Sometime in the 1950s, Warren Lamb coined the term “Effort/Shape,” to Anglicize Rudolf Laban’s terms, “Eukinetics” and “Choreutics.” Laban had already adopted the term “Effort” to
represent movement dynamics and replace Eukinetics. To signify the spatial forms of
movement, Lamb substituted “Shape” for Choreutics.
Around the same time, Irmgard Bartenieff began to travel to England to update her movement observation and analysis skills. Laban recommended that she study with Lamb. After several years of study, Bartenieff began to integrate the observation of effort and shape into her physical therapy practice.
This led her, in 1962, to urge her colleagues at the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City to promote with equal emphasis Effort/Shape notation and observation.
The rest is history. Find out more in the next blogs.