Hartford Ballet School Workbooks: Learning Ballet Through Labanotation

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- August 13, 2026

We are pleased to share, with permission from Enid Lynn, a set of four Hartford Ballet School Workbooks, created for young ballet students beginning their study of dance. 

The workbooks are particularly notable for incorporating Labanotation into the process of learning ballet. Rather than introducing notation only to advanced dancers, the Hartford Ballet School used it as part of the education of children, approximately 8 to 12 years old. The project was initiated by Enid Lynn, Director of the School of the Hartford Ballet. After studying at the Sigurd Leeder School in Germany in 1970, Lynn became intrigued by the concept of literacy through Labanotation. Working with Jill Beck, Judy Coopersmith, and her colleague Diane Fleming, Lynn developed four ballet workbooks incorporating Labanotation in the 1980s. Teachers used the workbooks alongside their ballet classes as students learned new steps and dances.

The project reflects an important idea: dance notation can be part of learning to dance, not simply a method for recording choreography after the fact. By connecting the written notation with the child's physical experience, the Hartford Ballet School introduced young dancers to the possibility of reading and understanding movement.

These workbooks provide a fascinating example of an early effort to develop dance literacy through Labanotation.

For more background and history on these workbooks, Ambre Emory-Maier wrote a fascinating article about the project.  

Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks to Enid Lynn for granting permission to share these historic workbooks; Ambre Emory-Maier for arranging access and permission; and Valarie Williams and her graduate associates at the DNB Extension Center for Education and Research at The Ohio State University for scanning Workbook 2, Part 2. 

The materials are shared for personal study and research.

Changes and New Developments in Labanotation

Submitted by Mei-Chen Lu -- July 13, 2026

Changes and New Developments in Labanotation (1966)
Edited by Muriel Topaz

This publication documents an important stage in the evolution of Labanotation. In her introduction, Topaz observed that twenty-five years of practical application had expanded practitioners’ understanding of the system and its expressive possibilities. She emphasized that, like any language, Labanotation must continue to evolve: “no language can remain static—it must grow and flourish in order to continue as a viable form of communication.”

The revisions presented in this volume emerged through careful study and discussion among American and European Labanotation practitioners, particularly during international conferences. Intended to improve precision and consistency in the description of movement, these developments represented an evolutionary refinement of the notation system rather than a departure from its established principles. Topaz also stressed the importance of incorporating these revisions into future editions of the standard Labanotation texts to promote an internationally unified notation practice.

As part of the Dance Notation Bureau’s ongoing efforts to preserve and provide access to historical notation resources, we are pleased to share this significant publication with the Labanotation community.