When I began to study with Irmgard, she was 75 – well past retirement age. But she was not retired. She remained actively engaged with the study of movement in many different ways.
Irmgard’s primary job was teaching in and directing the Effort/Shape Program at the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City. In addition, she maintained a small connective tissue massage practice and was quietly writing a book, which would finally be published when she turned 80.
During the winter, Irmgard went to Hawaii, where she did research on Asian dance forms with colleagues at the University of Hawaii. She also studied martial arts.
She never boasted about any of these activities. Her curiosity kept her young. Her wide-ranging engagement with movement of all sorts made her an icon of possibility for her students — a living example of the many ways Laban Movement Analysis can be applied.