Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), founded by Rudolf Von Laban, is a system that provides specific language to describe and interpret human movement. It is broken up into four main categories: body, effort, shape and space. Laban can be used to analyze any type of movement; it is not limited to dance. Rudolf Von Laban was considered the founding father of expressionist dance.
BODY describes the way the body moves in relation to itself. In other words, this category provides vocabulary to analyze the way body parts connect to each other and patterns of body organization.
EFFORT describes the dynamics of movement. This category is broken up into weight, space, flow, and time. These four categories can be combined in numerous ways to create new ways to move through space.
SHAPE describes the body's interaction with itself as well as the space around it.
SPACE describes the body's pathways through and connection with the surrounding environment.
LABANOTATION is a form of coding used to describe movement. It is a language of symbols that represent movements. Dancers and choreographers use labanotation, also known as motif, much like a composer writes a musical score.
Examples of Laban as research:
Researcher Liwei Zhao's thesis at the University of Pennsylvania used LMA to understand and synthesize basic human communicative gestures. He analyzed movement with LMA vocabulary through live performance and 2D video. The purpose of this research was to aid in computer animation. (Zhao, 2001, pg. 4)
Ed Groff's research study titled "Laban Movement Analysis: Charting the Ineffible Domain of Human Movement" used Laban as a tool to understand the meaning and implictions behind basic movements and communication. By using Laban, he was able to recognize multiple meanings behind movements and how body language can be misconstrued. (Graff, 1995, pg. 1)
