“Man moves to satisfy a need,” Rudolf Laban wrote. “It is easy to perceive the aim of a person’s movement if it is directed to some tangible object. Yet there also exist intangible values that inspire movement.”

Laban’s comments remind me of the motivational theory of psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow proposed a Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy has two parts. First there are the things we must have to sustain personal existence. These needs include food, water, sleep, and shelter – what Laban would call tangible needs.… Read More

“Transitions from one effort quality to another are either easy or difficult,” Laban observed.  He then created harmonic effort scales or sequences in which changes in quality are easy.

Laban modeled these sequences using the eight “Basic Actions.”  For example, he modeled a natural effort change in which a Pressing Action can change to its contrast, a Flicking action, one quality at a time.

Laban’s modeling of harmonious effort changes goes beyond the Action Drive.  Find out more in the upcoming MoveScape workshops, “Incomplete Efforts (Mostly)” and “The Transformation Drives.”… Read More

Laban based his effort theory on the eight “Basic Actions” (aka Action Drive combos).  Then he positioned each Basic Action at a corner the cube, making a nifty model of effort/space affinities and creating the Diagonal Scale that every Laban student has practiced.

Most study of the Action Drive stops there, however, leading to some very stereotyped ways of embodying the basic actions.

In the workshop that I will be teaching during the LIMS Conference in July, participants can join me in liberating the Basic 8 – freeing them from the diagonals, finding new ways to Float and Punch and Glide, and practicing some little-known “effort scales” that Laban designed.… Read More

“Man moves to satisfy a need,” Laban writes.  He goes on to note, “It is easy to perceive the aim of a person’s movement if it is directed to some tangible object.”

This is why the eight “Basic Actions” identified and named by Laban are fundamental – they deal with practical actions involving tools and material objects.  They are obvious.

Moreover, these eight combinations of Space, Weight, and Time factors are the only named effort combinations.  And everyone who has ever studied Laban’s work will know their names – Float, Punch, Glide, Slash, Dab, Wring, Flick, and Press.… Read More

The notion of four motion factors with contrasting qualities dates from Laban’s Eukinetic studies of dance in Germany.  However, his effort theories only really crystallized after he began observing physical labor in British factories during World War II.

These observations led to the publication of Effort in 1947.  This book, co-authored with management consultant F.C. Lawrence, introduces the four motion factors, eight effort qualities, and eight “Basic Actions” that provide the foundation of Laban’s conceptualization of the dynamics of movement.

Laban continued to develop his theories, introducing “incomplete efforts” as well as “transformation drives.”… Read More

Laban’s notation merely describes the spatial path of bodily actions.  In contrast, Space Harmony prescribes sequences of directional change, which Laban called “scales.”

Laban’s Choreutic scales are patterns based upon joint structure, bodily proportion, range of motion and the necessity of maintaining bipedal balance as we move through the gravitational field of our environment.

At the most basic level, Laban’s scales address orientation to space through three body axes – vertical, horizontal, and sagittal – and the motions used in attack and defense. … Read More

Laban’s initial work focused on creating a way to record dances in symbols – Labanotation/Kinetography was the result.  Analogous to musical notation, this way of looking at movement serves to make a record of the visible structure of movement that can be read and reproduced.

To do so, the notation indicates the parts of the body that are used, the directions and spatial paths they follow, and the duration of these actions. It differentiates among weight-bearing and non-weight bearing actions, with close attention to where a movement is initiated.… Read More

Laban primarily used the octahedron, cube, and icosahedron as movement models.  However, geometrical models are usually sold in sets that feature all five Platonic Solids, including the tetrahedron and dodecahedron.

For movement study purposes, you need “skeletal” models; that is, models without solid faces.   Skeletal models consist only of edges and corners, such as the Platonic Solids shown in the accompanying illustration. These models make it possible to see into the interior space of these regular three-dimensional forms.

You can find kits for building skeletal polyhedral among educational children’s toys, such as Zometool. … Read More