Laban Sources 03

# chapter 12. Laban's concept of effort and his work in the 1940s and 1950s

 

Effort was at the centre of Laban's thinking about movement behaviour in this Period.. He was writing about movement qualities in the 1920s when the four motion factors were : Force, Space, Time, Flight. He called this aspect of movement analysis as 'Eukinetics': the Greek prefix 'eu-' means teh senses of 'good', 'well' and 'easily', while 'kinetics' comes from the Greek verb 'kinetikos', which means moving.. Effort can be both physical and mental.. But we shall see how Laban refuses to limit the analysis purely to external movement : to understand the outer movement, one has to grasp the inner intention behind it..

 

(Effort는 movement에 대한 라반의 사유에 있어서 중심이 된다. 1920년대, 그는 Force(or Weight), Space, Time, Flight(or Flow)라는 네 가지 움직임 요인을 제시하면서 movement의 특질들에 대해 기술하였다. 그는 movement 분석의 이러한 측면을 'Eukinetics'라고 명명하였는데, 그리스어로 접두사 'eu'는 좋음, 건강함, 용이함을 의미하고, 'kinetics'는 움직임을 뜻하는 그리스어 동사 'kinetikos'에서 파생되었다.. Effort는 육체적 / 정신적인 측면 모두에 해당한다.. 라반은 분석을 오직 외적인 movement에만 제한시켜서는 안된다고 하는데, 외부의 movement를 이해하기 위해선 그 안에 숨어있는 내적 의도와 동기를 이해하여야 한다라고 말한다.)

 

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..In Effort, Laban wrties about every movement consisting of four Motion Factors, each of which ahs two oposite poles, 'indulging' and 'contending'(means 'fighting against').. Space, Weight, Time, Flow. The first three Motion factors combine to create eight Effort Actions. Each of these actions can be performed with either Free or Bound Flow.

 

(.. Effort에 대해서, 라반은 네 가지 움직임 요인들로 구성되는 모든 movement에 대해 기술하는데, 그 요인들은 각각 'indulging'(누그러지는)과 'contending'(대항하는) 특성의 양극단을 가지고 있다. 이 중, Space, Weight, Time의 세 가지 움직임 요소는 8가지의 Effort Action을 구성하는데, 각각의 Effort Action은 Free Flow와 Bound Flow의 영역으로 구분되어 진다.)

 

- 1.

	Indulging           <->            Contending
Space	Flexible	Direct
Weight	Light	Strong
Time	Sustained	Quick
Flow	Free	Bound

 

- 2.

STRONG EFFORT
Free FLOW	Bound FLOW
Punching (direct, string, quick)	Fighting against Weight, Space and Time
'forcing a shovel into dry sand or a spade into clay'	stress on weight
'to thrust a fork into hay or a chisel under the lid of a box'	stress on direction (space)
'to poke a coal fire or to pierce leather with an awl'	stress on time
Pressing (direct, strong, sustained)	Fighting with Weight and Space, Indulging in Time
crushing fruit with a crusher or granules with a mortar	stress on weight
cutting leather with a sharp knife or wood with a carver's knife	stress on direction (space)
squeezing a bulb or squirt with the hand or suiting with shears	stress on Time
Wringing (flexible, strong, sustained)	Fighting with Weight, indulging in Space and Time
pulling a trolley with shafts or a cork with a corkscrew	stress on weight
plucking feathers by hand or thinning out seedlings by hand	stress on direction (space)
stretching elastic or cloth by hand	stress on time
Slashing (flexible, strong, quick)	Fighting with Weight and Time, indulging in Space
beating a carpet with a beater or a nail with a hammer	stress on weight
throwing coal with a shovel or a package from hand to hand	stress on direction (space)
whipping an egg with a whisk or the branches of a hedge with a billhook	stress on time

 

- 3.

