Laban Efforts hand out Rudolf Laban – Choreographer/ performer, extremely interested in human movement. Developed a theory behind human movement, which involved 4 main component parts. These are:
Direction Weight Speed Flow Within each component there are two elements • • • •
• • • •
Direction is either direct or indirect. (Direct - does the movement have a purpose such as pointing? or is it indirect such as breathing or itching?) Weight is either heavy or light. Speed is either quick or sustained. Flow is either bound or free.
Laban also created a list of eight efforts. These efforts are what Laban considered to cover all forms of human movement in some form or another. Laban’s Eight Efforts • • • • • • • •
Punch Dab Press Glide Slash Flick Wring Float
Laban applied each of the four components to each effort. This provides you with a “rule” of how each effort should be performed. Please bear in mind that each effort will look and feel different to everyone. That is what makes performers/performances unique. Below shows you which components each effort falls into. • • • • • • • •
Punch Direct, Quick, Heavy, Bound Dab Direct, Quick, Light, Bound Press Direct, Sustained, Heavy, Bound Glide Direct, Sustained, Light, Light, Free Slash Indirect, Quick, Heavy, Free Flick Indirect, Quick, Light, Free Wring Indirect, Sustained, Heavy, Bound Float Indirect, Sustained, Light, Free
To provide you an example of the efforts, you will learn a short phrase of movement. We are using pure movement so that we can concentrate purely on what our bodies are doing. Please don’t worry if the movement is too complex for you, you can adapt the moves to your own capability. The two efforts we are comparing are Float and Punch. I have chosen these two efforts as they are the opposites to each other in all four components. What to do next. Learn the phrase of movement, here is a link to music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCnl0Z88wJQ the section you need starts at 0.44. You will hear the music change from slow and sustained, to quick and punchy. We will be using this change in the tempo to reflect the change in our movement. You will be repeating the phrase of movement twice. Firstly, you will perform the phrase applying our effort of float. The music will then change, and you will repeat the phrase using the effort of Punch. In the video you will see my version of how my body internalises float and punch. However, as stated above, this is a personal discovery of how your body internalises the efforts. So please don’t try to copy of my movement, really think about what the efforts and their four components mean to you.
Challenge Now that you have had some practice at applying the efforts. We want to challenge you to see how you can apply these into acting. You have four famous names below:
• • • •
Donal Trump Eddie Murphy Keith Lemon The Queen
You are going to play a game of Chance. This is a method that was pioneered by choreographer, dance theorist, Merce Cunningham. He would often number set movements, roll some dice, and allow chance to decide the order of the movement. I want you to number your famous names, roll the dice and this will determine which famous person you will play Do the same with your eight Laban Efforts. And this will decide which effort you are going to apply to your character. Hopefully this such make for some very interesting combinations. We want you to create a short scene. This can be any storyline you like, such as ‘The Queen running late for the bus’ or ‘Donald Trump arguing over who takes the last loaf of bread in the supermarket’.
You can add costume, music, speech etc. The more creative the better. There will even be a prize for the most creative. Please upload your entries to Instagram and tag York College. Good Luck Everyone! Gemma. Head Of Movement