Laban once wrote that “the dancer moves, not only from place to place but also from mood to mood.” Movement from place to place occurs in the kinesphere, where the direction symbols invented by Laban facilitate creating and recording visible movements of the limbs.
To facilitate movement from mood to mood, Laban conceived four motion and eight dynamic qualities. He also recognized that these motion factors and qualities combine, creating a variety of different moods. Practicing various effort combinations provides a way to explore and expand one’s range of movement dynamics.
I like to think of these effort combinations, known as “states” and “drives” as inner landscapes. Find out more in the upcoming MoveScape Center workshop, “The Transformation Drives.”