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

The basic actions provide a foundation for Laban’s effort theories.  In these combinations, Flow is latent, providing a subliminal baseline to the conscious activation of Weight, Space, and Time.  But when Flow replaces one of these factors, the mover is transported, away from the practical world of action to new “inner landscapes.”

For Laban, Flow changes everything.  Take combinations of Weight, Time, and Flow.  These are not merely actions in which variations in pressure and speed are performed with greater or lesser control.  … Read More

Effort chemistry begins with combinations of the motion factors of Space, Weight, and Time.  These combinations yield the eight “basic actions” – floating, gliding, dabbing, flicking, punching, slashing, wringing, and pressing.

Laban first identified these basic actions in his observations of manual labor.  In this sense, the basic actions are concretely physical in nature.  Then, working with management consultant F.C. Lawrence, Laban extended his observations to other types of labor – to clerical and managerial functions.  Together they made a remarkable discovery.… Read More

Laban Movement Analysis is very parsimonious – there are only four motion factors and eight effort qualities with which to describe the dynamics of any movement a human being can do.  Yet when different effort qualities combine, there is a miraculous effort chemistry that produces many kinds of movement moods.

In the upcoming Movement Harmony Project, Part 2 – Effort Harmonies, we will be exploring the various movement moods that occur when effort qualities are combined.

What is most interesting to me is that embodying effort moods involves the whole person. … Read More

As noted in the previous blog, Laban’s claims that dance and movement have a harmonic structure analogous to music have been criticized as fanciful metaphysical speculations. Nevertheless, harmony remains useful concept for examining how different parts of a work of art are brought into relationship to create an expressive whole.

For artists and musicians, harmony is not a mystical concept – it is a perceptible quality with a rational basis.   This is because light and sound are vibratory phenomena.  Thus each color and each musical tone has a certain number of vibrations.… Read More