Rudolf von Laban
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]
| Born | 15 December 1879 Pressburg (today Bratislava), Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary |
|---|---|
| Died | 1 July 1958 (aged 78) Weybridge, England |
| Field | Choreography, dance theory, Labanotation |
| Movement | Expressionist dance |
| Works | Labanotation (a movement notation system) |
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
- (Undated). Harmonie Lehre Der Bewegung (German). (Handwritten copy by Sylvia Bodmer of a book by Rudolf Laban) London: Laban Collection[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.
Rudolf Von Laban Media
A group of figures in front of a window, formed by dance students at Laban's Choreographic Institute in Berlin-Grunewald (November 1929).
Mary Wigman (Wiegmann) in Monte Verità on Lake Maggiore, enrolled at the Rudolf von Laban School for Art, between 1913 and 1918
Young people performing a rhythmic dance at Laban's Choreographic Institute in Berlin-Grunewald (1929).
Rudolf von Laban in the midst of his students (ca. 1929).
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Vojtek, Miklós (1999) (in hu). Lábán Rudolf pozsonyi gyökerei. Bratislava: Kalligram Publishing House. http://www.kalligramoz.eu/Kalligram/Archivum/1999/VIII.-evf.-1999.-december/Laban-Rudolf-pozsonyi-gyoekerei. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 McCaw, Dick (2011) (in en). The Laban Sourcebook. London, New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis. p. 1. . https://books.google.com/books?id=ZU1ZBwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ Dörr, Evelyn. Rudolf Laban, The Dancer of the Crystal (in en) (2008). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 99–101. ISBN 9780810860070.
- ↑ Levy FJ. Dance/movement therapy: a healing art (1988). Reston, Va.: National Dance Association. p. 131–164. ISBN 0-88314-380-1.
- ↑ Movement training for the modern actor (2009). New York: Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 9780203883549.
Other websites
- Guide to the Rudolf Laban Icosahedron. Special Collections and Archives, The University of California Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California
- Rudolf Laban - biography from Trinity Laban site
- Limsonline Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies - LIMS NYC
- Short biographies of Laban and some leading Laban practitioners - website of Laban Project
- EUROLAB - European Association of Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies
- EUROLAB Certificate Programs in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies
- Rudolf von Laban: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project