Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

While leading various movement classes in schools across the Midwest, I have found an overall consistency in a lack of spatial awareness as well as an inability to explore creative ways to construct movement. I have recently been exploring a practical approach to create an accessible way for students to incorporate and explore various developmental movement practices. The development of implementing Rudolf Laban’s Diagonal Scale into the teaching approach by two elementary school teachers over the last year has provided a foundation for building language, spatial awareness, effort modulation, and space harmony for these students. Just as Anne Green Gilbert’s Brain Dance is used for cognitive balance and allows students to be more expressive and articulate in movement, Laban’s Diagonal Scale can provide a blueprint for dance choreography, as well as a steppingstone in finding personal movement preferences and vocabulary. This paper provides examples of creative ways to implement Laban’s Diagonal Scale into movement games in elementary school classrooms. By using the Diagonal Scale as a blueprint for creative movement games, will the students become more spatially aware? Will students use the scale as a skeleton for creating movement sequences? Will Laban’s Diagonal Scale provide a better sense of self expression and confidence?