Rudolf Laban and the great Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer, shared a common interest – how to depict the human figure in motion with a lifelike three-dimensionality.
Through his academic art studies in Munich and Paris in the early 20th century, Laban undoubtedly became familiar with the different approaches to representing movement pioneered by Leonardo and Dürer. Laban’s beautiful figures drawings of dancers testify to his practical grasp of techniques developed during the Renaissance and preserved in academic art training.
Laban, however, took his artistic skills and understanding in a new direction. He wanted to represent the moving human body so that dances could be recorded in symbols, not pictures. Leonardo helped; so did Dürer .
Find out more in my October online workshop, “His Hand and Head: How Laban Created Movement Patterns,” offered through the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies.