Labans Theory of Movement
Laban's Theory of Movement.
This had to be the one theory that we talked about more than anything in our dance class.
The Theory of Movement is something that is the guiding force in dance and physical education in schools today... or at least it should be. According to some notes that my wonderful dance teacher gave us, this theory shares with us concepts of how we move. It is what was used to develop the arts curriculum, which is mostly about creating.
Laban talked about using the whole body, space, relationships to others and effort. These were eventually turned into the elements of dance that we use in the curriculum documents: body, space, energy, relationship, and time. Different action words are used to avoid mechanical movements. This encourages students to focus on creating and to feel the movements.
Like I said, this was the guiding theory that we really focused on. Every day we had those action word cards out. We were so focused on creating and really feeling the movements. It was amazing. To me, dance was always so uniformed. There was a right and a wrong to dance. But after being introduced to this theory, that was not the case anymore. I felt that I was able to express myself more. I felt that I was able to do more with my dancing, and not feel so judged.
I was so lucky that I got to do something with this theory in my practicum experience. I did not use these words, but I used the theory. The grade 2's I was working with started a movement and simple machines unit. As a class, we came up with different movement words. Some of the words included vibrate, bounce, push, pull, etc. I decided to have the students come up with a movement sequence using these words. The students actually seemed to really enjoy it.
I fell that using this theory in the classroom can be very beneficial. It gets students moving, and creating. It gets them thinking critically about what they are doing and how they can use simple actions to tell a story. This is the theory that I plan on using in my future classroom.
This had to be the one theory that we talked about more than anything in our dance class.
The Theory of Movement is something that is the guiding force in dance and physical education in schools today... or at least it should be. According to some notes that my wonderful dance teacher gave us, this theory shares with us concepts of how we move. It is what was used to develop the arts curriculum, which is mostly about creating.
Laban talked about using the whole body, space, relationships to others and effort. These were eventually turned into the elements of dance that we use in the curriculum documents: body, space, energy, relationship, and time. Different action words are used to avoid mechanical movements. This encourages students to focus on creating and to feel the movements.Like I said, this was the guiding theory that we really focused on. Every day we had those action word cards out. We were so focused on creating and really feeling the movements. It was amazing. To me, dance was always so uniformed. There was a right and a wrong to dance. But after being introduced to this theory, that was not the case anymore. I felt that I was able to express myself more. I felt that I was able to do more with my dancing, and not feel so judged.
I was so lucky that I got to do something with this theory in my practicum experience. I did not use these words, but I used the theory. The grade 2's I was working with started a movement and simple machines unit. As a class, we came up with different movement words. Some of the words included vibrate, bounce, push, pull, etc. I decided to have the students come up with a movement sequence using these words. The students actually seemed to really enjoy it.
I fell that using this theory in the classroom can be very beneficial. It gets students moving, and creating. It gets them thinking critically about what they are doing and how they can use simple actions to tell a story. This is the theory that I plan on using in my future classroom.
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