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Drawing the design of a locomotor path inside a path sign is
a novel idea I haven’t seen elsewhere. I think having a way to specify the path design on the staff (rather than on a floor plan) is useful. I
have another idea how it might be done. Ex.
b shows an established method of depicting a zig-zag design drawn by the
arm. Perhaps the same idea could be
applied to locomotor movement, as in Ex. c.
The use of the whole body pre-sign in Ex. c brings up another
issue. In the LODCUSA notation, a path sign without a pre-sign, as in Ex. d,
indicates a locomotor path (i.e., the trace form on the supporting surface produced when the whole body
travels.) The LODCUSA notation doesn't depict a gestural path, but one could surmise
that it would be shown with a body part pre-sign. as in Ex. e.
If Ex. d indicates a locomotor path and Ex. e indicates a gestural
path, how do you write that the body portion involvement is unspecified? In
other words, the design of the path is the salient aspect. Whether the design
is produced by the whole body or a body part is open to interpretation or
irrelevant.
I feel a good solution is to have the indication without a
pre-sign leave body portion involvement open (Ex. f). Then locomotor paths can
be indicated with a whole-body pre-sign (Ex. g), and gestural paths can be
indicated with a body part pre-sign (Ex. h). The same idea can be applied to
design drawing (Ex. i-k).
(For further explanation and examples of this approach, see Chapter
VIII in Moving About, by
Charlotte Wile with Ray Cook.)
Written by Oliver Bandel, Doris Green, and Ann Hutchinson Guest Compiled by DNB Staff - July 17, 2012
[Following are comments from Oliver Bandel and Ann
Hutchinson Guest concerning the April 27, 2012 Open Theory Meeting Minutes. Oliver's comments were originally posted July 3, 2012 on LabanTalk. Ann's comments
were originally posted July 4, 2012 on LabanTalk.]
Ann (in black color): Oliver, I am tempted to respond
to part of your discussion. I wish this
machine had red or blue, or italics so my thoughts can be placed next to your
comments. [Color has been added for this Bulletin Board reprint.] Let me try putting them in
quotes. (Please note the spelling of my
name.)
Oliver (in
blue color): Thanks [responding to the posting about
videos and a written summary of the April 27, 2012 DNB Open Theory Meeting…]
Good idea to use video for recording the meetings.
I was happy to see Ann Hutchington [Hutchinson] Guest
again (even only on video here) and that she is fine.
Also nice, to have now some faces to names of on the
list now.
I saw some of the videos, and it was nice to see the
different people's opinions and also their movement examples, but it seems to
me (even I'm a bit exaggerating now), that the different approaches between Labanotation and Motive
Writing as well as the many different concepts have rather become a source of
confusion instead of clarifying the topics.
Ann: "Oliver, I do not think there are
different concepts, but there are different
interpretations. For example, Charlotte
Wile believes that a forward directional symbol can be interpreted as traveling
forward. I believe traveling to be a
separate basic action to which the direction of travel can be added. If you are traveling, the appropriate symbol
should be used."
Oliver: Both notation forms are from
the "Laban community," and bring confusion.
Ann: "My response – Language of
Dance makes extensive use of Motif Notation in a way that the LMA training does
not. I am remembering the Motus Humanus
conference where Carol Lynne Moore asked me to give two sessions on use of
Motif because LMA students were confused about its use. I gave the LOD approach
and clarified a great deal for those present, Carol Lynne was very
pleased."
Oliver: If that’s the case, how everto arrive a possibility to translate
between one of the Laban-derived notations into any other notation.
Ann: "I am not
sure what you mean by 'any other system'.
Are you thinking of Feuillet, or Zorn, or Stepanov, Benesh or
Eshkol-Wachmann?"
Oliver: Another thing I noticed was
the interest to say anything in notation and do it completely. I also once
thought this is a goal that might be necessary or good if it can be reached.
After exploring the topic of notation in general (not
only movement notation) a little bit more, I rather tend towards the idea of
combining different kinds of approaches to express something.
Notation is not contradiction to using words (maybe
written at the score), and it is not contradiction to video.
Even in mathematical books you will find not only pure
notation, but also a lot of words, explaining the context.
Maybe the undertaking to try to make a notation
expressing anything, is just trying a goal that can never be reached.
Ann: "An amazing range of movements and
movement aspects can be recorded in Advanced
Labanotation, details that most people do not need, but much work has been done
although not generally broadcast."
Oliver: Ann Hutchinson Guest's
example of how a movement in The Green
Table was notated (by notating "key frames" instead of notating a
path through space) was explaining this. As far as I have understood this
example, it was coming from "path in space" was not part of the
concepts used at that time. (?)
Ann:"That is true, such paths for gestures were not
in general use when The Green Table
score was written."
Oliver: So, what you notate today
might not make sense easily tomorrow.
