Human Effort and the Four Motion Factors

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

(The following passage continues the introduction to Rudolf Laban’s ideas about human effort. It is taken from my forthcoming book, Meaning in Motion: Introducing Laban Movement Analysis.)

Because movement is a psychophysical phenomenon involving the whole person, how someone moves reveals something about how they are feeling. The individual’s inner attitudes become visible through effort. Rudolf Laban characterizes these inner attitudes as “fighting or resisting” and “indulging or yielding.”

Movements are bound to evolve in space as well as in time, and in this evolution of movement the weight of the body is brought into flow.… Read More

Human Effort

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

(The following passage is taken from my forthcoming introductory textbook on Laban Movement Analysis, Meaning in Motion: Introducing Laban Movement Analysis. The following excerpt is from the chapter on effort.)

First and foremost, human effort is volitional. “Man moves in order to satisfy a need,” Rudolf Laban asserts. The voluntary motions we make require energy. Not only can we be more or less energetic when we move, we can also change the quality of energy applied. We can alter at will how we move.… Read More

The Mobius Body/Mind

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Generally, we think of surfaces, like a strip of paper, as having two sides. But a strip of paper can be twisted and its ends glued together to create a Mobius strip, a surface that has only one side. This means that if you start tracing a line on the outside of the Mobius strip, you soon find yourself tracing the line on the inside of the strip without having to lift your pencil. In other words, the outer becomes inner and the inner becomes outer.… Read More

Effort Balance

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Balance plays a significant role in Rudolf Laban’s thinking. This emphasis is understandable. As I note in The Harmonic Structure of Movement, Music, and Dance, “balance is a significant aspect of somatic experience… health, both mental and physical, is said to depend upon balance.”

Indeed, as Laban observes, the human body has to withstand a variety forces that can throw it out of balance – not only forces that arise in the outside environment but also those that come from within.… Read More

The Dynamosphere: Mapping Human Effort

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

According to Rudolf Laban, human beings move not only from place to place but also from mood to mood. The visible movement of the body from place to place occurs in what Laban called the “kinesphere” – the space immediately adjacent to the body. The movement from mood to mood is more subtle and must to be inferred from how an action is done. Is it vehement or gentle, leisurely or abrupt? Does it build in intensity or gradually wane? Laban developed a system of “effort” terms to capture these various dynamic qualities and the moods they suggest.… Read More

Rudolf Laban, The Miser

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Colleagues’ recollections depict Rudolf Laban as a man possessed by creative energy, proliferating rough ideas and then rushing on without completing a line of thought, leaving the elaboration of his creations to someone else.

Laban’s private papers reveal a different picture. Archival traces show that Laban was steadily developing a grounded theory of human movement and utilizing consistent methods to develop hypothetical models. Moreover, archival materials also show that Laban was concerned to control the sheer number of elements in the systems he was building.… Read More

Rudolf Laban, Pattern Maker

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Rudolf Laban‘s creative genius has given rise to the illusion that he was not systematic. But as I explain in The Harmonic Structure of Movement, Music, and Dance, his personal papers present a different picture.

Initially, Laban’s notes appear disorderly. Fragmentary writings and mysterious geometrical sketches abound, giving witness to Laban’s tendency to rush ahead with ideas without finishing them. Over time, however, themes recur and the thrust of Laban’s fertile mind begins to emerge. Moreover, the mysterious drawings begin to have meaning.… Read More

Rudolf Laban, System Builder

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

In recognizing movement as a psychophysical phenomenon, Rudolf Laban also perceived that human movement has two major aspects. One of these is the physical, visible motion of the material body through space. The second aspect is psychological – the thoughts and feelings that motivate the physical action.

The physical motion of the human body is readily perceptible and open to objective study. What motivates physical action is more subtle. We cannot “see” thoughts and feelings. Instead, the psychological aspects of movement must be inferred from how a physical action is performed.… Read More

Rudolf Laban Naturalist

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

According to his colleague Lisa Ullmann, Rudolf Laban’s formulations of the inherent laws of natural movement came to light gradually through his professional activities. Laban’s long and varied career provided ample opportunities to observe people in motion in a variety of settings: dance classes, theatrical rehearsals and performances, factories, schools, clinics, and other venues. If Ullmann’s comments are correct, Laban was a naturalist, studying nonverbal behavior in a number of real-life settings.

Nowadays, naturalistic inquiry is regarded as a legitimate form of research, one suited to the study of human behavior in complex social settings.… Read More

Rudolf Laban’s Creativity

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Carol-Lynne Moore

Creativity is composed of four elements: originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration. Originality depends upon the novelty of an individual’s ideas. Fluency represents the sheer number of ideas that an individual can fabricate. Flexibility reflects difference in the kind of ideas produced. Finally, elaboration has to do with follow up – working out the details or perhaps seeing additional ways in which new things can be carried to the next level.

Arguably, Rudolf Laban possessed the first three attributes in abundance. His original notation and movement analysis systems provide inventive ways to capture and study the ephemeral phenomenon of human movement.… Read More