A Bibliometric Review of Research on Laban Movement Analysis and Computation

The Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) system, originally formulated by Rudolf Laban in 1947 to comprehend body control, has diverse applications in various performing arts. Using bibliographic data from Scopus and bibliometric analysis tools, we reviewed the result of Laban Movement Analysis from a broad perspective. For a comprehensive overview, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on 1491 articles about LMA published from 1973 to 2023 which were retrieved from the Scopus database. Two different software, VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R-package, were used for the analysis. We examined trends in publications and citations, identified prolific authors, institutions, and journals, explored geographical distributions of authors and institutions, and visualized the collaboration of authors, institutions, and countries/regions. The result presented the thematic evolution over the past 50 years. The consistent increase in LMA-related publications and citations over the past 50 years was observed with a significant contribution from the United States of America since 1973. Dynamic social networks allowed for scientific collaborations globally. Keyword analysis results showed recurring themes ('dance' and 'Labanotation') and emerging trends ('machine learning' and 'motion capture'), indicating shifts in research focus. The bibliometric study result of this study offers a valuable reference for unraveling the historical development of academic disciplines.