Laban, Rudolf Jean-Baptiste Attila., 1879-1958

Rudolf Laban was a teacher, philosopher, dancer, choreographer, author, experimentor and the father of modern dance. He raised the status of dance as an art form and transformed the nature of dance scholarship. He established the discipline of dance analysis and invented a system of dance notation called Labanotation. He defined the idea of community dance and valued its contribution to man's wellbeing. He set out to reform the role of dance education, emphasising his belief that dance should be for all. He also laid the technical basis for professional movement and dance therapy and for the expressive movement training of actors. Laban was born in Bratislava but lived in many places throughout Europe during his life. He arrived in Britain in 1938 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and by 1948 had set up the Art of Movement Studio in Manchester. The Studio moved to Addlestone in Surrey in 1953, eventually becoming the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in 1975 and moving to New Cross, London. Rudolf Laban died in 1958. Laban the institution moved into its new building in Deptford, London in 2003 and merged with Trinity College of Music in 2005. An entry for Rudolf Laban can be found in the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,' Oxford University Press, 2004.

From the guide to the Laban Collection, 1918-2001, (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance: Laban Archive)