Labanotation

Labanotation or Kinetography Laban is a notation system for recording and analyzing human movement that was derived from the work of Rudolf Laban who described it in Schrifttanz (“Written Dance”) in 1928. His initial work has been further developed by Ann Hutchinson Guest and others, and is used as a type of dance notation in other applications including Laban Movement Analysis, robotics and human movement simulation.

Technical standards and education for Labanotation are provided by several organizations. For example, the International Council of Kinetography Laban / Labanotation promotes standards and development for Labanotation. The Dance Notation Bureau has been using Labanotation to document dances since 1940, holding the largest collection of Labanotation scores in the world. It also teaches Labanotation and arranges the staging of dances from the system scores.

In the 1920s Rudolf Laban, in collaboration with colleagues, developed a notation system that could be used to describe movement in terms of spatial models and concepts. This contrasts with other movement notation systems based on anatomical analysis, letter codes, stick figures, music notes, foot tracks or word notes. The system precisely and accurately portrays temporal patterns, actions, floor plans, body parts and a three-dimensional use of space. Laban's notation system eventually evolved into modern-day Labanotation and Kinetography Laban.

Labanotation and Kinetography Laban evolved separately in the 1930s through 1950s, Labanotation in the United States and England, and Kinetography in Germany and other European countries. As a result of their different evolutionary paths, Kinetography Laban hasn't changed significantly since inception, whereas Labanotation evolved over time to meet new needs. For example, at the behest of members of the Dance Notation Bureau, the Labanotation system was expanded to allow it to convey the motivation or meaning behind movements. Kinetography Laban practitioners, on the other hand, tend to work within the constraints of the existing notation system, using spatial description alone to describe movement.

The International Council of Kinetography Laban was created in 1959 to clarify, standardize and eliminate differences between Labanotation and Kinetography Laban. Thanks to this, one or both are currently used throughout the world almost interchangeably, and are readable to practitioners of either system.

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