History of Movement

The work of the movement director is to navigate the

embodiment process for the actor with the actor
Lawrence Olivia was instrumental in advocating and making sure
that movement had a place in production in the early years
The 20th century saw a shift in not only how we were thinking
about movement but how we were thinking about the body
Laban was one of the key components of New expressive dance
in central Europe
Significant people come out of Labans work: Geraldine
Stevenson (one of the first movement directors we can
recognize)
Litz Pisk is the other central Europe school of thought for
movement
She worked as a movement teacher and a movement director
At the heart of the French Connection were Susan Bing and
Jacques Copeau
What they created was chorus work, engagement with mask,
mime, using sport and gymnastics and acrobatics, and great
emphasis on animal work
They taught Michel Saint-Denis and Jacques Lecoq
Jacques Lecoqs training set up in France gave birth to many
directors
One is Claude Chagrin who in 1973 worked on Equis
Equis was a huge play in animal work, because all the horses
were actors
Its really out of dance that we get some of our current
movement directors
The rise of physical theatre helped promote and consolidate what
movement could be in production
Companies like DV8 and Complicite have really been really
beneficial influences on movement direction
Here you get a very physical style
Movement direction practices continually dazzle and innovate
We are currently working in a time which has started to celebrate
movement

Since Im the exact opposite of a dancer it is very easy for me to forget

how important movement is. Im not comfortable with it or my bodys
movement style I guess. I just feel exposed and awkward. But this
assignment and this video is a good reminder. I also feel I dont really
understand it very well. For example Christina had us do exercises with

Anne Bogarts veiwpoints all the time but most of the time I thought it
was stupid or useless or just plain weird. Like it made sense for a
dancer to be hyper aware of the viewpoints or if I wanted to go the
experimental theatre wing at NYU, but I never understood why we
spent so much time on it, and most of my friends felt the same way.
Basically what I got most out of doing those exercises was it was a
reminder of how much I dont think about my topography or my shape
or special relationship. Maybe mastering movement isnt going to
happen in just one semester, but Id at least like to understand it by
the end of the semester and not feel like its some stupid waste of
time. Also to get more comfortable with the way my body uniquely
moves and movement as a whole. I actually feel like if I can get more
comfortable with this than I will allow myself to improve as a dancer,
because I know I am so overly insecure about how bad I am right now
that I wont allow myself the room to possibly improve. So I think this
semester will be good for me.