Laban’s investigation of effort seems to start from an examination of extremes. I am referring to the “Diagonal Scale with Action Drive Affinities” – a long-standing staple of Laban Movement Analysis training.
During his studies with Laban at the Art of Movement Studio in the late 1940s, Warren Lamb recalled spending hours practicing this scale, with Laban coaching and correcting until students were nearly exhausted. And yet, as a model of effort sequencing, this practice is extreme.
And Laban knew this, for he has written that “in ordinary circumstances, no sane person will ever jump from one quality to its complete contrast because of the great mental and nervous strain involved in so radical a change.”
In the upcoming “Effort Harmonies” course, we will be extending effort study beyond the extreme. Find out more in the next blog.