Dance Techniques 2010

Observation Techniques
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ends so that now, using Kinetography, even the most diverse movement phenomena can
be recorded. 19
Kinetography Laban is excellent, for example, for documenting the sequences from
the Jooss–Leeder Technique as presented in the imaginary scene at the beginning of this
essay: Both the dance form and the notational language focus on spatial and body geometry,
and the notational language needs only be slightly modified to match the movement
phenomena—which is hardly surprising, because Laban’s notational language and the
dance technique sprung from the same environment. 20
Movement notation can also serve analytical evaluation beyond the purposes of documentation.
The advantage over the spoken word is the visual depiction of the examined
phenomenon that can better translate the movement’s visual characteristics. Furthermore,
this depiction—depending on the notational language used—can allow for better
recognition of patterns that can be used analytically. This is especially true of the Eshkol–
Wachmann Movement Notation (EWMN), which, along with Kinetography Laban / Labanotation
and Benesh Movement Notation, 21 is currently the most commonly used form
of dance notation. Noa Eshkol and Avraham Wachmann introduced EWMN in 1958
in Israel. Their goal was to be able to record every movement of the human body, (not
necessarily movement in dance), independent of emotional or stylistic expression. 22 The
method focuses on mechanical aspects of physical movements. The body is abstracted
from an anatomical viewpoint, and body parts are imagined as lines between two joints
or connected to a joint. Movement means change in the joints: This can be recorded as
coordinates located on the surface of a sphere upon which the free end of the respective
body part moves. Movement can therefore be described quantitatively and abstractly
without a specific dance vocabulary.
In contrast to Kinetography Laban, EWMN was specifically developed as an instrument
for composition, not primarily for documentation purposes. 23 Accordingly, this
notation system is more systematic than that of Laban and uses a more manageable
number of symbols. 24 Because it is more abstract, however, it is also further removed
from the movement phenomenon’s visual form. Labanotation (thanks to its ‘proximity
to the movement’) thus allows faster notation, reading, and dancing from the score, while
EWMN (thanks to its systematization and clarity) is not only good for composition but
can also be used for further movement analysis. Reoccurring structures, clusters, and patterns
can be easily recognized and compared so that regularities in movement sequences
can be formulated and interpreted respective to the research goal. 25
Along with notational dance languages, filmic and digital media also provide forms of
visualizing movement. The following presents a few short, exemplary descriptions of individual
projects—in most cases, these are not methods for movement analysis, but tools
that can be used for analysis, tools that are gaining relevance in movement research and
have their own underlying concepts of movement observation. Film and video recordings
work well for visualizing movements as they provide immediacy through visual and
kinesthetic proximity to the subject. They are often used for documentation purposes.
use as a memory aid and basis for discussion.
See www.lodc.org, Language of Dance (LOD),
about Guest’s analytic method that works
with Motif Notation, among other things.
19 See, about the history of the notational
language, Henner Drewes: Transformationen.
Bewegung in Notation und digitaler Verarbeitung.
Essen: Die blaue Eule, 2003, pp. 75–80.
20 The close connection between Laban’s
movement analysis ideas and Jooss–Leeder
Technique can clearly be seen in the training
for this technique; see, for instance, Barbara
Passow’s class on the accompanying DVDs.
21 Benesh Movement Notation is not dealt
with further here as it was developed for
ballet notation and its perspective is generally
derived from this dance style. Emio Greco
provided an interesting example of how
Benesh Notation can also be used to document
certain forms of contemporary dance
with his project Capturing Intention; see
Emio Greco I PC / Amsterdamse Hogeschool
voor de Kunsten (Ed.): Capturing Intention.
Documentation, analysis and notation research
based on the work of Emio Greco I PC.
Amsterdam: Emio Greco I PC and AHK, 2007.
22 About the characteristics of EWMN, see
Drewes 2003, pp. 69–75 / 88–111.
23 Noa Eshkol actually choreographed a
series of dances with her language. Notational
scripts and performance videos of these
dances can be found, for instance, under
www.ewmncenter.com / 133376 / Dance-Suites.
24 This is not least due to the underlying
knowledge about physical mechanics: The
description allows the exclusion of all of
those things that are automatic givens about
the anatomical conditions and the body’s
functions.
25 EWMN has also been used to diagnose
autism in infants and for the scientific analysis
of animal behavior; see Drewes 2003, p. 103.