Movement: Exploring Laban
10-week Short Course for Adults
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Overview
On this 10-week in person course, you will discover how to use Laban Technique not only to explore expressive physicality, but to fundamentally shift your psychological ‘being’ in performance. By working from the outside in, you will uncover how the body’s relationship to Weight, Space, Time, and Flow can evoke emotional and psychological states, allowing you to build nuanced, dynamic characters with clarity and depth.
You will explore the four Motion Factors and their opposing dual elements, and how their combinations form the Eight Efforts of the Action Drive. Through a psychophysical lens, you will examine how each effort can unlock new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving as a character. In this work, the body becomes a gateway to transformation.
This course is ideal for actors and performers who wish to:
- Develop a practical understanding of the Laban Efforts for character creation
- Use physicality to stimulate authentic emotional and psychological responses
- Understand and embody the connection between inner intention and outer expression
- Build a toolkit of embodied qualities that can be adapted for stage or screen
- Learn how to use Laban to shift “state” in rehearsal and performance
Courses you may be interested in
We run a variety of different courses throughout the year, and update our programme regularly – you can find all courses by clicking here.
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Contact us
If you have any questions about this course before you book it, please get in touch with us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.
The important details
Age:
18+
Cost:
£245
Date:
7 October - 9 December 2025
Time:
Tuesdays, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue:
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Course Information
- Course Outline
- Entry Requirements
- Course Preparation
- Who is this course for?
- Teaching Staff
- Term Dates and Tuition Fees
Here is an indictive schedule of what each week will cover:
Week 1: Kinesphere & Planes of Space
Week 2: Motion Factors & Elements
Week 3: EFFORT DISCOVERY (Float & Dab)
Week 4: EFFORT DISCOVERY (Wring & Punch)
Week 5: EFFORT DISCOVERY (Press & Flick)
Week 6: EFFORT DISCOVERY (Slash & Glide)
Week 7: The Cube & Weaving
Week 8: Inner and Outers
Week 9: Application to text
Week 10: Revision and Sharing
There are no entry requirements for this course.
The course is designed so that motivated students will benefit from the training. We expect you to undertake a certain amount of self-directed study and preparation out with class times.
Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work as part of a team.
- Plan and prepare to attend all classes
- Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in.
- Bring a notepad and pen/pencil in case you wish to make notes.
- Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class.
This course is suitable for students aged 18+, with acting experience or training. Students should be keen to learn and plan to attend all classes.
Sam Angell
Sam trained at LAMDA, graduating from the BA (Hons) Acting course in 2015. His professional acting career spans from the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre) to ‘Wee DB’ in National Theatre of Scotland’s Maggie & Me, Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), and Cat in the Hat (Curve Theatre/UK Tour).
He currently teaches movement for Short Courses at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and at City of Glasgow College, and has previously taught at institutions including LAMDA, the Bridge Theatre Training Company, Acting Coach Scotland, LMA, The Scottish Institute, St Mary’s University (Twickenham), and Identity School of Acting. His practice integrates his extensive background in dance, physical theatre, martial arts, Alexander Technique, gymnastics and calisthenics.
Sam has been mentored in Movement Psychology by Janet Amsden, in Pure Movement by Jane Gibson, and is currently under the mentorship of Lucien MacDougall.
As a Movement Director, his credits include Leaves of Glass (Park Theatre), Tender Napalm (King’s Head Theatre), Moonfleece (Pleasance Islington), and Under Milk Wood (Cockpit Theatre). He specialises in Storytelling, Laban, Devising, Mime and Animal Study.
This course will run in-person on Tuesday evenings for 10-weeks from 7 October – 9 December, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
The course fee is £ which is the equivalent to £ per session, and can be paid in full or in instalments before the course end date.
Further Information
We want to ensure as many children, young people and adult learners as possible can access the performing and production arts education that is offered through Short Courses at RCS. Financial support options available for Short Courses include:
Agnes Allan Bursary
Agnes Allan was a teacher, passionate about inclusion, and this bursary scheme exists to offer support to students to participate in the performing or production arts.
The Agnes Allan Bursary provides some support to students who may require financial assistance to take part in a short course in dance, drama, music, production or screen.
Anyone who wishes to take part in our Short Courses and faces a financial barrier can apply for bursary support to help meet the cost of tuition fees.
James McAvoy Drama Scholarships
BAFTA-winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy is committed to nurturing the creative potential of young Scots who experience barriers to access and participate in drama at RCS Short Courses.
James is a graduate of the BA Acting programme at RCS and Patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama. The Glasgow-born actor has funded the new James McAvoy Drama Scholarships to enable young people to experience the world-class drama training at RCS as he did.
The scholarship aims to support applicants who would otherwise find meeting the cost of tuition fees at RCS a barrier to accessing pre-Higher Education drama training at the Royal Conservatoire.
You can find more information about these funds on our Financial Support page.
We run various promotional offers for our Short Courses and Summer Schools. You can view our current offers on our Promotional Offers page.
You should contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk to request your discount code before booking a course.
Please note, only one promotional offer can be applied per course and should be used at the time of booking as we are unable to apply a discounts retrospectively.
Please see our Short Course FAQs for more information about all aspects of choosing, booking and attending your course.
Please see our Short Courses – Terms and Conditions for more information about your contract with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Cancellation and Refund policies.
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest updates of courses, offers and news from Short Courses. You can do this by completing this short online form found here.
Short Courses
shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk
Summer Schools
summerschools@rcs.ac.uk
Credit-Rated
credit-rated@rcs.ac.uk
Bursary and Scholarship
bursaryscholarship@rcs.ac.uk
