ABSTRACT
Laban, Rudolf von (1879-1958). Czech dance theorist and teacher. Born in Bratislava, then part of Austro-Hungary, Laban began his studies in Paris of painting, dancing and acting. Between 1907 and 1910, he danced in German and Austrian cities before founding his first school in Munich in 1910. One of his pupils there was Mary Wigram, the originator of modern dance in central Europe. Laban also directed several art festivals and choreographed ballets. During the First World War, he opened the Choreographic Institute in Zurich, 1915: other such Institutes were set up in central Europe, Italy and France. Returning to Germany at the end of the war, Laban first worked in Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Mannheim and was then appointed director in Hamburg, opening his Kammertanz Theatre, 1923-5; headed the Institute of Choreography at Würzburg, 1925-30 and ballet director, Allied State Theatres of Berlin, 1930-4. In 1928, Laban had published his Kinetopagraphie Laban, an important textbook which analysed human motion in all its forms. Many subsequent choreographers have made use of the system known as Labanotation for recording the specific requirements of a ballet. This dance notation was further developed by his pupils, including Kurt Joos. Laban also initiated the amateur movement of Bewegungschöre, movement choirs, involving large groups of people. His teaching was augmented by theoretical works, such as that pertaining to choreutics, consisting of an analysis of twelve primary directions of movement, and eukinetics, a system designed to assist dancers’ control over movement. In 1938, Laban left Germany and settled in England, joining Joos and another pupil, Sigurd Leeder, at a school they had established at Dartington Hall, Devon. During the Second World War, Laban applied his knowledge of movement and movement notation to industrial efficiency, and was able to devise corrective exercises for factory workers. Laban moved to Addlestone, Surrey, in 1953 where he established the Art of Movement Studio. See his Choreographie (1926); A Life for Dance (1935, English translation, 1975); Modern Educational Dance (1948); Effort (1947); Principles of Dance and Movement Notation (1956); Choreutics (1966); and Thornton, S., A Movement Perspective of Rudolf Laban (1971); Forster, J., The Influence of Rudolf Laban (1977).
