Everything we do requires effort. And since human activities seem limitless, it would also appear that human effort is equally without limits. But not according to Laban.
In examining patterns of effort change, Laban detected what he called a “Law of Proximity” or what could perhaps better be termed degrees of similarity and difference. He writes that certain “action-moods” (combinations of effort qualities) are closely related, some are loosely linked, while “others are diametrically opposed.”
This leads Laban to make the following observation: “Man has complete freedom in his choice and employment of action-moods. Yet he is unable to connect directly, without a more or less perceptible transition” two action-moods which are not closely related.
For Laban, there is power in understanding the limits of space and effort, for these are not only restricting but creative.