By Fügedi János et al.
Submitted by DNB Staff - September 16, 2012
Submitted by DNB Staff - September 16, 2012
[The following discussion
was originally posted on LabanTalk and CMAlist in August 2012.]
From Fügedi János, August 27, 2012
Dear Colleagues!
The L'Harmattan Publishing House, Hungary is going to
publish Roger Copeland's book titled "Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of
Modern Dance" in Hungarian. Copeland (2003, 216) writes:
'In the terminology of "effort/shape," Cunningham
style is referred to as "the alert style".'
See:
or
Copeland, Roger (2003): Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of
Modern Dance. Routledge, New York and London.
Since we are not native English, for a proper translation
the sentence should be understood well, but the meaning of it makes us ponder.
The sentence implies, that there would be an effort/shape terminology such as
"the alert style", which I have no information of, at least I have
met no written source referring to this expresion as a feature of the
effort/shape system. (Not to mention, that effort/shape is not about
"styles", as far as I know...)
Is there anyone who can give a more detailed information on
the subject?
Best
Janos Fugedi
From Tara Stepenberg, August 27, 2012
Greetings
To begin this discussion, the style of a particular
technique, dancer, choreographer can be described using Effort/Shape
terminology. (Note: Effort/Shape should now be referred to as Laban Movement Analysis.) indeed one of the
very valuable functions of LMA is to identify specific components/attributes of
style.
Seems like the author is referring to the "awake"
state (an energy state of 2 effort factors) -- where movement components of
space and time predominate.
Blessings,
tara
tara
From Richard Haisma, August 27, 2012
Greetings,
I would second what Tara says here, adding that when we set
out to translate all LMA terminology into Italian for our Certification Program there, one of the legitimate choices
for "Awake State" in
Effort would have
been the English equivalent of "Alert." So this could likely be the case in Hungarian
as well: just one of the options in making a translation. And we all know people who have an Awake State style, as well as certain choreographers.
Richard
From Ellen Goldman, August 27, 2012
Hi All;
In fact "Effort/Shape" is all about style. Susan Youngerman taught us this long ago, from an anthropologic point of view. And yes, an Alert or Awake State could be quite consistent to Cunningham technique. Good luck with the book.
Ellen
In fact "Effort/Shape" is all about style. Susan Youngerman taught us this long ago, from an anthropologic point of view. And yes, an Alert or Awake State could be quite consistent to Cunningham technique. Good luck with the book.
Ellen
From Deborah Heifetz, August 27, 2012
Dear Ellen and all,
This is a wonderful discussion.
I've often wondered about Rhythm/Near state. And that it's opposite is Remote. It seems that another quality to 'Nearness' may be "Presence". Could it be that Presence embodies as it's central qualities Weight and Time? And if so, could we then work through States to access this elusive aspect of being, which is so difficult to describe or teach?
This is a wonderful discussion.
I've often wondered about Rhythm/Near state. And that it's opposite is Remote. It seems that another quality to 'Nearness' may be "Presence". Could it be that Presence embodies as it's central qualities Weight and Time? And if so, could we then work through States to access this elusive aspect of being, which is so difficult to describe or teach?
Any thoughts?
Deborah
From Tara Stepenberg, August 28, 2012
first thought -
when i read "Presence" in relation to near/rhythm state, i noticed that a relationship to Space (in terms of effort and as an energetic "entity" in which i "live") clearly arises and is necessary. I have the belief/feeling that Presence is a "state" in which all effort possibilities are ready to be activated in whatever form is needed...
when i read "Presence" in relation to near/rhythm state, i noticed that a relationship to Space (in terms of effort and as an energetic "entity" in which i "live") clearly arises and is necessary. I have the belief/feeling that Presence is a "state" in which all effort possibilities are ready to be activated in whatever form is needed...
i will enjoy other comments -
glad you asked the question deborah
cheers
tara
tara
From Fügedi János, August
28, 2012
Dear All,
Effort/Shape is not really my field of expertise, so thank
you so much for clarification - still it is not really clear. I only read some
literature on the Effort system (mainly Laban, Sharp), and it seems to be a
general opinion that basic and compound Effort/Shape description is about
certain qualities of movement. Though the notion of "style" has never
been defined in dance (as far as I know), but used broadly, it might be
referred to certain "wholeness" of performance, therefore might need
other description.
