About the Book:

Rudolf Laban is to movement what Stanislavski is to acting. He devised the first wholly successful system for recording human movement, a system which is increasingly influential in the training of actors and dancers.

Labanotation is recognized as the leading text in the field for teaching dance students, anthropologists, and movement analysts how to read and use Rudolf Laban's revolutionary notation system. The book by Ann Hutchinson Guest is now available in a fourth edition, the first complete revision of the text since 1977.

Initiated by the movement genius Rudolf Laban, and refined through more than 60 years of international use and study, Labanotation, the first wholly successful system for recording human movement, has had the effect on ballet and other forms of the dance that the perfection of music notation in the Renaissance had on the development of music. Through Labanotation, one can now record objectively the changes in the angles of limbs, the paths of space, and the flow of energy as well as addressing subtle distinctions of movement motivation and facial expression. It is now possible to record accurately, for study and reconstruction, the great dance creations. The system is also simple enough for a child to learn easily as an integral part of athletic or dance training.

No one interested in the study of movement or dance should be without the book Labanotation.

What people say:

"The book is well organized, easy to read, and has excellent illustrations. ...A necessity for all dancers, it is also used by anthropologists, theatre people, physical educators and those doing mental therapy." — CHOICE: Books for College Libraries

"Definitive. It will be of inestimable benefit to all persons working in the field of dance." — George Balanchine, choreographer

"A necessity for all who are interested in the technical aspects of this art." — Dramatics

About the Author:

Ann Hutchinson Guest is internationally celebrated as the foremost authority on dance notation. She is the founder of the Language of Dance Centre, an international organization dedicated to teaching her Language of Dance system, an approach to teaching dance that focuses on the building blocks of movement. In addition to her work with Language of Dance, Guest has worked with choreographers such as Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Doris Humphrey, and Jose Limon as a dancer and notator.