“Man moves to satisfy a need,” Laban writes. He goes on to note, “It is easy to perceive the aim of a person’s movement if it is directed to some tangible object.”
This is why the eight “Basic Actions” identified and named by Laban are fundamental – they deal with practical actions involving tools and material objects. They are obvious.
Moreover, these eight combinations of Space, Weight, and Time factors are the only named effort combinations. And everyone who has ever studied Laban’s work will know their names – Float, Punch, Glide, Slash, Dab, Wring, Flick, and Press.
While basic, there is much more to these Action Drive combinations than meets the eye.
Find out more in the next blog.