparations for the final movement in the Phrase

carried the liquid environment. The Time Effort in the two preparations went from

Sustained to Quick. The Bound Flow in the first movement was replaced by Strong

Weight so that Flow came back in the final movement when she rolled Across the width

of her Back on the floor. Each of the two preparations was Rhythm States that gave way

to Remote State, which closed the Phrase.

The dancer started the second Phrase with Spell Drive made up of Indirect Space,

Bound Flow, and Strong Weight. This movement was indicative of the winding and

Knotting that the DNA performs as to fit snug into the Human Cell. In doing so, she freed

her right Hip with Remote State (Free Flow/Direct Space) and stepped down the

Diagonal with her right Foot in Dream State (Strong Weight/Bound Flow). Her Body

rotated in the air in Passion Drive using Light Weight, Bound Flow, and Quick Time. She

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finished the rotation and the second Phrase with Mobile State made up of Quick Time

and Bound Flow.

The third Phrase was Even and used only one movement in Spell Drive made up

of Bound Flow, Direct Space, and Strong Weight.

This movement sequence, unlike the first, uses a couple different Drives and is

not reflective only of the dancer’s natural tendency of Passion Drive. Space Effort is used

throughout the Phrases. Although, Flow was the dominant Effort; Time and Weight were

used secondarily. The momentum through the varying Drives and States created a Wave-

like Rhythm in the execution of the Motif. The dancer was taken off of her center and her

sense of Forward/Backward and Upward/Downward were skewed by the constantly

changing Body/Room Keys.

These movement phrases likened to the movement of the DNA double helix when

the Nucleotides attach forming the helix like the beginning of the sequence when the

dancers hands were drawn together through Space. The rolling over her shoulder, across

her back and sliding on her abdomen was reflective of the Knotting in the formation of

the chromosome, and the winding when the DNA condenses into the Nuclear envelope of

the Cell. The Spiral movement in the latter part of the second phrase nods to the winding

of the DNA to fit into the Cell. Finally the Descending and Shrinking/Condensing

movement making up the third phrase is the actual packing of the DNA into the Cell’s

nuclei. The original Motif and movement phrases did not have the same full multi-

dimensional movement that the second Motif and movement phrases contained. You can

see the movement of the dancer and the DNA on video attached to this thesis.

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LMA AS A CHOREOGRAPHIC TOOL

LMA is a tool that can be used to start a new piece of choreography. It gives a

dance maker the parts in which to work from creating a dance piece. I used LMA to start

this piece of choreography. I simply took the parts and related them to the basic function

of the human body—its DNA. I found greater insights to genetics and how it relates to

human movement. The complex movement patterns we exhibit in our daily and

performance lives originates in the movement of DNA as it is created through the

bonding of the nucleotides, the formation of a chromosome, and finally the packing into

the cell’s nuclei. Through the correlations of the body to LMA, I utilized my analytical

skills and gained deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of the LMA parts,

Laban’s theories behind the parts, and the Body.

Although, this was new for me, the use of LMA parts to create choreography is

not a new phenomenon. My exposure to Laban’s work started back in college. It was

there that I used Efforts and also the Diagonals to start new choreographies. I created one

piece where I gave the dancers varying movements focused on the Efforts of Light and

Indirect. The dancers had to create short movement phrases based upon their version of

Light and Indirect and bring their interpretations to rehearsal to teach the other dancers. I

pieced together the phrases that I gave to the dancers with the ones they created. From

this exercise an entire piece was created. Similar to my choreographic experiment in

college; the basis of movement choirs is to use the parts to bring together others through

movement. Thus a performance piece was created.

In Irmgard Bartenieff’s book, Body Movement: Coping With The Environment she

provides an example of one choreographer’s journey in creating a piece using LMA. This

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choreographer decided to work only with Spell Drive made up of Weight, Space, and

Flow.

The States that participate in Spell Drive are Stable State, Dream State, and

Remote State. For each of the States, the choreographer created a list of images to assist

her artistic process. Alongside the images, the choreographer listed out the specific

Efforts affined with the varying States.

The images she created determined which Flow Effort was necessary. For

example, she listed the image running in tar, which she determined as Light Weight and

Bound Flow from the Dream State of Spell Drive.

