Bartenieff Fundamentals - A Brief Overview

The Bartenieff Fundamentals are a series of exercises and explorations designed and created by Irmgard Bartenieff, who was a physical therapist and protege of Rudolf Laban. She took Laban’s existing work and expanded it further, focusing on many different aspects of the body itself.

In Bartenieff Fundamentals, there are the “Basic 6” which are exercises that focus on the function of the human body, and enabling the correct musculature to perform an action, rather than using extraneous musculature which can lead to overuse and injury. These are performed using principles of Laban Movement Analysis, such as effort intention, shaping, etc (as written about in the blog preceding this one).

The Basic 6 include the Thigh Lift, Forward Pelvic Shift, Lateral Pelvic Shift, Body Half, Knee Drop and Arm Circle. Other fundamental exercises which support these movement exercises are the Heel Rock, Pre-Thigh Lift, Diagonal Sit-Up and X-Rolls. These exercises are most efficiently performed with the help of a Certified Movement Analsyt, who can teach you to perform the exercises most efficiently for maximum functional and expressive potential.

Related Concepts in the Bartenieff Fundmentals also include Kinetic Chains, Grounding, Bony Landmarks and Countertension. In addition, Bartenieff recognized 9 important principles which support all of human movement and include Breath Support, Core Support, Dynamic Alignment/Connectivity, Weight Shift, Initiation and Sequencing, Spatial Intent, Effort Motivation, Rotary Factor and Developmental Patterning. The 9 principles are explored and explained in further detail in my subsequent blog.

For more information or how to become a Certified Movement Analyst, visit labaninstitutute.org