LIGHT EFFORT
Free FLOW	Bound FLOW
Dabbing (direct, light, quick)	Fighting with Space and Time, indulging in Weight
patting dough with hand or level index cards by hand	stress on weight
tapping typewriter key or morse key	stress on direction (space)
with hand shaking sand in a sieve, or water sprinkler by hand	stress on time
Gliding (direct, light, sustained)	Fighting with Space, Indulging in Weight and Time
smoothing cloth by hand or lace with iron	stress on weight
smearing whitewash with brush, or mortar with trowel	stress on direction (space)
smudging putty with thumb, or oil paint with palette knife	stress on Time
Flicking (flexible, light, quick)	Fighting with Time, indulging in Weight and Space
flipping dry or wet towel with hand	stress on weight
flapping coins or notes counting them	stress on direction (space)
jerking bottle rinsing it, or breaking string with hand	stress on time
Floating (flexible, light, sustained)	Indulging in Weight, Time and Space
strewing seed by hand, or powder on a surface	stress on weight
stirring water by hand or oil paint with stick	stress on direction (space)
stroking vessel, polishing it or brushing clothes	stress on time

 

- 4.

 

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In 'The Mastery of Movement', Laban explored what happens when one of the four elements is missing, creating a broken or incomplete efforts..

(자신의 저서 'The Mastery of Movement'에서 라반은 네 움직임 요소 중 한 가지가 빠졌을 때 어떤 일이 일어나는지에 관해 탐구하였는데, 불완전하다거나 깨어진 effort들을 만들어 내었다..)

 

 

Bartenieff calls these 'Transformation Drives' and offers a helpful gloss :

.. Even an untrained observer can see the principal moods and qualities of 'Transformation Drive', describing them metaphorically.. He has a hypnotic(timeless) quality, She was so passionately involved in her diatribe that she didn't even hear me enter(spaceless), or He was drawn out of himself into the vision of the many possibilities before him(weightless)..

 

(Bartenieff는 위와 같은 조합을 'Transformation Drives'라고 불렀고, 다음과 같은 도움말을 남겼다 : ..훈련받지 않은 관찰자도 transformation drive의 주된 느낌들과 특질들을 은유적으로 묘사하면서 분별할 수 있다. 예를 들면, 다음의 표현들이 가능하다 : 그는 최면적(timeless) 특징(성격)이 있다. 그녀는 너무 열정적으로 열변을 토한 나머지 내가 들어오고 있었던 거 조차 눈치를 채지 못했다(spaceless). 혹은 그는 자신 앞에 놓인 수많은 가능성들(?)에 자신을 몰아 놓았다(weightless).)

 

Drives consist of Three Motion Factors
	Motion Factors
Drive	Weight	Space	Time	Flow
Action / Doing	O	O	O	X
Passionate	O	X	O	O
Influencing	O	O	X	O
Visionary	X	O	O	O

 

 

.. When only two elements are present in an action, Laban described these as Inner Attitudes or States. Combinations of two effort elements are sometimes called 'Incomplete(Basic Effort Actions) or Inner Attitudes or Inner States. Instead of drives, they produce mood-like qualities in movement that can be metaphorically described as 'Awake, Dreamlike; Remote, Near; Stable, Mobile'..

 

(.. 단지 두 움직임 요소들만 움직임에 적용되는 경우를 가리켜, 라반은 'Inner Attitudes' 혹은 'Inner States'라고 설명하였다. Drives(움직임의 세 가지 요소들의 조합들)에 비해, 이 경우들은 움직임에서 분위기 위주의 특성들을 만들어 주는데, 은유적으로 '깨어있는 - 꿈과 같은, 동떨어진 - 근접한, 안정적인 - 동적인..' 등의 은유적 표현으로 묘사될 수 있다.)

 

Inner Attitudes Consist of Two Movement Factors
	Motion Factors
Movement Attitude	Weight	Space	Time	Flow
Stable	O	O	X	X
Mobile	X	X	O	O
Near	O	X	O	X
Remote	X	O	X	O
Awake	X	O	O	X
Dreamlike	O	X	X	O

 

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.. Laban and Bartenieff are proposing that Effort Actions are to do with functional movement while movements with two or three motion factors tend progressively towards psychological states. Laban used the term 'Shadow Move' to describe barely perceptible movements, often facial expressions..

 

(라반과 바르테니예프는 이렇게 말한다. Effort Action들은 기능적 움직임과 관련이 있다. 반면, 둘 혹은 셋의 움직임 요소(motion factor)들로 이루어진 movement는 주로 심리적 상태에 가까운 것을 가리킨다. 라반은, 얼굴 표정과 같은, 잘 인식되지 못하는 movement를 가리켜 'Shadow Move'라는 표현을 사용하였다.)

 

 

# translated by Stefanie Sachsenmaier and Dick McCaw