Coming from art to dance, Laban had been encouraged to consider static forms in nature as full of expressive forces and movements. Thus, from the beginning, shapes also possessed an effort character for Laban. This seems to have led to his theory of effort/space affinities.
As Warren Lamb studied natural human movements, he drew on Laban’s theory of effort/space affinities. He used the theory to integrate the observation of both shape change and effort change. This was based on his discovery that both facets of movement reflect individual decision-making processes and interaction needs.
Find out more in the April MoveScape Center course, “Mostly about Shape (and a bit about Effort).”