Laban's Effort Shapes

Who Was Laban?

Rudolf von Laban (Born December 15, 1879,

Pressburg Austro-Hungarian Empire-- Today
Bratislava, Slovokia)
Devised the first successful system of recording
human movement.
In 1936 he fell afoul of the Nazi regime and made
his way to England via France.
His system began to work its way in the training of
actors.
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Died July 1 1958 Weybridge, England.

Foundations of Laban's system

Laban believed:

that an understanding of movement could lead to a

better means of understanding people

Laban looked at movement as a two way process

The body can communicate by giving and receiving

messages.
all movement stems from and interdependence of
mind body and spirit.
by analyzing movement (conscious or unconscious) it
was possible to recognize the need of the mover and
the inner attitude proceeding the action.

Laban Notation

Following Laban's philosophy, he developed a

system of notation to record movement.
Helps the trained observer get a clear exact
recording of human movement and subtle
expressions.
It is now used to recreate dances, modern musicals
and ballets.
It is making inroads in the fields of sports, industry
and therapy as a means of investigating action and
human behavior.

Laban Notation

Laban For the Actor

The study of movement is aimed at:

understanding the mechanics of the body

obtaining physical/mental/spiritual expressiveness
consciously understand living movement

Laban is one tool for accomplishing this.

Laban establishes a common vocabulary for
describing and experiencing human movement.
Movement reflects emotion and thought.
Explorations with Laban can be used as a starting
point to build your characters.

Qualities of Movement

Laban worked out 3 qualities of movement

Weight
Time
Space

They are on a continuum of 1 to 10 10 being

where that aspect is most present.
He adds Flow or the interaction and
communication with the space and with others
He also divides the body into 3 areas

Torso
Limbs
Face and Head

Weight
Heavy

Light

How much effort goes into an action

Example: A Chef cutting a large piece meat is
HEAVY where as sprinkling powdered sugar on a
pastry is LIGHT.

Time

Sustained

Fast

Slow

This has two aspects.

Sudden

The tempo, or speed

And whether it is sudden or sustained over a long
period

When a Soccer player shoots for the goal it is

accompanied with a quick burst.
And Olympic ice skater may move fast but the
individual motions are slow as he GLIDES around
the track

Space

Direct

Flexible

Straight

Curved

This is how the body moves in space

Example: A cat may stock its prey in a curved
fashion as it tries to work around it. At the last
moment when it strikes this is a straight action

Flow

Bound

Free

Confined

Large

Small

Open

Flow is the communication between the actor and

dance and the space and with others in the space

Centers

Centers

TORSO

Centers

Face
Head and
Expressions

Centers

LIMBS
Arms
Legs
Hands
Feet