[Adta] Motus Humanus Call for Papers

[mary deicher]

MOTUS HUMANUS SYMPOSIUM 2007
"RECONSIDERING THE LABAN/LAMB LEGACY:  7 CREATIVE
MOVEMENT CONCEPTS"
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota
July 5-8, 2007

CALL FOR PAPERS

Rudolf Laban, movement theorist, and F.C. Lawrence,
management consultant, joined forces in 1942 to
enhance efficiency in British industries that were
critical for the war effort. While initial assignments
focused on manual labor, Laban and Lawrence quickly
moved on to apply the analysis of movement to the
study of clerical and managerial jobs. Their
groundbreaking work, which laid a conceptual
foundation for the study of work as a psychophysical
phenomenon, was carried forward by their younger
colleague, Warren Lamb. Lamb worked closely with Laban
and Lawrence from 1946-1952, carrying on the
application of movement analysis in the study of
management behavior. In 1965, Lamb crystallized his
interpretative framework, initially known as Action
Profiling and now known as Movement Pattern Analysis
(MPA). While MPA has been applied extensively in the
area of management consulting, it has had influence in
other fields, notably child development, career and
marital counseling, and dance/movement therapy.

Lamb has identified 7 creative movement concepts that
have been developed out of the continuation of his
work with Laban. These include the following:

1) The identification and significance of
“integrated movements� in distinction to isolated
gestures for understanding relatively enduring
patterns of behavior.

2) The identification and significance of two types of
flow: effort flow and shape flow.

3) Attention, Intention, and Commitment as a
decision-making processes visible in patterns of
bodily movement.

4) The correlation of effort with “assertion� and
shape with “perspective� in relation to the
decision-making process.

5) The significance of effort/shape affinities for
understanding patterns of interaction.

6) The decrease in flow through childhood as effort
and shape qualities develop (arising out of two
decades of collaborative research with Dr. Judith
Kestenberg).

7) The interpretative framework of Movement Pattern
Analysis, correlating effort/shape patterns to
decision-making action and interaction.

Motus Humanus invites papers addressing these 7
creative concepts, historically, conceptually,
practically, or experientially. We welcome papers that
deal with the Laban/Lamb legacy from a variety of
perspectives. For example, many individuals have
encountered these concepts personally, by having their
own MPA profiles made. Others have been introduced to
these concepts through introductory seminars. Still
others are fully qualified practitioners, who actively
are using these ideas professionally, as consultants,
counselors, or teachers. Yet another perspective has
been contributed by those who have conducted research,
written about, or documented this development of
movement analysis. Moreover, these 7 concepts have
been employed not only the MPA profile, but also in
the Kestenberg Movement Profile and in various
approaches in Dance/Movement Therapy. It is now
sixty-five years after Laban, Lawrence, and Lamb
joined forces. What is their legacy? How can
contemporary movement specialists best carry this work
forward?

Proposed paper sessions may be of 30 or 60 minutes in
length. Proposals must include name, institutional
affiliation, contact information, length of time
requested, audio-visual needs, and an abstract of no
more than 500 words. An application form can be
downloaded from the Motus Humanus website:
www.motushumanus.org. Go to “Upcoming Events.�

Deadline for submission: January 15, 2007

Electronic submissions may be sent to: Cate Deicher
catexd2002 at yahoo.com

Please back up any electronic submission by sending a
hard copy to: Motus  Humanus, PO Box 11036, Denver, CO
80211. Hard copies must be postmarked January 15,
2007.

Decisions regarding proposals will be announced by:
February 15, 2007.

 



 
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