In Mastery of Movement, Rudolf Laban invokes gods, goddesses, and demons in his discussions of the “chemistry of human effort.”
“Gods as conceived by primitive man were the initiators and instigators of effort in all its configurations,” writes Laban. “The strange poetry of movement that has found expression in sacred dance enabled man to build up an order of his effort actions, which is valuable and understandable to this day.”
Laban goes on to describe floating and gliding goddesses, divinities of joy that flick and dab, gods that wring, slash, and press, and demons that punch. C.G. Jung would certainly see these mythical beings as archetypes with profound psychological significance. But it takes an imagination like Laban’s to relate these figures to equally archetypal aspects of human effort.
These surprising combinations make Mastery of Movement a complex and nuanced work. Find out more in the forthcoming Octa correspondence course.