Assessing the reliability of the Laban Movement Analysis system

The Laban Movement Analysis system (LMA) is a widely used system for the description of human movement. Here we present results of an empirical analysis of the reliability of the LMA system. Firstly, we developed a directed graph-based representation for the formalization of LMA. Secondly, we implemented a custom video annotation tool for stimulus presentation and annotation of the formalized LMA. Using these two elements, we conducted an experimental assessment of LMA reliability. In the experimental assessment of the reliability, experts–Certified Movement Analysts (CMA)–were tasked with identifying the differences between a “neutral” movement and the same movement executed with a specific variation in one of the dimensions of the LMA parameter space. The videos represented variations on the pantomimed movement of knocking at a door or giving directions. To be as close as possible to the annotation practice of CMAs, participants were given full control over the number of times and order in which they viewed the videos. The LMA annotation was captured by means of the video annotation tool that guided the participants through the LMA graph by asking them multiple-choice questions at each node. Participants were asked to first annotate the most salient difference (round 1), and then the second most salient one (round 2) between a neutral and gesture and the variation. To quantify the overall reliability of LMA, we computed Krippendorff’s α. The quantitative data shows that the reliability, depending on how the two rounds are integrated, ranges between a weak and an acceptable reliability of LMA. The analysis of viewing behavior showed that, despite relatively large differences at the inter-individual level, there is no simple relationship between viewing behavior and individual performance (quantified as the level of agreement of the individual with the dominant rating). This research advances the state of the art in formalizing and implementing a reliability measure for the Laban Movement Analysis system. The experimental study we conducted allows identifying some of the strengths and weaknesses of the widely used movement coding system. Additionally, we have gained useful insights into the assessment procedure itself

Analyzing expressive qualities in movement and stillness: Effort-shape analyses of solo marimbists' bodily expression

laban movement analysis, specifically effort-shape analysis, is offered as a system to study musicians' bodily expression. It proposes others' intentions are manifest in expressive bodily activity and understood through shared embodied processes. The present investigation evaluates whether the basic components of Laban analysis are reflected in perceptual judgments of recorded performances and, specifically, evaluates interjudge reliability for effort-shape analysis. Sixteen audio-visual excerpts of marimba pieces performed by two professional solo marimbists' (female and male) served as stimuli. Effort-shape analyses and interjudge reliability thereof were assessed through three different tasks: 1) verification task, 2) independent analysis task, 3) signal detection yes/no task. Professional musicians - two percussionists, a violinist, and a French hornist - acted as participants. High interjudge reliability was observed for transformation drive and shape components, but less so for basic effort action components. Mixed interjudge reliability results for basic effort actions, and differences between frequency observations, point to differences in participant's embodied expertise, task implementation, and training issues. Effort-shape analysis has potential to drive comparative and predictive research into musicians' bodily expression. Effort-shape provides a fine-grain temporal analysis of ecologically valid performance sequences

Movement in Contemporary Staged Adaptations of the Alevi Semahs (1982-2018)

The semahs are musical and movement practices enacted at the core of religious ceremonies called ayn-i cem which Alevis communities perform to fulfil diverse social and spiritual needs. As part of urbanization, migration, folklorization and heritage-making processes, since the 1970s, in urban environments of Turkey and Europe, these practices started to be adapted and performed also outside of these ritual contexts. As part of folklore and of professional performing arts projects, both Alevis and non-Alevi actors and dancers started to learn and perform the semahs on the stage. In this way, the practices became a summative emblem through which the core tenets of the Alevi belief systems and cultures and its resistant stance towards the national imagination came to be divulged and promoted to audiences of Alevis and non-Alevis alike. Paying attention to some of the public and professional performances of the semahs outside of the ritual context, in this thesis I argue that since the 1980s, the adaptation of the semahs into performing arts frameworks had a pivotal role in the contemporary ‘explosion’ of Alevi identities in Turkey and internationally. To sustain the argument, through the presentation of ethnographic material gathered during long-term and multi-sited fieldwork research, I analyse three performing arts projects. Resorting to scholarship in Anthropology, Performance, and Dance as well as to critical application of Laban-related movement analysis methods, I show how each of these stage projects displays a different layer in the imaginative re-workings and stylizations of the semahs on a transnational scale. Accordingly, by examining historical changes in the transmission of semah movements and participation in semah events, I impart new knowledge on themes of embodiment, interactivity, participation and presentation within Alevi cultures

Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles

A comparison of the beat competency and rhythm pattern imitation of high school instrumental music students and high school dance students

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityLeading music educators, such as Dalcroze, Orff, Kodály, and Gordon, enthusiastically support the use of movement in the teaching of rhythm. This endorsement, coupled with the number and variety of studies that have examined movement and its impact on music learning, reflects the importance music educators and researchers have placed on movement's pedagogical possibilities. If movement is important in achieving rhythmic competency then it follows that students who participate in dance should possess rhythmic skills that equal or exceed those of music students. In order to examine the impact of movement, this study compared dance training and music training in the development of the rhythmic abilities of beat competency and rhythm pattern imitation. Secondary purposes were to determine the impact of the amount of instrumental music instruction, the amount of dance instruction, the type of instrument studied, or the style of dance studied. For this study, a causal-comparative design was employed. Participants (N = 84) were drawn from four arts magnet high schools and one traditional public school in Connecticut and were stratified into groups defined as music students and dance students. The beat competency and rhythm pattern imitation skills of each subject were then measured using the Rhythm Performance Test-Revised, a computer-generated test, and results for each group were compared. Results indicated a statistically significant difference in favor of the music students on both the beat competency and rhythm pattern imitation measures. Further investigations indicated a statistically significant, negative relationship between the amount of dance training received and scores on the rhythm pattern imitation measure among the dance students. The percussion students scored statistically significantly better than all other music students on the beat competency measure. The study gives us initial insights into how music and dance pedagogical approaches work independently of each other. Whereas past studies have suggested that rhythmic movement may positively impact rhythmic ability when added to methods of rhythm pedagogy, this study suggests that rhythmic movement cannot replace the direct instruction of rhythm in a musical context

Multidimensional Analysis: A Video Based Case Study Research Methodology for Examining Individual Dance/Movement Therapy Sessions

Multidimensional Analysis, a video based case study research methodology, was created by this author to examine multivariable qualitative data and develop an understanding of the therapeutic value and relational characteristics of auditory, visual and contextual components in individual dance/movement therapy sessions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits and limitations of Multidimensional Analysis based on its development and use in a preliminary study. Multidimensional Analysis involved an examination of individual dance/movement therapy sessions as a whole, as differentiated moments, and again as a whole. Videotaping each session was the primary form of data collection from which all other data collection and analysis procedures originated. This methodology was beneficial in broadening the researcher’s perspective and understanding of the auditory, visual and contextual components of the videotaped sessions, but also resulted in complex information that was difficult to process despite time consuming analysis procedures. Suggestions for modifying Multidimensional Analysis for future use in dance/movement therapy research are discussed, as well as implications for practicing dance/movement therapists