Laban for Actors and Dancers: Putting Laban's Movement Theory Into Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Jean Newlove

This handbook, complete with graded exercises, is for teachers and students of both drama and dance, who want to use the Laban system of movement.

Although almost every professional actor and dancer in North America and Europe is familiar with the work of German-born movement teacher, Rudolf Laban (d. 1988), his system of analyzing and recording movement has the misleading reputation of being a "difficult" and "complex" technique.

Author Jean Newlove, a renowned movement teacher, takes the reader step-by-step through the basic principles of movement, with graded exercises at the end of each chapter. She also provides practical examples of how movement training can be used in the development of characters in specific plays.

Genres: Theatre

Paperback

First published December 15, 1992

About the author

See also: Jean MacColl for her biography of daughter Kirsty.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not very useful. If looking for a book that will explain Laban's movement theories and expand them for theater, use Nicole Potter's Movement for Actors. It is much clearer, easier to read, and more informative.

[Sagan Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book! I've been dancing for 8-ish years (a few different styles and multiple teachers), and I've learned some dance theory over the years, but I found that this book really brought everything together. It outlines the underlying reasons *why* we do this vs that, and it helped me understand movement as a whole (and the intentionality behind it) in a new way.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of 3.5. I enjoyed this much more than "Laban for All". Easier to read and the flow of the book was much better. Great charts, too.