24th Annual Student Research Conference
The Harmony of Movement and Music: Rudolf Laban's Dance Legacy
Darlene Gollaher
Prof. Shirley McKamie, Faculty Mentor
Dance has always been used as a form of social interaction or as a form of expression through movement of the body. However, dance in the West has changed over time and many different forms have developed. The person who transformed dance into a mode of utmost expression was Rudolf Laban, the creator of Modern Dance. Laban analyzed movement and its meaning to the highest degree based on objective measurements of effort, body, space, and expression. He accomplished this by incorporating knowledge from many different disciplines in order to reach this harmony between music, movement, and human expression. His analysis, called Laban's Movement Analysis, has influenced numerous fields, even those with seemingly no relationship to dance. As the most widely used system of human movement analysis, Laban's theories have left their mark on dance, various therapies, and acting, and his work continues to inspire researchers in many fields.
Keywords: Choreography, Movement Analysis, Dance Notation, Music, Philosophy
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 37-1
Location: MG 1098
Time: 2:45