One of the most important holdings of the Tanzarchiv Leipzig is the estate of the dancer, choreographer and dance theorist Rudolf von Laban. With his “School for Art” on Monte Verità near Ascona, he developed ideas for a new movement pedagogy and a movement script from 1911 to 1917, which he further perfected at the end of the 1920s (Kinetography or Labanotation). Due to his artistic, theoretical and pedagogical impulses, he is considered a pioneer and co-founder of modern dance in Germany, where he also had a significant influence on amateur dance through movement choruses. In the 1930s, Laban also held important posts in official dance institutions and organisations until he broke with the Nazi regime and emigrated to England via Paris in 1938. The Tanzarchiv Leipzig houses Laban’s remaining estate in Germany, which documents his work through manuscripts, letters and numerous drawings as well as photographs and some films. Other Laban collections are in England, at the National Resource Centre for Dance at the University of Surrey, at the Brotherton Library in Leeds and at Trinity Laban College in London.
