Ill and destitute following his departure from Nazi Germany, Rudolf Laban found a safe harbor at Dartington Hall in England, where he wrote Choreutics in the dark days just before the outbreak of World War II.
Despite his dire personal situation, Laban retained his belief in the power of movement to enlighten and unite.
At the individual level he notes that “bodily actions and trace-forms become a means of producing moments of ecstasy or clairvoyant concentration.”
At the global level, he speculates: “It is, perhaps, a fantastic idea that there could be ideographic [movement] notation through which all people of the world could communicate.”
Does movement really have such power? Find out more in “Decoding Laban’s Choreutics,” starting at the end of May.