Ann: "It depends on the level
of knowledge of the reader."
Oliver: The concepts may change or other
concepts might be added later.
Ann Hutchinson Guest's comment on spatial tension, where she said, that she
does not know what this is, was more clarifying than working with such concept,
without the people who use it are agreeing on what it should mean. And that
than will rather enhance confusion.
What I write here is not intended to vote against
notation. These days I'm preparing a workshop and I will also use notation
(Motive Writing), even for people who do not know it so far.
So, my comments are intended to point to the situation,
saying, that there is some confusion around, and that "a notation that
fits anything" might be overarching.
It's not mean as "notation is nonsense".
Ann: "We need more discussions between
leading practitioners to share usages and ideas to
safeguard a widespread practical use of Labanotation, Motif and
Effort/Shape."
Oliver:I just clarify this early, so
not to enhance confusion in this discussion too.
[On July 4, 2012 Oliver sent Ann a response via LabanTalk.]
Dear Ann,
Thank you for your remarks.
I'm sorry to had a typo, when writing your name. I
wrote my text in very tired state, short before going to bed, early in the
morning...
(it was not 12:59 PM, the time zone must be taken into
account...)
Ciao,
Oliver
[On July 14, 2012 Doris Green sent an e-mail concerning Oliver's July 3, 2012 comments.]
Oliver wrote: Even in
mathematical books you will find not only pure notation, but also a lot of
words, explaining the context.
Doris wrote: Permit
me to state that African dancers, throughout all my research from Tanzania to
Senegal, do not approach movement in the same vein as others.
African movement is governed by the music itself, which is based on the
spoken language of the people. Using the simple action of " to make
a turn" In the 'Ga' language it would be played on the drum
as ("To, De, Dzi, De, Dzi, De, To"). The dancer hearing
these sounds, which is language would execute a turn.
Whereas a person who
speaks the 'Ewe' language would listen for the sounds (To, De, Ga, Dzi, De) and
the dancer would execute a turn. The turns are different for each language
group. The use of words is the basis of the language barrier that makes
it impossible for Africans to communicate to each other.
This is one of the
reasons why it is almost impossible for a non-African to create African dance
because African movements are based on the spoken language of the people, that
is heard or relayed from the sounds of the instruments, that actually replicate
the spoken word and the dancer acts out or pantomimes the movement
indicated. As an undergraduate student in Brooklyn College, when I choreographed
African-American movement for my dancers, I became intensely aware of this
condition. In “Makwaya”, a copy of which is in the DNB library, you will notice
in measures 55-58 you will see the indication for the dancers to make a turn.
In true African dance the cue would be clearly stated in the music. This
mechanism would appear in the symbols of the music, that cannot be written in
Labanotation because it does not alter the movement but is an audio reminder
that a change is coming. When the dancers hears the musical cue they will
automatically prepare for the change. From my experiences this is done to
insure that the dancer performs according to the music and not mimmic
movement.
I find this as
the most difficult aspect in teaching African dance to students even some
Black students would mimmic the movement. As you know I brought Godwin Agbeli
to teach in NYU in 1972 and he stressed to the students that they must know the
music as it dictates the movement of the dance. Therefore all students had to
learn to play the instruments before they danced. I state this
because I have tried using words with Labanotation symbols. I even
created the "Cue Card" which contains the primary rhythm of the
selection. These are my experiences in writing African movements and probably
do not apply to other dance forms, but the concept of pure notation and lots of
words explaining the symbols or context appears time consuming.
When I first
came to DNB and they asked me what I felt when doing a movement, I
did not know how to respond except to say my movement is not based on feelings
but on 'sounds' of the drum that clearly define what movement I am to
execute and when to execute that movement. As an African American choreographer, my movements were not tied to a specific language that was
indicated by the music.
Because I am a woman,
and women should only be dancers in Africa, you can readily see the difficulty
I had convincing Africans that their music and dance could be written. When I
said I could write African music, many musicians looked at me as to say
"who is this crazy woman"? When I told Senghor of Senegal that I
could write African music, he said that he did not believe he could understand
it because African music was so diverse throughout the continent. I asked him
to donate an half hour of his time to let me prove it to him. He agreed and
within fifteen minutes he was tapping out the rhythms for himself. He rushed to
show the musical director of Senegal and my journey into percussion notation had
seized confirmation that African music and dance could be written.
When I began teaching
in Brooklyn College in 1969, there was no terminology for African movements,
nor "Categories of African Dance". There was no map of
the 'different dance regions' of Africa. Each of these things I had to create
using theories from pioneering African musicians. We still have a long way to
go in the field of African music/dance.
I do not know if this
solves the question of the use of words together with pure notation, but it
reflects my experiences with the use of words.
The videos and written summaries below document the Open Theory Meeting held on April 27, 2012 at the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City.
