Movement Observation-Analysis (MOA): How a new conceptual framework supports a better understanding of the coherence of the functional and expressive dimensions of movement

Our research proposes to bring together two approaches to qualitative movement analysis used in dance, Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), and Functional Analysis of the Dancing Body [L’Analyse Fonctionnelle du Corps dans le Mouvement Dansé] (AFCMD) in order to better represent the interplay between the functional and expressive dimensions of movement. The methodology designed for this research combines a phenomenological perspective and explicitation interviews with experts followed by an “activity analysis.” Our efforts led to two types of results: an understanding of the processes underlying the observation-analysis activity of the observers, and a proposed crosscutting conceptual framework integrating the main precepts the two approaches considered. The “Activity Analysis” epistemology allowed us to identify a distinctive configuration of activities specific to each of the approaches. In addition, the new framework graphs the identified observables in three overlapping spheres – Ground, Space and Dynamics – placing at the heart of the schema the integration of the dimensions of Function and Expression