Postmodern life during a pandemic is complex. Yet, even by the middle of the 20th century when Laban was writing, finding a healthy balance between effort and recovery was not easy. As he noted, the complexity of life is so great that it is hard to tell at first glance if an action is serving as exertion or recuperation.

He goes on to write that the fundamental alternation between effort and recovery, which can be observed in work during the day and sleep during the night, can give some general hints.… Read More

Defined most simply, rhythm is a strong repeated pattern of movement or sound, generally considered to be an ordered alternation of contrasting elements.

As regular and natural patterns of change, rhythms are everywhere – in the cycle of seasons, day and night, waking and sleeping. Beyond natural manifestations, rhythm characterizes human expression and is inseparable from speech, music, dance, and all forms of art.

As Alan Lomax affirmed, “Although rhythmic behavior has been observed in many animal groups, none of them…matches human rhythmic systems in precision, flexibility, number of levels, or elaboration.”… Read More

As the pandemic worsens, most regular activities have become laborious and cumbersome. Once there were natural divisions between work, school, and home that provided times for transition and refreshing change. But now these activities and arenas are overlapping, and they have become spatially and temporally blurred. In addition, the options for restorative recreational and social activities are limited.

In short, the current conditions require more effort and offer fewer opportunities for recuperation. Consequently, the rhythms of normal life have been severely disrupted as we struggle to stay healthy and productive.… Read More

Laban was a pattern maker, and he preferred balanced and symmetrical spatial and dynamic sequences. Nevertheless, he also designed asymmetrical patterns. In effort terms, these are “knots.”

In an effort knot, one extreme effort combination dominates. Effort knots represent a persistent mood or recurrent thought that cannot be easily changed. Consequently, knots are Laban’s models of effort imbalance.

Effort knots are stabilizing. They may be uncomfortable and confounding, yet they have rich dramatic possibilities. Consequently, knotted effort sequences allow us to delve more deeply into the psychological implications of movement.… Read More

Laban knew perfectly well that the instantaneous transitions between completely contrasting dynamic combinations (so arduously rehearsed in the Diagonal Scale with effort affinities) were quite difficult to perform. So he created other effort sequences that stand as models of gradual and balanced effort change.

In “Effort Harmonies,” we explore these “modulated” effort patterns – not only within the Action Drive, but also within the “transformation drives.” By so doing we will experience physically the given (but often forgotten) wisdom that radical change is hard.… Read More

Laban’s investigation of effort seems to start from an examination of extremes. I am referring to the “Diagonal Scale with Action Drive Affinities” – a long-standing staple of Laban Movement Analysis training.

During his studies with Laban at the Art of Movement Studio in the late 1940s, Warren Lamb recalled spending hours practicing this scale, with Laban coaching and correcting until students were nearly exhausted. And yet, as a model of effort sequencing, this practice is extreme.

And Laban knew this, for he has written that “in ordinary circumstances, no sane person will ever jump from one quality to its complete contrast because of the great mental and nervous strain involved in so radical a change.”… Read More

Human movement seems almost infinite in its variety. Yet we know that movement in the kinesphere is limited by bodily proportion, joint structure, range of motion, and the gravitational field in which we live.

Similarly the expressive dynamics of human movement seem almost infinite. Yet Laban posited limits here as well, noting that “transitions from one effort quality to another are either easy or difficult.”

In the upcoming MoveScape Center course, “Effort Harmonies,” we will be experiencing and questioning the “natural” limits of effort phrasing, within states and drives and between states and drives.… Read More

Spell Drive is the name Laban gave to combinations of Space, Weight, and Flow.  Spell is the Time-less drive that transports the mover into a world in which all need for decisive action is suspended.

We are so used to feeling the pressure to act promptly that it is uncanny when time stands still and seems to disappear.  Consequently, Spell Drive is mesmerizing; it is the movement key to an ageless realm of mystery, legend, and mythical archetypes.

Action Drive emphasizes doing; Passion Drive, feeling; and Vision, thinking. … Read More

It also takes effort to plan, to think, and to imagine.  These activities transport us into the Vision Drive, which combines the motion factors of Space, Time, and Flow.  This is the Weight-less drive.

Of all the drives, Vision is the one most related to mental activities.  When embodying this weightless drive, the mover slips the bonds of gravity and is free to soar on the wings of imagination.  It is no longer necessary to stay grounded in the here and now. … Read More

When Flow replaces one of the other motion factors, it changes everything.  Yet it is not only what is added, but also what is lost, that is transformative in the chemistry of effort.

If we consider the Passion Drive, it is not only the addition of Flow, it is also the loss of Space effort that turns a practical action into an expression of emotion.

Laban believed that the motion factor of Space related to paying attention, orienting one’s actions in the environment, and, more broadly, to thinking. … Read More