Space Harmony

Rudolf Laban created a movement theory and practice that reflected what he recognized as Space Harmony. The practice/theory is based on universal patterns of nature and of man as part of a universal design/order and was named by Laban: Space Harmony or Choreutics.

Laban, who laid the foundation for Laban Movement Analysis, was interested in the series of natural sequences of movements that we follow in our various everyday activity. Being a dancer/choreographer, he saw the everyday patterns of human action and abstracted the essence of these into the “art of movement”. He saw spatial patterns in human movement and recognized the shapes of the Platonic Solids within these patterns. He applied the ideal patterns of the Platonic Solids as forms to the actualized movement of humans – aligning with and closely approximating the space of these forms. Linking the directions of the vertices of a shape, following the natural spatial pulls to move along all directions within this shape, he came to specific movement Scales: patterned movement sequences that can be repeated, in which one moves through a Platonic Solid in a predefined way.
Moving these Scales opens up the body in space, enlarges spatial awareness and at the same time balances the body spatially. This is why his space theory is called Space Harmony.

See Rudolf Laban

General space is the space in which we move. It is the actual space or environment, like the room we are in or the street.

The personal space or Kinesphere is the space around us within reaching possibilities of the limbs without changing one's place. We can use a large area around us (Far Reach Kinesphere) when we use big movements, especially with our limbs. Or we can use a small area (Near Reach Kinesphere) when we move only within near reach of ourselves. In between is called Mid Reach Kinesphere.

Laban believed there were three 'types' of dancers (or movers generally). Those who enjoy moving in the High Level, such as leaping and springing off the ground. Those who enjoy moving in the Central (Middle) Level, their bodies leading with more sensuous movement. And those who enjoy moving in the Deep (Low) Level [...], who prefer more earth-bound movements.

A Pathway refers to the path that is being followed by the movement from one point in space to another. Within the Kinesphere, different approaches to the Pathways of the movement are defined:

Laban has found a system to define the directions we can move in. This system includes 3 different levels as well as one-, two- and three-dimensional directions. The 26 directions that are in the system, are derived from the vertices of the Octahedron, the Icosahedron and the Cube.

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