By observing that “the dancer moves, not only from place to place, but also from mood to mood,” Laban established human movement as a psychophysical phenomenon. He went on to relate the “movement from mood to mood” –manifested as effort variation – to psychological functions of giving Attention, forming an Intention, and making a Commitment to embodied action.
Laban’s protege, Warren Lamb, reasoned that there must also be correlations between the “movement from place to place” and psychological functions. He found the following associations.
“Horizontally-oriented movement puts the performer in touch with what is going on around him,” Lamb noted. Thus variations of spreading and enclosing in the horizontal plane are associated with giving Attention.
“Vertical orientation then emphasizes where he stands in relation to whatever he is in touch with,” Lamb continued. Thus variations in rising and descending in the vertical plane are associated with forming an Intention.
“Finally,” according to Lamb, “comes the Sagittal orientation, a form of decision to advance or retire from the subject matter.” Thus variations in advancing and retreating are associated with making a Commitment to action.
Find out more about how effort and shape relate to processes of acting in the world at the Embodied Decision Making seminar, scheduled for Labor Day weekend.