But if you, Effort practitioners say, that Effort theory is
expanded to describe movement "style" (characristic to a person,
group, region, historical stratum, etc.), I accept it with great pleasure and
would be glad to read more about it. Or shall your points be understood that
movement quality equals style?
I mentioned, we are not native English, still,
"style" and "state" (alert style - awake state) do not seem
overlapping notions. But again, if you confirm that they are the same, we
accept it with happy contentment.
Best
Janos
From Judy Van Zile, August
28, 2012
I am usually rather silent on matters that are out of my
area of specialization, and like Janos, I am not an LMA practitioner.
But--
Also like Janos I concur that there has not been a major discussion/agreement
among dance scholars/practitioners I know about a definition of style--and I
personally believe there are many more ingredients that go into what might
constitute an individual style than only LMA-identified factors. (I think
proceedings of the symposia of the Ethnochoreology Study Group of the
International Council for Traditional Music as well as the Yearbook of
Traditional Music of ICTM contain some discussions of style.)
But I would also like to encourage that serious consideration
be given to issues of translation of technical terms. When teaching
Labanotation in Korea I had major discussions about how to translate the
concept of "place." And on a number of occasions I was quite
clearly told that "Labanotation" was not an accurate translation of
the term originally used by Laban for the system he originated--but which
others have now further developed.
I think we often resort to terms in our own language but use
them slightly (and sometimes not-so-slightly) differently in specialized
contexts--hence requiring clarification, or an indication that "this term
is being used here to mean . . . " What this ultimately suggests to
me is that it is the meaning of the words we use that is most important
and that needs careful clarifying, and sometimes it may be wise to retain an
original term--in its original language--and clarify its meaning in the
language of the people trying to understand it.
Judy
From Gretchen Dunn, August 28, 2012
Tara--Yes, my thinking too. Have a strong memory of
being in Remote--but was very 'present'.
Gretchen
From Jill Mackavey, August 28, 2012
This may be splitting hairs but when I think (in English
only) of the word Alert I think of the phrase, being on the Alert, which
suggests a bit of alarm as well. Awake State could include that but isn't
specific to that condition. Awake is a less loaded term that works better
in English for me, at least.
Jill
Jill
From Kedzie Penfield, August 28, 2012
I’m a bit behind on this discussion - I want to add that
Effort Shape is about describing and articulating style rather than being
"all about style". That's only one of the applications it can be used
for. As a therapist (and performer - speaking of "presence" which is
a discussion we've had before...) I feel Effort Shape, LMA whatever you want to
call our language, is a tool that can be "about" many different
things.
From Gill Wright Miller, August 28, 2012
For me, the whole purpose of the symbols is to acknowledge
language is slippery, translation from one language to another even more so.
Maybe a caveat explaining that could be added?
We have so many examples of this ... I am reminded of the "deep" vs. "low" conversations of the 1970s!
We have so many examples of this ... I am reminded of the "deep" vs. "low" conversations of the 1970s!
Best regards,
Gill
From Jill Mackavey, August 28, 2012
Yes, it is slippery indeed, especially when we are talking
across languages and cultures.
From Melanie Clarke, August 28, 2012
I made a choreographic work that was structured by changes
in Effort states (entitled Both of View).
As a performer I felt equally present in all the states encountered but
the presence was different. I feel this
is the Key: States are about different ways of being present in the world
rather than one being more present than others.
Working with Effort is a way of experiencing presence and thus an
incredible tool for movement exploration.
Choice of Effort within an aesthetic can be a power element of style,
but if I choreography using a complete mixture of Effort states I don't feel I
am style-less.
M
From Ann Hutchinson Guest, August 28, 2012
The original name on his 1928 publication was 'Schrifttanze'
(written dance). At the Jooss-Leeder Dance School it was termed
'Script.' Despite being there four years, I never heard the term
'Kintography Laban.' Back in New York I finally came across the
term. At the DNB our first usage was just to call it dance
notation. We had been teaching at Hanya Holm's Studio. There then
occurred an advertisement for dance notation classes to be held at Hanya's
Studio. We knew nothing of this and discovered that it was Alwin Nikolais
who was teaching his newly developed system. We went to a lawyer who
pointed out that 'Dance Notation' was a generic term, anyone can use
it. We needed to find a name that specified the Laban system.
