As noted in the previous blog, Laban characterizes choreutics in many ways: as harmonized movement, as the integrative study and practice of movement, and as a regenerative antidote to the social upheavals of our times.
What he does not do is to return to the Greek roots of the word he seems to have coined – choros meaning circle and the prefix eu meaning good. Literally, choreutics is the study and practice of good circles.
What characterizes a good circle? Laban only provides hints. He suggests that practicing circular movements with aim of “integrating the bodily perspective, the dynamic feeling and the controlling faculties” will lead to the “discovery of the unity of movement” – a discovery he characterizes as spiritual and magical.
This suggests that choreutics can be a gnostic practice, in which mindful movement provides a direct and transcendent experience of harmony.