Follow the “Red Thread that links the Laban/Bartenieff/Lamb legacy to the future of movement study. Expand the scope of what you know about human movement through a series of courses expertly crafted by master teacher Carol-Lynne Moore.
Deepen your understanding of Laban’s effort theories with two explorations of expressive movement that go beyond the familiar Action Drive and the 8 Basic Actions.
Exploration begins this summer in August, focusing on what Laban called the “incomplete efforts,” or effort states.
The journey of discovery continues this autumn, delving into the three “transformation drives” – Passion, Vision, and Spell.
SUMMER
“Incomplete Efforts (Mostly),” August 1-20, 2025
This three-week correspondence course focuses on what Laban called “incomplete efforts” – combinations of only two motion factors. Now known as the “effort states,” these dynamic combinations are hardly incomplete.
Instead, the effort states serve as the “connective tissue” of human movement, linking more intensely dynamic expressions in the ongoing flow of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Laban conceived the six effort states in contrasting pairs: Awake – Dream, Near – Remote, Stable – Mobile. Course participants explore all six states, deepening their understanding of the critical role that these “incomplete efforts” play in function and expression.
Each assignment includes the following:
- Explanation of key elements of Laban’s effort theory.
- Sequences of effort change to embody, along with self-observation and video observation exercises.
- Questions to discuss with the instructor via email, facilitating individual study and development.
“Incomplete Efforts” runs August 1-20, 2025.
Registration closes July 30, 2025
AUTUMN
“The Transformation Drives,” October 31 – November 19, 2025
Rudolf Laban’s effort theories are a systematic working out of possible combinations of the qualities of the four motion factors – Space, Weight, Time, and Flow.
Intensely dynamic movements, called “drives,” blend the qualities of three motion factors, while the fourth factor remains latent.
Laban identified four drives: Action (Flow-less), Passion (Space-less), Vision (Weight-less), and Spell (Time-less).
Laban likened these dynamic compounds to a kind of effort chemistry, in which the adding or extracting of motion factors produces profoundly different experiences for the mover.
In this three-week correspondence course participants experiment with the chemistry of effort, experiencing the transformative power of the Passion, Vision, and Spell Drives.
Each assignment includes the following:
- Original material discussing each of these transformation drives.
- Effort combinations and sequences to embody, along with self-observation and video observation exercises.
- Questions to discuss with the instructor via email, facilitating individual study and development.
“The Transformation Drives ” runs October 31 – November 19, 2025.
Registration closes October 24, 2025.