Around 1913 the Austro-Hungarian painter Rudolf Laban declared he was giving up art for dance. When a fellow responded with insulting remarks about dancers, Laban became involved in a scuffle, knocking out his opponent. Afterwards he was inwardly tormented, not only for fighting, but also for having set his heart “on the most despised profession in the world.”
In the early years of the 20th century, visual art was a rich field. Masterworks of art dating from previous centuries could be studied. The great European art academies provided structured training and exhibition opportunities. There was a rich body of theory written by artists, philosophers, and critics. And waves of innovations were challenging tradition and fostering new approaches.
From an artist’s perspective, dance was indeed the poor relation of all the arts, lacking history, theory, literature, and any way to preserve masterful choreographies.
Laban set out to change this. Find out how in the next blogs.