ABSTRACT
After three chapters offering different perspectives on Laban the choreographer and teacher, now we turn to some of Laban’s earliest known writings. The first is a printed brochure, entitled Free Dance, for his school in Munich and could date from as early as 1910. Here he sets forth an approach which will he carry forward throughout the 1920s: this is the idea that recreational or ‘lay’ dance rather than gymnastics is the most appropriate means of fostering ‘health in fragile and feeble organisms’. At the heart of his philosophy of dance is a belief in the healing power of movement education or one could say ‘education through movement’. The brochure begins ‘Dance is the pleasure of movement’. The word ‘Freud’ (Joy) echoes throughout Laban’s writings about communal dance and education.
One of the most original finds in this book is the series of handwritten notes that have neither been transcribed nor translated before. They are central to an understanding of Laban’s thinking. We have chosen his notes on Rhythm, though there are also handwritten thoughts on a variety of topics including ‘Society for Social Reform’, ‘Democracy is’, ‘Sociality and Sociability’ and a 17-page piece on Politics. As noted in the General Introduction one theme highlighted in this book is Laban’s interest in rhythm.
