Rudolf Laban (1879-1958)

Rudolf Laban was a dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer and dance theorist. He is considered the father of modern dance, changing the course of dance history. Mary Wigman and Kurt Jooss were among his students. He was very good looking and attracted many female followers; he married twice and fathered nine children. He was a charismatic leader and teacher - and a genius - but at the same time he constantly struggled with financial difficulties throughout his life.

Laban was born in 1879 in Bratislava, Hungry (in what is now Slovakia). His father was a field marshal and Laban was expected to pursue a career in the military. However, he rebelled and moved to Paris to study art and architecture. His interest didn’t stop there and extended to dance and theatre as well.

At the age of 30, he moved to Munich, the artistic centre of Germany. During this time he opened schools, ran a theatre company, worked with amateurs in choirs, wrote books, performed and choreographed.

He revolutionised dance by taking away music and the set vocabulary of steps to fully explore the potential of movement. He played a leading role in driving modern dance in Europe.

As the Nazi’s influence became stronger, many artist left Germany but Laban stayed. He was appointed to choreograph a thousand dancers for the opening of 1936 Berlin Olympics and Hitler and Goebble attended the dress rehearsal. It was stunning but they were threatened by Laban’s ability to orchestrate a large crowd. Goebble supposedly said ‘we don’t need two masters in this country’. The performance was cancelled, his school closed down and his books were banned.

Laban managed to escape to Paris, then his former student, Kurt Jooss, brought him to Dartington, UK. He arrived without a work permit or any possessions, he became very ill and depressed. However with the care of Lisa Ullman, who became Laban’s close associate, he slowly recovered and resumed his research.

He moved to Manchester and opened his first school in the UK, The Art of Movement Studio. His work spread to many different fields: education, industry, therapy, movement observation, business and theatre.

The Art of Movement Studio grew and moved to Addelstone in Surrey, which eventually became the Laban Centre in London. He died in 1958 in Surrey.