ABSTRACT
We have already seen ‘dance tragedies’ mounted by Laban in Ascona that would approximate to being Movement Choruses. But it is in the 1920s that Laban began to articulate a theory of movement choirs, to perfect the notation that allowed individual choirs to rehearse their parts in advance of the main performance, and to establish movement choirs in different cities in Germany.
In the ‘perspectives’ section Laban’s notion of Lay Dance is connected with Nietzsche’s idea of the dancing philosopher, and his lament for the ‘demise of physical culture and cultic dance.’ Laban’s response to the demise perceived by Nietzsche is this form of collective dance, an example of Festkultur (festive culture).
Critiques of Laban’s 1924 Agamemnon’s Death, are followed by two essays by Laban on movement choirs. Essays by Martin Gleisner and Albrecht Knust (both of whom were very involved in Laban’s movement choirs) situate the practice of Lay Dance within the discussion of Körperkultur – physical fitness – and argue that group dancing is just as effective a way of maintaining fitness while also creating a sense of community. Their essays demonstrate firstly, that movement choirs were not just Laban’s creation and secondly, that they were very far from being some kind of proto-Nazi mass dance event. Where Nazism insisted upon duty and discipline, Laban and his associates stress the importance of joy in movement.