She wrote the following in response to her process (Bartenieff, I; page 204):

…I seemed to develop a kind of dialogue between structure and Effort. Usually the structure would start the conversation in a kind of improvised outburst. Gradually Effort would modulate this outburst. Together, in fits and starts and not without arguing, the two would begin to make some kind of sense in terms of the organization and meaning of the piece as a whole. Although she was discussing the relationship between the Kineshpere and

Dynamosphere; LMA was her starting point for the choreography and provided the

underlying structure for her piece. It was a great example of Laban’s Theme:

Function/Expression. The Function element was the use of LMA as the starting point,

structure, and accountability partner for the choreographer and choreography. Through

the Function came the Expression. The choreographer’s personality and interests were

freed because the function gave her a point of reference or guide in which to be

expressive.

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She wrote the following in response to her process (Barteneiff, I.; page 204):

Finally, I have to say something about the relationship of the piece to Effort/Shape material. I would and could not have choreographed this piece a year ago. I didn’t know about the Spell Drive then. I couldn’t have had all those interesting conversations between structure and dynamics then. I wouldn’t have had ideas about the spatial organization of movement then. Even though I worked intuitively (meaning y particular choices were arbitrary and spontaneous), Effort/Shape gave me a grasp on what was happening. I could be specific and objective at the same time I was being random and inspirational. Creating is so slippery—Effort/Shape makes a very good handle.

Liz Lerman, an accomplished contemporary modern dance choreographer, created

a dance piece at Wesleyan College based on the human genome entitled, “Ferocious

Beauty”. Ms. Lerman’s concept was to develop visual ways to communicate ideas about

complicated subjects like the genome, which contains the total genetic information or

hereditary material possessed by an organism.

I found a review of the piece in the New York Times. It was titled, Connecting

Bodies, Apples, and DNA through Dance. The title of the review is of great value to the

work of this thesis. Movement (or dance) is the core of all living things. Movement in our

DNA is the core to our living being. The review said, “One goal seems to have been to

link the arts and sciences. But “Ferocious Beauty” is most powerful when it sticks to pure

dance or pure science.” (Dunning, New York Times, 2006)

The process of correlating movement of DNA to choreography freed me to start

creating a work that was based totally on its parts. It was not an attempt to link the arts

and the sciences. Rather, it allowed for me to really connect, organically, to the construct

of choreography. From there, the movement can synergize organically, and from those

parts, I was able to derive meaning.

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The movement that I created through this project had a sense of being knocked

around or tumbling in a cylinder. Referring back to the analysis of the movement, there

was a Knotting/Unknotting with the Body’s movement. It also felt as if the dancer’s

Body was moving in a fluid environment. The DNA exists in a fluid environment and the

sense of Upward/Downward, Forward/Backward, and Sideward are skewed. The

connection of a baby moving in its mother’s womb is similar to the DNA moving about

in the cell (made up of fluid). When I compare the afore mentioned to the video

demonstrations of DNA’s movement, there was similarity in how both the body and the

DNA interact with its Space-environment. There was a constant Spiraling in both the

body and the DNA, the Space on the outside of the Body and the DNA was an active

participant in the “performance”, and multi-dimensional movement created a meditative

sense or experience.

CONCLUSION

I have learned through this project, my movement (in general) comes from a

deeply organic place—my DNA, and that my choreography is a natural process. The

choreography I have created culminates the elements of movement and my personal

signature creating a final product—my choreography.

The DNA model was fitting to use as a starting point for this study because it is

the foundational structure to the human body. It represents movement in its structural

form, and that movement is the basis for how humans can move throughout their aging

lives.

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LMA’s parts are foundational to all human movement within a gravity sensitive

environment. The exploration of these parts through gravity with DNA as a guide

expanded my explorations to include environment as a form that embodies Space.

Through this project I went to the Body for direction and support and the Body

gave me what I needed. My approach for this choreographic study utilized LMA, and had

an organic element commenting on the living nature of movement and the art

choreography. The twisted ladder (or double helix) of DNA reminded me of the

movement within the Lemniscate.

The Lemniscate is Laban’s model of what is commonly known as the Mobius or

the sign for Infinity. It represents the flow of movement from the Inner to the Outer. It

also discourses the exchange of Space and Body through movement and that neither have

a beginning nor an end. The movement found within the DNA radiates from the body’s

true essence informing and influencing our movement. That same understanding

informed the process of this thesis.

