Rudolf von Laban

Austrian choreographer (1879-1958)

Rudolf (von) Laban, also known as Rudolph von Laban (Hungarian: Lábán Rudolf;[1] 15 December 1879 – 1 July 1958),[2] was an Austro-Hungarian, German and British dance artist, choreographer and dance theorist. He is very important to modern dance.[3] He is called the "founding father of expressionist dance",[4] He helped create Laban movement analysis and Labanotation (a movement notation system, or way of writing down movement). These helped other changes in dance notation and movement analysis. He helped in dance therapy.[5] He also helped in theatrical movement.[6] He tried to put his ideas in other fields, like architecture, education, industry, and management.[3]

Rudolf von Laban
Born15 December 1879
Died1 July 1958(1958-07-01) (aged 78)
Known forChoreography, dance theory, Labanotation
Notable workLabanotation (a movement notation system)
MovementExpressionist dance
PartnerLisa Ullman

When he was preparing for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the Nazi party targeted Laban. He went to England in 1937. In 1945 and 1946, he and Lisa Ullmann started the Laban Art of Movement Guild in London, and The Art of Movement Studio in Manchester.

Works and publications

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  • (Undated). Harmonie Lehre Der Bewegung (German). (Handwritten copy by Sylvia Bodmer of a book by Rudolf Laban) London: Laban Collection[permanent dead link] S. B. 48.
  • (1920). Die Welt des Taenzers [The world of Dancers] (German). Stuttgart: Walter Seifert. (3rd edition, 1926)
  • (1926). Choreographie: Erstes Heft (German). Jena: Eugen Diederichs.
  • (1926). Gymnastik und Tanz (German). Oldenburg: Stalling.
  • (1926). Des Kindes Gymnastik und Tanz (German). Oldenburg: Stalling.
  • (1928). Schrifttanz: Methodik, Orthographie, Erlaeuterungen (German). Vienna: Universal Edition.
  • (1929). "Das Choreographische Institut Laban" in Monographien der Ausbildungen fuer Tanz und Taenzerische Koeperbildung (German). Edited by Liesel Freund. Berlin-Charlottenburg: L. Alterthum.
  • (1947). with F. C. Lawrence. Effort: Economy of Human Movement London: MacDonald and Evans. (4th reprint 1967)
  • (1948). Modern Educational Dance. London: MacDonald and Evans. (2nd Edition 1963, revised by Lisa Ullmann)
  • (1948). "President's address at the annual general meeting of the Laban art of movement guild". Laban Art of Movement Guild News Sheet. 1 (April): 5–8.
  • (1950). The Mastery of Movement on the Stage. London: MacDonald and Evans.
  • (1951). "What has led you to study movement? Answered by R. Laban". Laban Art of Movement Guild News Sheet. 7 (Sept.): 8–11.
  • (1952). "The art of movement in the school". Laban Art of Movement Guild News Sheet. 8 (March): 10–16.
  • (1956). Laban's Principles of Dance and Movement Notation. London: MacDonald and Evans. (2nd edition 1975, annotated and edited by Roderyk Lange)
  • (1960). The Mastery of Movement. (2nd Edition of The Mastery of Movement on the Stage), revised and enlarged by Lisa Ullmann. London: MacDonald and Evans. (3rd Edition, 1971. London: MacDonald and Evans) (1st American Edition, 1971. Boston: Plays) (4th Edition, 1980. Plymouth, UK: Northcote House)
  • (1966). Choreutics. Annotated and edited by Lisa Ullmann. London: MacDonald and Evans.
  • (1974). The Language of Movement; A Guide Book to Choreutics. Annotated and edited by Lisa Ullmann. Boston: Plays. (American publication of Choreutics)
  • (1975). A Life For Dance; Reminiscencs. Translated and annotated by Lisa Ullmann. London: MacDonald & Evans. (Original German published 1935.)
  • (1984). A Vision of Dynamic Space. Compiled by Lisa Ullmann. London: The Falmer Press.

References

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  1. An old source (Samuel Thornton, Laban's Theory of Movement: A New Perspective, Plays, 1971, p. 3) giving the birth name Lábán Rezső Keresztelő Szent János Attila is considered discredited and anecdotal as per Suzanne Walther, Dance of Death: Kurt Jooss and the Weimar Years, Routledge, 2013, p. 41 n. 11.
  2. Vojtek, Miklós (1999). "Lábán Rudolf pozsonyi gyökerei" [The roots of Rudolf in Bratislava] (in Hungarian). Bratislava: Kalligram Publishing House. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  3. 3.0 3.1 McCaw, Dick (2011). "The Laban Sourcebook". London, New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 9780415543330.
  4. Dörr, Evelyn (2008). Rudolf Laban, The Dancer of the Crystal. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 99–101. ISBN 9780810860070.
  5. Levy FJ (1988). "Laban movement analysis and dance therapy in the United States". Dance/movement therapy: a healing art (PDF). Reston, Va.: National Dance Association. pp. 131–164. ISBN 0-88314-380-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 January 2022 – via Institute of Education Sciences.
  6. Evans M (2009). Movement training for the modern actor (PDF). New York: Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 9780203883549. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2018 – via Coventry University.

Other websites

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