about Leslie Bishko

Leslie Bishko is an Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Animation at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is an animator, lifelong dancer, and Certified Laban Movement Analyst. Her creativity, teaching, research, and passion are focused on the integration of Laban Movement Analysis with animation.

Years before she encountered Laban Movement Analysis, Leslie discovered the world of animation, as it combined her love of drawing, dance, and filmmaking. While studying computer animation as a graduate student, she struggled to bring the warmth and organic qualities of drawn or danced movement into digital production. Then she found Laban Movement Analysis, which became the magical link to bringing authentic movement expression to life in her animation. Her unique approach of integrating Laban Movement Analysis with animation led to numerous publications, including books such as Acting for Animators (Ed Hooks), The Animation Bible (Maureen Furniss), Non-Verbal Communication in Virtual Worlds (Theresa Jean Tannenbaum et al), Animation Journal, conferences, and workshops.

Through using Laban Movement Analysis as a robust set of tools for understanding and creating authentic and expressive character performances, Leslie has applied her expertise as a professor at Emily Carr University for the past 23 years.

Leslie’s program, Laban for Animators™ empowers both animation students and professionals with the glue between animation and acting, through becoming “movement nerds,” and understanding how movement is expressive.

You can find Leslie's publications on Research Gate.