Laban's Acting Technique
It's about body expression, releasing your body so that your emotions can go to every extension, even if it's only one finger. It's extremely useful for actors but first of all for human beings. Life is all about living, living as a human means feeling, it's not being emotional, it's simply having feelings, each feeling has a consequence in your body, you can see when a person is sad, happy, angry, etc... because the body is showing it.
Laban works in every level, focusing in your kinesphere (your personal space, that travels with you, when you move, it's yours to fill with your body and even, with your voice) and he also focuses in the basics of movement:
Space
Time (may be sustained or sudden)
Weight (may be light or strong)
Flow (may be direct or indirect)
Laban named eight qualities of movement, which every person, every character, uses to move, at least one of them, is the one you use when moving or not moving, you can be applying one of this qualities simply with your eyes, here they are:
- Float (Light, Indirect, Sustained)
- Glide (Light, Direct, Sustained)
- Dab (Light, Direct, Sudden)
- Flick (Light, Indirect, Sudden)
- Press (Strong, Direct, Sustained)
- Thrust (Strong, Direct, Sudden)
- Slash (Strong, Indirect, Sudden)
- Wring (Strong, Indirect, Sustained)
To reach all this, Laban developed a series of exercises, relaxation techniques and games.
To find out more come work with us at Life Mentoring Studio.
By Francisca Duarte
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