35th Biennial Conference of ICKL
Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen-Werden, Germany
Schrifttanz|Tanzschrift a Century Onward: (Re-)Positioning & (Re-)Imagining Laban’s Notation System
Conference July 12-17, 2027
(Arrival on Sunday July 11th – Departure on Sunday July 18th)
Pre-Conference with Embodied Introduction July 9–10, 2027
Led by teaching staff and alumni·ae of the Institute for Contemporary Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts
(Arrival on Thursday July 8th)
The conference marks the approaching centenary of Rudolf Laban’s notation system, originally published in 1928 under the term Schrifttanz [Script Dancing]. By 2027, this groundbreaking system will have achieved nearly a century of influence, spreading worldwide across a variety of disciplines and applications—just as Laban himself envisioned.
Our 2027 Biennial conference coincides with the centenary of Folkwang University of the Arts, founded in 1927 as the “Folkwang School of Music, Dance and Speech.” We are fortunate to be hosted by the university in Essen-Werden, Germany, as it celebrates this historic milestone.
The conference is entitled “Schrifttanz|Tanzschrift a Century Onward: (Re-)Positioning & (Re-)Imagining Laban’s Notation System,” and aims to highlight the remarkable variety and creativity in the system’s usages. Participants will explore the ways in which notation continues to evolve, adapting to new artistic, pedagogical, and research contexts and challenges while remaining rooted in its foundational principles.
Institute for Contemporary Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts
Since its foundation in 1927, dance training at “Folkwangschule für Musik, Tanz und Sprechen,” as it was called, has been closely associated with the tradition of movement theory and notation created by Rudolf von Laban. After returning from his exile in England after World War II, Folkwang co-founder Kurt Jooss appointed Albrecht Knust to teach Kinetography Laban at the Folkwang dance school, where he continued to refine the system until his death in 1978.
From the early days until now, Kinetography at Folkwang has been perceived as a valuable analytical tool and has been considered an integral part of all dance training. This vision of notation as a universal approach to movement and dance for a larger audience of dancers, choreographers and researchers is being continued today: Following the long Folkwang tradition, all undergraduate dance students attend classes in Kinetography Laban for at least 5 semesters. Methods for notation-based creation and composition are particularly developed within the MA program “Movement Notation/Movement Analysis”.
Foteini Papadopoulou, ICKL Board member and liaison for the conference
Dr. Anja K. Arend, Folkwang University of the Arts
Campus Essen-Werden | Folkwang Universität der Künste
Photos 1. Alte Abtei [Old Abbey] © Luise Jakobi / 2. Folkwang Bibliothek [Library] © Heike Kandalowski / 3. Torbogen [Archway] © Franziska Götzen