history of movement direction
DESCRIPTION
MovementTRANSCRIPT
Ari Raskin 2/20/15
The work of the movement director is to navigate the embodiment process for the actor
with the actor
Laurence Olivier took his route into character through a physical journey. Artistic
Director of the National Theatre he was instrumental in advocating and making sure
movement had a place in production
A wave of innovation from central Europe labeled as “The new expressive dance”
changed the way movement was seen bringing a “new energy” to it
Geraldine Stevenson emerged from this new wave of movement. She is one of the first
noted movement directors.
The other aspect of central European movement comes through the practice of Litz Pisk.
She started her work in Brittan as a movement teacher. Her great innovation was the idea
of using real weights. Letting the imagination feed how movement might happen. She
believed it was “non form based” being created out of the necessities of the actor’s body.
She worked as a movement teacher and a movement director at the National Theatre and
the Royal Shakespeare Company as well.
Pisk’s teachings led to Jane Gibson who taught movement at the National Theatre from
the mid 80s to the mid 90s.
At the heart of the French Connection were Suzanne Bing and Jacques Copeau. They
created chorus work with mask and mime using natural gymnastics. They created
exuberance through acrobatics, movement, and breath.
From the French Connection came Jacques Lecoq who inherited the Copeau work.
In 1973 Claude worked on a piece of work known as Equis. This incredible application of
animal work was shown through these incredible costumed actors.
Another aspect of movement directors’ lineage is dance. This is where many modern
movement directors come from. Notably Struan Leslie and Kate Flatt.
Flatt emphasizes her ballet training and how it gave her an anatomical attitude and a great
ability to work with music. She works in theatre and opera using that route of dance to
harness ballet for actor movement.
The rise of physical theatre helped promote and consolidate what movement could be in
productions. It is an explicitly physical style.
We are now working in a truly multi generational multicultural environment. Movement
practices dazzle and innovate in a time which is starting to celebrate movement
I really enjoyed this video I feel like I learned a lot on a topic I generally don’t know that
much about. I found the entire video fascinating, but I was especially intrigued by the work of
Kate Flatt. I love how she took ballet training and applied it to acting movement. I have taken
ballet class since I was a child and I feel like it has definitely influenced the way I move as an
actor. Even though I do not consider myself a “dancer” I definitely base my own physical
movement from a ballet background as well. I really liked that she took her “anatomical attitude
and placed it towards acting” ballet allows you to really harness every part of your body and I
understand what she means by using the anatomy of ourselves to evoke different feelings and
emotions. I also really loved that she paired that with her ability to work with music. I think
sound has such a big impact on movement, as we saw in the movement exercise the first class.
When we were in the circle as sounders and you told us to make rainforest noises it completely
changed the actions of the movers as well. Even though they were given no instructions they
were influenced by ours. The sounds we made inspired them to move in a myriad of ways
linking sound and movement to create real art. That is what I really took away from this video.
That movement can be the route into a character and the way in which they express themselves.
Just as it is important to create a story for your character it is important to create movement for
them as well. Just focusing on the mind is not enough. The emotional work is important, but
taking that and paring it with the physical is where the true character really comes through.