A Hungarian movement theorist and
educator, Rudolf Von Laban, devised an
intricate analytical method for describing
the variety of movement possibilities for
the human body. His system, referred to as
Laban Movement Analysis or LMA,
continues to be studied today and globally.
The principles of this system offer a large
vocabulary for describing were in space the
body is moving and the quality of the
movements themselves. Analyzing
movement has been the foundation for
many fields. It is used by rehearsal
directors, actors, choreographers, and
dance/movement therapists to provide a
common vocabulary for understanding the
way humans move in both performance
contexts and everyday life. The four
essential ways in which Laban divided his
analysis of movements were in the areas of
body, space, shape, and effort.
All dance uses the same basic elements in
similar yet specific ways. Each element of
dance contains specific ways to move.
These added dimensions provide
possibilities to explore. Experimenting with
the elements and how they combine in
various ways interconnects and extends
movement ideas.
Elements of Rhythm
 Beat — The underlying pulse of a
rhythm.
 Tempo — Rate of the speed of a
movement.
 Intensity — Variation of the stress of
moving.
 Pitch — Lowness or highness of a
tone.
 Accent — Emphasis on certain
beats.
 Meter — The regular recurrence of
beats that divides a musical design
into measures.
 Phrase — Measures grouped.
 Bar — In music, a vertical line
across a staff divides it into equal
measures of time.
 Count — A pulse beat, a time limit.
 Note — A printed symbol of a
musical tone.
 Measure — A group of pulse beats.
 Note pattern — Refers to a note or
set of notes with or without rest used
for a certain dance step.
 Step pattern — Refers to the
movement or movements done for
each of the dance steps.
Elements of Movements Space
 Direction — is the line of movement
taken which maybe forward,
backward, sideward, diagonal,
upward, or a combination of those
mentioned.
 Level — is movement through space
that maybe done at a high, low, or
medium level.
 Range — refers to the area covered
as the body moves. It may be small
as when the movement is done in
one's place; or large when
movement covers a wide area as
when getting away from one's place.
 Floor Pattern — the path or design
that is made while moving in space
is what is termed as floor pattern. It
may take a form of a circle, square,
straight line zipline.
Movement Qualities
 Movement expression is attained
through the elements of time, force,
and space.
Time Qualities
 Movements which is fast
o Examples: galloping horse,
Jet plane
 Movement which is slow
o Examples: Turtle,
Flowergrowing
Force Qualities
 Soft light movement
o Examples: Fairies, Birds and
butterflies
 Strong, heavy movement
o Examples: Elephant,
Bulldozer
 Strong, jerky movement
o Examples: Frog, A jumping
jack
 Smooth, sustained movement
o Examples: Airplane, Fish
swimming
Space Qualities:
 Movement up and down
o Examples: Bouncing ball, Yo-
yo
 Movement across, back and forth or
around
o Examples: Rowing boat, A
merry-go round
 Movement which is low
Examples: Ants, Turtles
 Movement which is high
o Examples: Kites, Clouds