Holding and Cancelling Supports, part 2

Holding and Cancelling Supports, part 2
Submitted by Lu et al. – November 9, 2009

[Following is a continuation of the “Holding and Cancelling Supports” correspondence. This part of the discussion was written by Mei-Chen Lu, Ray Cook, Lucy Venable, and Charlotte Wile.]

E-mail #1 – Mei-Chen Lu
October 22, 2009

Mira [Kim] and I are wondering about Lucy's comment in d) which I colored in red below. I show three examples in notation here.

In d1 the weight shifts to the right foot, yet Mira points out that d1 does not cancel the hold sign. A gesture, air stroke, or release sign is still needed to cancel it

d2 it shows a release to cancel the hold sign.

d3 does not have the cancellation problem.

 

E-mail #2 – Charlotte Wile
October 23, 2009

I'm confused. In Mei's e-mail it says in 1d the hold sign is not canceled. However, in Labanotation, 4th edition, page 63 (4th paragraph) it says “Note that the caret always refers to a previous indication. In shifts of weight it shows that a previous partial support becomes a total support or vice versa.” (Also, see the second paragraph.)

Wouldn't this mean that in Ex. d1 the left foot no longer supports in count 2? In other words, the hold sign is canceled.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the issue. Or is there some other rule that applies to the situation in d1? I couldn't find a situation just like it in Labanotation, 4th.

E-mail #3 – Ray Cook
October 23, 2009

A few more thoughts.

A hold sign in the support column is canceled by a step on either foot or a gesture of the held foot.

d1 is a shift of weight. In this example it is a complete weight transfer, the same end result as it would be if you had stepped. Do theory examples say anywhere that the end result of a shift of weight and a step may sometimes or always end with the same result? Would a partial shift of weight cancel the hold sign? No because to have a partial shift of weight the weight has to be on more than one support.

d2, Starts as d1, but is more specific as to when the left foot releases.

d3, By writing the first movement this way you do not know which foot stepped so it is not another way for writing what is the first step in the two other examples.

a and b and d. b is correct - you end on 2 feet. a is also correct and gives a clearer picture of what is happening. d is also correct but I would say over writing. In all three examples the final step on the left cancels the hold signs. In d the left hold sign is obviously canceled and right hold sign is cancelled because a step on either foot cancels the right hold sign.

Here the problem is that if a reader finds these three ways of writing in different scores they may think that b ends on one foot while a and d obviously end on two feet. The reader may think that there is a difference, especially if the clear rule is not applied.

c. This is clear.

I think I was taught that nothing in both support column i.e., without hold signs - you would go into the air landing in a high position.

Hope that I am clear.

E-mail #4 – Mei-Chen Lu
October 28, 2009

I am really grateful to have many of you responded to Rose Anne's initial hold sign cancellation rule question. It is a simple question but a very interesting one. I agree with Ann that the release sign in example d does have a timing issue, and perhaps we can discuss this when Ann is in town. However, I am interested in having further discussion since Ray, in response to my second posting, said,

“d1 is a shift of weight. In this example it is a complete weight transfer, the same end result as it would be if you had stepped. Do theory examples say anywhere that the end result of a shift of weight and a step may sometimes or always end with the same result? Would a partial shift of weight cancel the hold sign? No because to have a partial shift of weight the weight has to be on more than one support.”

Can someone answer Ray's questions? I need clarification on whether a shift of weight can cancel the hold sign. What if I do not want to write a gesture? For example, in many folk dance forms the gesture leg is not emphasized.

I found an example in Ann's Labanotation 4th edition, page 63, ex 81e:

Ann wrote: "Where a space occurs between a caret reference and the previous support, the caret is not elongated but attached to the new indication where its message is required. This is illustrated in 81e in which there is a pause between the second position and the shift of weight to the left foot." Yet, Ann did not specify the right left gesture here. Are we supposed to "assume" the hold sign is cancelled, so the end result is shifting the weight to left side middle? Then, I think we need to add one more rule to hold sign cancellation rule.

Furthermore, what if the level is not changed? Is the hold sign cancelled after the shift of weight?

E-mail #5 – Ann Hutchinson Guest
October 29, 2009

Rule: A new support takes all the weight, unless indicated otherwise. See page 49 in the 1977 LN text, or page 121 in the 2005 edition. This is true also for a shift of weight onto one foot from a previous situation with weight on both feet.

Note: we are not talking here about walking on all fours, acrobatics, floor work, etc. Refer to these volumes of Advanced Labanotation to find the specific rules that need to be applied in less usual circumstances.

I hope this helps.

E-mail #6 – Lucy Venable
October 29, 2009

A very good reference and examples for this are in the 2005 edition pp.62-64 under Shift of Weight. (A step is modified by a caret and tells that foot to stay where it is when the weight shifts. My explanation.)