An Exploration of Self-Empowerment and Truthful Expression through Movement and Rudolf Laban's Theory of Effort

Author

Morgan Raquel Sicklick, Butler University

Date of Award

5-11-2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Dance

First Advisor

Cynthia Pratt

Abstract

My ultimate goal in completing my Honors Thesis was to make a very personal discovery: to feel and see what it was like to become self-empowered and thus, give myself and others within the field of dance permission to engage in truthful expression. To accomplish this, I used Rudolf Laban's theory of Effort to explore, through movement, my "inner" and "outer" Effort life as well as created a large-scale choreographic work entitled "In the Moment of Not Knowing." Creating this work allowed me to project my own journey towards self-empowerment onto a universal, physical and artistic canvas, and evaluate the success of my attempts at truthful expression. As a result, I have come to understand self-empowerment as more than just the releasing of insecurities and the development of a more secure connection between my mind and body. Rather, it is the transcendence of boundaries into a new stage of maturity. It is an understanding of how, within the context of the community at large, I can still be an individual and foster a sense of belonging to myself.

Recommended Citation

Sicklick, Morgan Raquel, "An Exploration of Self-Empowerment and Truthful Expression through Movement and Rudolf Laban's Theory of Effort" (2013). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 227.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/227