What Is “Effort Mutation?”

Laban introduces the notion of “effort mutation” in Mastery of Movement.  Discussing the basic actions (such as Punching and Floating), he writes “by taking away one element at a time and replacing it by a foreign one, the original action is mutated into another basic effort.”

For example, Punching (strong/quick/direct) can become Dabbing when the strong weight factor is replaced by a light quality.  Similarly, Punching can become Pressing when the quick time factor is replaced by a sustained quality.

Effort mutations are fun to explore.  Find out more in the upcoming MoveScape Center correspondence course, Effort Mutation:  Exploring Organic Changes in Movement Moods.”