For each motion factor, Laban identified two contrasting qualities – one more “indulging” and the other more “contending.” Consequently, for each drive consisting of three motion factors, there are eight different effort combinations.
This is a very parsimonious scheme for conceiving the enormous range of dynamic expression in human movement behavior. Nevertheless, Laban’s scheme captures not only obvious movement moods, but also more subtle ones. This is because the indulging and contending effort qualities are combined in differing proportions.
Find out more about this aspect of effort chemistry in the next blog.