I have been re-reading Laban’s autobiography in preparation for teaching “Mastering Rudolf Laban’s Mastery of Movement.” Laban’s writings are evocative, and I always find him to be good company.
Laban and I have seldom met in the most luxurious of settings. During my seven years of doctoral and post-doctoral research, he and I met in a windowless room in the top of the University of Surrey library. Here he kept me company under fluorescent lights as I engaged with his handwritten musings on yellowing sheets of paper and tried to make sense of geometric sketches in colored pencil. I’m sure this kind of social get-together would not appeal to everyone, but Laban always held up his side of the conversation, even when I did not entirely understand what he was trying to say.
There is an element of mystery in all of Laban’s writings. I think this is because he is always ahead of the rest of us in his global understanding of human movement. Nevertheless, Laban is not a snob. He genuinely wants to share his insight, and this makes him a good companion.
Mastery of Movement is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. Find out more in the forthcoming Octa correspondence course.