Teaching Laban’s Effort Theory

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Laban’s theory of the dynamics of human movement (effort) is deceptively simple. There are only four motion factors (Weight, Time, Space, and Flow) and eight effort qualities. But the theory becomes much richer because different combinations and sequences of effort qualities express very different states of mind.

It is difficult to convey this richness in a semester-long course. And I think that is okay. Students should not believe they have mastered all there is to know about Laban in only a few weeks. … Read More

Laban’s Alphabet of Human Movement

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In the early 20th century, before there were video cameras and smartphones, Laban recognized that dance, like music, needed a notation system to allow choreographies to be recorded. Developing a movement notation system necessitated two steps. First, the elements that make up the “alphabet of human movement” had to be identified. Secondly, symbols to represent these elements and their combinations and sequences had to be invented.

Like all good theoreticians, Laban wanted to control the number of elements so as to make his notation system as economical as possible. … Read More

Teaching LMA at The College Level

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) requires thinking as well as moving. Whether one is working with performing arts majors or a more mixed population, most students have never thought about movement and its component parts. In this month’s series of blogs, I explore how to deal with some of the challenges of teaching LMA at the college level.

Besides providing rich movement experiences that highlight key features of movement (Body, Effort, Space, and Shape), it is vital to help students connect these experiences with meaning. … Read More

Effort and Human Potential

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

“We live only part of the life we are given,” writes Michael Murphy in The Future of the Body. “Growing acquaintance with once-foreign cultures, new discoveries about our subliminal depths, and the dawning recognition that each social group reinforces just some human attributes while neglecting or suppressing others … suggests that we harbor a range of capacities that no single philosophy or psychology has fully embraced.”

Rudolf Laban would certainly agree. “Preference for a few effort combinations only results in a lack of effort balance,” Laban notes. … Read More

Effort Relationships

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

At its best, human movement flows smoothly and gracefully in organic sequences. The proportion of our limbs and the structure of our joints determine the way movement sequences unfold in the kinesphere. As Laban notes, “a movement makes sense only if it progresses organically and this means that phases which follow each other in a natural succession must be chosen.”

Laban was also concerned with the natural succession of effort moods in the dynamosphere. Exertion obviously requires effort; Laban found that recovery also involves effort. … Read More

Psychological Dimensions of Effort 1

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Rudolf Laban recognized that the four motion factors (Space, Weight, Time, and Flow) characterize both physical and mental effort. He associated Space with attention, Weight with intention, Time with decision, and Flow with progression.

Laban saw these mental efforts as both preceding and accompanying “purposive actions.”

Warren Lamb went on to refine these correlations of physical and mental effort in relation to a decision-making process. He found that through the careful observation of an individual’s movement patterns, a unique decision-making profile can be discerned.… Read More

The Dynamosphere: Effort Maps in 3-D

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

The “dynamosphere” is a three-dimensional model of effort relationships. Laban chose a cube for depicting effort kinships. Cate Deicher and I will be exploring these relationships in the forthcoming workshop, “Expanding the Dynamosphere.

Many people are familiar with the way Laban positioned the eight basic actions (floating, gliding, pressing, punching, etc.) at each of the eight corners of the cube. Whimsically, Laban likened this effort model to a “town with a good many cross-roads and squares between houses in which the effort microbes live.” … Read More

Effort Range: Home Base and New Territory

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

“A healthy human being can have complete control of his kinesphere and dynamosphere,” according to Rudolf Laban. This suggests that a wide range of motion is both desirable and achievable.

And yet, each of us has effort and shape preferences that define our way of being in the world. These familiar movement patterns anchor us; they provide a “home base.”

On the other hand, it’s fun to move beyond this comfort zone and experience novel dynamic moods and places. This summer, MoveScape Center workshops provide both — a chance to revel in the comfort of home base and/or the opportunity to explore unfamiliar movement landscapes. … Read More

Flow Changes Everything

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

When flow takes the place of another motion factor, Laban wrote, “the expression is more intense” and the whole configuration “gains new meaning.” In the Mastery of Movement correspondence course, we tested Laban’s assertion.

Readers were asked to choose one of the transformation drives – either Passion or Vision or Spell. They were to work out the eight effort quality combinations of that drive and then embody each mood.

The Vision Drive combines the motion factors of Space, Time, and Flow (the motion factor of Weight is latent).… Read More

Just Add Flow

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Laban’s well-known basic actions combine the movement factors of Space, Weight, and Time. However, the whole mood of an action changes when Flow replaces one of these motion factors. Then the functional action is transformed into a visionary, passionate, or spell-binding mood.

Laban admits that “even when man sets about a working job and his bodily actions have to fulfill practical functions they are distinguished by personal expression.”

However, when flow takes the place of another motion factor, “the expression is more intense.”… Read More