ABSTRACT
The World of the Dancer is Laban’s first publication, dating from 1920. At present, there is no English version in print. The book gives the impression of a collection of thoughts reminiscent of notebook or sketchbook entries. It is made up of five ‘round dances’ [Reigen] with an Introduction and a Conclusion. In each ‘round dance’ we find numerous headings with smaller sections, which constitute comments or short abstracts and definitions on selected topics. On the (dis)organisation of the book, Valerie Preston-Dunlop mentions that ‘hearsay has it that Laban confessed to Jooss that he had cut up the text into short sections and thrown them in the air, to land as the fancy took them’. 1