Present: Sandra Aberkalns, Zack Brown, Tina Curran, Frederic Curry, Susan Gingrasso (via Skype), Ann Hutchinson Guest, Mira Kim, Mei-Chen Lu, Lynn Parkerson, Lynne Weber, and Charlotte Wile. (The attendees identify themselves on Video 1 at minute 1:38. Oona joined the meeting at 7:48 in Video 2.)
Topic: Central, Peripheral, and Transverse
VIDEO 1
Summary of issues discussed:
1.1 Central, Peripheral, and Transverse have various meanings and usage in the Laban community.
1.2 Ann’s perception of the concepts:
The way “Central” and “Peripheral” were taught in the Jooss-Leeder school (as part of Eukinetics).
Physically Peripheral, Physically Central, Spatially Peripheral, Spatially Central [Ann discusses these variables in Your Move].
1.3 The development of Effort.
VIDEO 2
Summary of issues discussed:
2.1 William Forsythe's exploration of Central and Peripheral movement.
2.2 The LMA perception of Central and Peripheral in relation to reach space in the kinesephere.
2.3 The LMA perception of Central and Peripheral seems to be different from Ann’s perception.
2.4 Inclusion of a body portion vs. involving that portion in a movement.
2.5 The theoretical intellectual idea of a movement vs. the physical expression of a movement.
VIDEO 3
Summary of issues discussed:
3.1 A general vs. more specific perception of the concepts.
3.2 Differences between the LMA and Ann’s perception of the concept.
3.3 Can the concepts be used in Labanotation as well as Motif Notation?
3.4 What determines how a movement should be notated. For example, can it be the dancers execution of the movement as well as what the choreographer says about the movement?
3.5 Application of Central and Peripheral to body parts as well as the whole body.
3.6 Initiation – e.g., a movement can be peripheral but initiated centrally.
3.7 The LMA perception of the various ideas being discussed, e.g., Central, Peripheral, and Transverse pathways.
3.8 Core, mid-limb, distal, and proximal initiation; and Central, Peripheral, and Transverse Spatial Tension.
3.9 Central, Transverse, and Peripheral Pathways in Space Harmony.
3.10 The term “direct path.” What does it mean in Space Harmony vs. Labanotation?
VIDEO 4
Summary of issues discussed:
4.1 The terms “direct path,” “straight path,” and “peripheral path” in Labanotation and Motif Notation.
4.3 The meaning of “direct path,” "straight path," “peripheral path,” and “transversal path” in Labanotation, 4th edition.
4.4 Differences between how the terms are use in Labanotation (4th edition) vs. how they are used in DNB correspondence courses.
4.5 Origin of the term “transverse” – e.g., in Laban, The Language of Movement.
4.6 A “transversal” in Space Harmony (from the corner of one plane to the corner of another plane) vs. moving “transversly.”
VIDEO 5
Summary of issues discussed:
5.1 Applying the concepts under consideration to body parts as well as the whole body.
5.2 The default paths (curved or straight) in Labanotation when moving from one direction to another direction. In Motif Notation, unless stated otherwise, the path is open to interpretation.
5.3 Further discussion of “direct paths” vs. “straight paths” in Labanotation.
5.4 Qualities, intentions, and tempos that may be associated with movement on various paths.
5.5 In Motif Notation the path between two directions is open to interpretation. How can one specify that the path is straight or curved?
5.6. Description of a trace form using direction signs vs. path signs.
VIDEO 6
Summary of issues discussed:
6.1 The need to clarify the use of the terms “direct path,” “straight path,” and “transverse path.”
6.2 The categorization of the terms under consideration.
6.3 Various meanings and terms have emerged as the concepts have been used in various contexts and applications.
6.4 The meaning of “counter-tension.”
6.5 The meaning of one, two and three dimensional spatial tensions in Space Harmony.
6.6 Somatic connectivity patterns support spatial tension.
VIDEO 7
Summary of issues discussed:
7.1 The concepts of “Central Spatial Tension,” “Peripheral Spatial Tension,” and “Transverse Spatial Tension.”
7.2. Various Shape Modes are affined or support the different “Spatial Tensions.”
7.3 Using Spatial Tension as support for Irmgard Bartenieff's “Flying Diagonals.”
7.4 Ann’s training in falling on the diagonal is what got her a job with Agnes De Mille.
7.5 Applying the concept of Spatial Tension creatively to the movement between people.
7.6 Using Space Harmony and “tension” concepts to become more functionally and expressively better movers.
VIDEO 8
Summary of issues discussed:
8.1 Should a new term for “direct path” be found to avoid confusion? Should the everyday meaning of “straight” and “direct” be taken into account in creating a new term?
8.2 More discussion on the difference between straight, direct, and central paths.
8.3 Should there be more flexibility in what terms are used?
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