Our thinking was that 'Kinetography' was a very foreign-sounding
name. I would tell people that I was teaching Laban
notation. It was my suggestion that we join the two words
and make it 'Labanotation'. There was never any question that
this was supposed to be a translation of 'Kinetography Laban.'
I hope this bit of history may help understanding.
Incidentally, because it is a registered term, Labanotation should never be
written with a lower case 'L'. And it is up to us to immediately inform
the writer of this miskate, otherwise the term would in time become
generic. A comparable situation occured when a housewife says "I
need to Hoover the carpet", or "Give me a Kleenex" when you want
a paper handkerchief.
I hope this is all helpful.
Warm regards,
Ann
From Tara Stepenberg, August 28, 2012
This is great to know! Hope there is someone at LIMS saving
this and integrating it appropriately into "the literature and modules .
Thanks
Blessings,
Blessings,
tara
From Ann Hutchinson Guest, August 29, 2012
Dear All,
Terminology is a fascinating subject. As some of you
know, I would like to see LMA change certain terms. But I won't go into
that here.
I would like to pick up on the 'alert' term, having read the
interesting comments by LMA people. I would like to suggest the following
in the order of involvement:
Awake. A person just has to be there, with am ordinary
level of energy. this in my development of Dynamics we call 'par'.
Aware. A person may be aware of his/her surroundings,
or of another person who has just entered the room. There is a slight
heightening of intensity.
Alert. A more intense state than
Awareness. When a person is actively listening, perhaps straining to
hear, they are Alert. It is a state that can also be "Ready for
action" like sprinters at the ready before the gun goes off. I
do not see any negative connotation. What may follow an Alert state
may be positive or negative. Alert is the opposite of relaxed for which
the body and the mind 'let go'.
I am thinking of a performer who needs to walk on stage and
take a starting position. During that entrance they are just themselves,
they are Awake. But the moment performance mode takes over, the audience
knows the dance is about to start. Or the singer is about to
begin There is a slight heightening of energy through the whole
body. The special quality used by the performer may be individual to
them, or it may be a reflection of the kind of character they need to portray.
I look forward to comments on this.
Best
wishes,
Ann
From Kedzie Penfield, August 29, 2012
[Responding to Ann Hutcinson Guest’s posting above,
“Terminology is a fascinating subject……”.]
I like your breakdown
of the process in this way - though the question of "presence" is
still in it.....maybe all of this is so individual that all we can do is try to
articulate how one particular performer "does" it?
Kedzie
Kedzie
From Peggy Hackney, August 29, 2012
Greetings All, and what an interesting discussion!
For my Certification Project in 1968, did an analysis of the
Cunningham Technique and his 1968 season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in
NYC. In that season, I believe he did "Field Dances," "Rain
Forest" and perhaps something else...maybe "Walk Around Time."
Irmgard Bartenieff, Martha Davis, and I went to the concerts--I went every
night of the season. We discussed what stood out to us....We did not do blow by
blow Effort Phrase writing, but just large impressions of what was used in that
evening's pieces.
I Also notated a prototypical beginning technique class in
Labanotation with Effort and Shape symbols as well.
I would say that my "findings" were that the major
States were "Remote" ( primary constellation = Bound, Direct) and "Awake/Alert"
(primary constellation "Direct, Sudden" and Mobile (primary
constellations "Bound, Sudden" and "Low Intensity Free,
Sudden." Overall the most noted Drive was "Vision."
My own personal favorite dancer was Merce himself. He was
beautiful in his solos--strange and almost insect-like or animal-like. (This
felt very Alert to me.)
What stood out most in terms of Shape was his preference in
his choreography for "Directional Movement" with a lot of
"Arc-like" and some "Spoke-like." There was almost no
"Carving" or "Shape-Flow" as a Mode of Shape Change. Nor
was there a lot of "Shape Flow Support" at the breath level.
That's what I remember from 1968....And, although I kept
waiting for his choreography to evidence substantially different preferences
over the intervening nearly 40 years of watching his company, I rarely saw that
those aspects totally released. Once Alan Good joined the company, since Alan
had a lot of Strong Weight, his own dancing used it.
Cheers,
Peggy
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