Rudolf Laban was a polymath who worked in a variety of fields – visual arts, dance, theatre, work study, education, and therapy. Each arena of activity provided different opportunities to study human movement.
Like a naturalist, Laban observed movement in the field, and developed his ideas on the basis of varied data. His ideas continued to evolve.
Those who have followed have similarly tested his ideas through observations in different areas of endeavor. For example, Lamb studied white collar labor and decision making, Kestenberg examined infants and toddlers in interaction with their parents, Bartenieff practiced physical therapy and researched dance patterns cross-culturally.
These additional naturalistic studies have modified and extended Laban’s original notions. As an analytic system, the one bearing Laban’s name is lively and growing.