Principal KIN Usages and Rules Differing from LAB Usages and Rules

Submitted by Raphaël Cottin and Mei-Chen Lu - December 13, 2021

Jacqueline Challet-Haas's paper "Principal 'KIN' Usages and Rules Differing from 'LAB' Usages and Rules" is now available online. This article was originally written for the 21st ICKL Conference in 1999. The whole article has been revised with some updates, new layouts and graphics in 2020.   Now it is available in English and French at Centre National dÉcriture du Mouvement en Cinétographie Laban website.  

Note on the April 2020 publication:

This Technical Paper, revised by Jacqueline Challet-Haas, Raphaël Cottin and Noëlle Simonet, has been copied as close as possible to the original, while harmonizing the typography. The kinetograms have been revised as well as certain reformulations which seemed to us to contribute to greater clarity. The original paper can be consulted on request in the CNEM archives, deposited at the library of the Centre National de la Danse in Pantin, France.

Chinese Folk Dances

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu, May 10, 2021

Madame Dai Ailian played a vital role in modern Chinese dance development.  She was born in Trinidad and received her education in England.  During World War II, she returned to her motherland and along she brought with her was Laban's theory to China. The system and theory Laban and his pupils introduced had deeply influenced Mme. Dai’s choreography and teaching.  

In the 1980s, Mme. Dai and her students spent weeks in rural areas in China to learn ethnic folk dances from locals and preserved them in Labanotation.  Later  "Eight Tibetan Folk Dances", "Eight Yi Folk Dances", and "Eight Chinese Nationalities Folk Dances" were published.  These folk dances are simple but reflect the life of people and aesthetic sense from their own culture.  

May 10 is Mme. Dai's birthday.  Here is our tribute to her by sharing her notation scores with the permission from the National Ballet of China. 

To view these scores, click the links below: 

"Eight Tibetan Folk Dances", 

"Eight Yi Folk Dances", and 

"Eight Chinese Nationalities Folk Dances"

Notes From a Course in Correctives

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- April 6, 2021.

Five lectures and accompanying movement exercises which constitute an introductory course in correctives given by Irmgard Bartenieff at the Dance Notation Bureau.

The five sessions include:

1. Corrective: Its History and Terminology,

2. The Lower Unit: Initiation from Center of Weight - Locomotion - Change of Level,

3. The Rotary Element in Movement,

4. The Upper Unit: Counterbalance - Exploration - Orientation - Manipulation - Communication, and

5. Breathing.

The file is too large to view online. To download the book, click here.

Four Adaptations of Effort Theory in Research and Teaching

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- March 17, 2021

Four Adaptations of Effort Theory in Research and Teaching by Irmgard Bartenieff, Martha Davis, and Forrestine Paulay.

Cecily Dell in the introduction stated:

"The four essays were originally lectures given in a seminar at the Dance Notation Bureau in 1968.  The authors collaborated in forming the first training program in Effort-Shape in the United States in 1965.  They have since become researchers and teachers in more specialized applications of Effort-Shape, and these essays reflect their current work.

The first essay explores the roots of Effort-Shape in Laban's early writings, while the second examines the theory in terms of its logic and consistency for scientific investigation.  The other two essays describe particular applications of Effort-Shape: one in movement training and re-training, and the other in cross-cultural movement research (choreometrics)."

To view the book online or download it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Q3wiYtY7OCakM4TFQ3QTdXRUU/view?usp=sharing

Jazz Collections

 Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- March 8, 2021

Jazz Collection: 

• Exercises and Jazz Combinations by Walter Nicks (1963). Notated by Muriel Topaz and Allan Miles.
• Introduction to Modern Jazz by Peter Gennaro (1961). Notated by Jennifer Scanlon and Billie Mahoney.
• Modern Jazz Combinations by Billie Mahoney (1963). Notated by Muriel Topaz and Allan Miles.
• The Twist by Chubby Checker (1962). Notated by Allan Miles, Carl Wolz, and Billie Mahoney.

Lyric Jazz Dances by Rose Lorenz, no date (1980s?):

• True Love.
• Frankie and Johnny.
• Alley Cat.
• Sophisticated Swing.
• Golden Slippers.
• The Hustle.
• Taurus.
• Ring Dem Bells.

Modern Jazz New York Notation by Svea Becker and Laurie Winn (1975-1981). Edited by Ray Cook (1983)

• Foreword
• A Definition of Modern Jazz Dance
• Footnotes and Music
• Glossary
• Jazz Terms
• Notated Combinations
• Index of Labanotation Terminology

Variations on a Jazz Technique by Alvin Ailey (1965): 

• Head Exercises. Notated by Ray Cook.
• Chest and Shoulder Exercises. Notated by Ray Cook.
• Short Movement Phrases. Notated by Ray Cook.
• Dance Phrase from "Rocka My Soul". Notated by Ray Cook.
• Dance Phrase from "Chain Gang". Notated by Ray Cook.
• Lindy Phrase from "Blues Suite". Notated by Ray Cook.
• Introduction to Tap Dancing by Paul Draper (1961). Notated by Ray Cook, Billie Mahoney, Lucy Venable, and Carl Wolz.
• Introduction to Modern Jazz by Peter Gennaro (1961). Notated by Jennifer Scanlon and Billie Mahoney.
• Modern Jazz Combinations by Billie Mahoney (1963). Notated by Muriel Topaz and Allan Miles.
• Exercises and Jazz Combinations by Walter Nicks (1963). Notated by Muriel Topaz and Allan Miles.

Better Dancing with Fred Astaire

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- February 22, 2021

Better Dancing with Fred Astaire was published in 1957.  Twelve Popular Dance Routines were styled by the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, including Fox Trot, Rhumba, Mambo, Tango, Samba, Cha cha cha, and Waltz. Labanotation was by Ann Hutchinson, word description by Edwin J. Sims, and music arranged by William C. Schoenfeld.

The file might be too large to preview online. We recommend you to download the file. 

A Primer for Dance by Ann Hutchinson

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- February 16, 2021

A Primer for Dance was the first in a series presenting Labanotation in a manner understandable to student and teacher alike.  Ann Hutchinson introduced "The Language of Dance" through Labanotation to teach fundamentals of movement and the traditional steps on which all styles and dance forms are built.   The materials presented here are a selection of established forms rather than movements of a personal invention.  

The book includes cut-out symbols, the characters Peggy and Pete who guide you to read and write dance notation, and music scores.  

The illustrations are by Doug Anderson, the music is by Julia Aerts.  A Primer for Dance was published in 1958.

Please note the original book is wider than our scanner can accommodate, so some parts might be missing in the scanned version.  

Effort Observation and Effort Assessment in Rehabilitation

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- February 12, 2021

This is a transcription from a lecture given by Irmgard Bartenieff on June 11, 1962 at the National Notation Conference, sponsored by the Dance Notation Bureau.