Laban Centre for Movement and Dance

Rudolf Laban (1879-1958), Hungarian dancer and researcher, considered the father of educational dance, believed that the different messages that each human being brings from within are the greatest wealth of a society such as ours, which depends on and lives for and through group experiences.

During the Industrial Revolution in England, he worked with entrepreneur F.C. Lawrence and developed a methodology to analyze movement called Effort Study. This approach, in addition to being geared primarily toward the selection and training of workers, allowed for a better understanding of human movement in general. He arrived at a formula for a detailed analysis of the elements of movements and their combinations.

Concepts expressed by Laban about human movement made a great impact and began to influence work developed in areas such as Education, Psychology, Speech Therapy, Drama, Dance, Music, Art, and Physical Education.

To date, his teaching continues to be spread all over the world at Centers and Universities. The main center is the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. In Brazil, Maria Duschenes, who studied with Laban and his followers, greatly contributed to the dissemination of his work and training of dancers and educators.