Through this project I found another way to start a new piece of choreography.

LMA offers a wide range of diversity and creativity in its application and understanding

of movement. I examined movement from a perspective relative to Body, Effort, Space

and Shape (the four categories of Laban’s work). I then compared those findings to my

findings of human DNA. The correlations were astounding and left me wondering if

humans are meant to exist in a liquid environment where the pressures of gravity are

imposed equally through volume rather than Upward being the source of most resistance

to gravity.

- 36 -

The meaning of Space Harmony is richer for me as I move forward from this

project. As a choreographer, I seek to continue my explorations and understanding of the

relationship between the parts of LMA.

Human genetics has started to examine the activity level of a DNA in the body in

relation to its place in the cell’s spatial structure. The research that I have found indicates

that the DNA is dormant, or not active in making a unique signature within the host body,

when it is closest to the nuclear envelope. Instead, the DNA that lies closer to the center

of the nucleus of the cell plays out its role in determining characteristics within the host

body. Again, this idea of Space and environment are being questioned. This time through

Human Genetics.

Amy Matthews’s discussion of Laban’s Space Harmony will be a focal point for

me in the future. She shared that Space Harmony referred to the quality of the

relationship between the parts through examining Crystals. The Crystalline forms have

been a fundamental source of organization and mathematics for a number of different

fields. This, too, is a part that makes up the whole of Space Harmony.

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Appendix A: Motif of original movement from random selection of LMA parts

- 38 -

Appendix B: Motif of Final Movement from adapted random selection of LMA Parts

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Appendix C: Dance of the DNA Nathan Andary Jan/2009 Rules

• DNA’s ATCG replaced with LMA’s B.E.S.S.

• Shape is represented as Sh to avoid confusion with Space • B always pairs with S • E always pairs with Sh • Use 12 Spatial Pulls from Laban’s B Scale • Use Mid-limb and Core body points (front and back) • Random Selection used to determine the DNA Sequence • When a basic Body action was drawn in the Effort category, a second

card was drawn until an actual Effort was found. The Effort card attached directly to that Body action when putting together the DNA sequence.

Gene = sequence of DNA Draw a number card to determine the Gene length (random selection) Strand = multiple genes Draw a number card to determine the number of strands (random selection) Write out Sequence:

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Appendix D: DNA Strand and Chromosome

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Bibliography:

Barteneiff, Irmgard. Body Movement; Coping With the Environment. Great Britain: Routledge, 2002. Berry, Drew. “Molecular Visualizations of DNA.” The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. 2008. Youtube. May 6, 2008. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKjF7OumYo>. Cohen, Bonnie Bainbridge. Sensing, Feeling, and Action: The Experiential Anatomy of Body-Mind Centering. Northampton, MA: Contact Editions, 1993. Davidson, J. N. The Biochemistry of the Nucleic Acids. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1950. Dunning, Jennifer. “Connecting Bodies, Apples, and DNA Through Dance.” New York Times Feb. 2006: < http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/arts/dance/06lerm.html>. Fitt, Sally. Dance Kinesiology. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996. Goldman, Ellen. As Others See Us: Body Movement and the Art of Successful Communication. New York: Routledge, 1994. Goldman, Ellen. The Geometry of Movement: A Study in the Structure of Communication. New York: Goldman, 1999. Hofstadter, Douglas R. Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. New York: Basic Books Inc., 1999. Hofstadter, Douglas. I Am a Strange Loop. New York: Basic Books, 2007. Laban, Lisa. The Language of Movement; A guidebook to choreutics. Boston: Plays, Inc., 1966. Letter to the Editor. “Corkscrew-like Umbilical Cord Twist.” Pediatric and Developmental Pathology. 5.1 (2002): 103-104. Pfeiffer, John. The Cell. New York: Time Incorporated, 1964. Ppornelubia. “DNA Structure.” Youtube. 2006. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy8dk5iS1f0>. Ullman, Lisa. The Mastery of Movement: by Rudolf Laban. 3rd Edition. Boston: Plays, Inc., 1971.

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Wiggins, Paul. “A Twist on DNA.” Paradigm Magazine. 2006. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. 2006. <http://www.wi.mit.edu/news/paradigm/fall_2006/twistdna.html>. Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2004.