|
|
Dear ICKL Members and ICKL Friends,
|
Six months ago, we held our 33rd conference in Seoul, South Korea, organized with the Korean Society of Dance Studies and hosted by Sejong Research Institute for Dance Content at Sejong University. This conference, “The First Landing of the Global Laban Tribe in Korea,” was a sucess thanks to the efforts of onsite organizers, Hyoung Nam Kim and Kyung Eun Shim.
|
Over the next few months, we work will begin on the forthcoming 34th conference in Ohio (at The Ohio State University and Kenyon College), with onsite committee members Hannah Kosstrin, Mara Frazier, Valarie Williams, and Julie Brodie.
Dates: Sunday, July 13–Saturday, July 19, 2025.
|
We will organize elections in early January for some open positions on the Board of Trustees and the Research Panel. This will be an electronic vote, with information sent to members in good standing only (i.e. membership paid in 2023). Note that, as there is no candidate(s) for the Secretary position, the organization may be somehow slowed down in its activities.
The 2024 call for membership will go out in February, after the vote for the new Board of Trustees.
|
|
|
|
|
Publications
|
|
|
Signs of Dance
This book is primarily concerned with introducing Kinetography via the traditional dances of the Alpine-Carpathian region, especially those of the Hungarians. The aim of the text is to set forth a method for analyzing the specific movement features of a still practiced traditional dance culture. The chosen source for the movement examples is the collection of films in the Traditional Dance Archive of the Institute for Musicology at the HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities; nearly all the motifs are excerpts from the scores transcribed from these films. The approach adopted in this book mostly adheres to the earlier practice of two outstanding Hungarian representatives of Kinetography, Mária Szentpál and Ágoston Lányi, with a few modifications and innovations.
Published by L'Harmattan (Budapest), Institute for Musicology, Research Centre for the Humanities. ISBN 9789634149989.
|
Entre pratiques de corps et gestes créatifs. Les chœurs de mouvements Laban (Allemagne, 1923-1936)
In Germany, between the two World Wars, Rudolf Laban and a group of dancers and pedagogues developed "movement choirs": choral dances that have marked the history of dance and continue to be recreated today. Highlighting their heterogeneity and multiplicity, this book – based on Albrecht Knust's archives deposited at the CND media library – shows how these choreographic practices question our relationship with tradition, gymnastic practices and the idea of the collective.
In French. 656 pages. To be published by Centre national de la danse in January 2024.
https://www.cnd.fr/en/products/4217-between-body-practices-and-creative-gestures-laban-movement-choirs-germany-1923-1936
|
Una mirada a la danza [Looking at Dances]
|
By Valerie Preston-Dunlop
|
|
In 2024 the Spanish version of Valerie Preston-Dunlop’s Looking at Dances will be published in Mexico in a collaboration between Espacio Laban, Bonilla y Artigas Editores, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and Universidad Veracruzana. It was translated by Miriam Huberman and has a preface by Jorge Gayón.
|
|
|
|
|
Public Events
|
|
|
Centre national de la danse (France)
As part of its policy to promote dance heritage and facilitate research, the Centre national de la danse (France) set up a grant program called “Aide à la recherche et au patrimoine en danse.” The projects selected in 2022 will be presented in January, with a special notation focus on January 16, with:
● Cassia Sakarovitch, in collaboration with Raymundo Ruiz González: “Ann Hutchinson Guest, a life in notation”
In 2015, subsequent to a meeting with dance notation expert Dr. Ann Hutchinson Guest at the ICKL Conference in Tours, Cassia Sakarovitch conducted a long, filmed interview with her at her home in London. They talked about her life as a notator, the subtleties of score-writing and movement analysis, and the importance of passing on these skills, as well as her experience with deciphering and translating the score of Vaslav Nijinsky's L'Après-midi d'un faune. This material, completed with additional research in collaboration with Raymundo Ruiz González, led to the audiovisual documentary resource to be presented in January. (In addition to Centre national de la danse and other financial supports, ICKL sponsored this project in 2022.)
● Laurianne Faure, Romain Panassié and Béatrice Massin: “Transmission and notation: Le Loup et l’Agneau [choreographed by Béatrice Massin, Benesh notation].”
● Magali Brument and Loïc Touzé: “Forme simple [choreographed by Loïc Touzé, 2018].”
● Flora Rogeboz: “Labanotation of the solo On The First Counterpoint by Nina Vallon.”
Each one-hour presentation will be filmed and available online January 18 at:
https://www.cnd.fr/fr/program/4028-exposes-de-recherche-et-de-notation
|
Symposium in Memory of Ágoston Lányi (Hungary)
The Magyar Tánctudományi Társaság (Hungarian Choreology Association) and the BTK Zenetudományi Intézete (Institute for Musicology of the HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities) held a symposium in memory of Ágoston Lányi (1923-1986) in December. Born 100 years ago, Ágoston Lányi was a research fellow of the Institute for Musicology and, together with György Martin and Ernő Pesovár, a researcher of Hungarian folk dances. With these two eminent scholars in the division of labor for the publication of Hungarian folk dances, Lányi took on the task of dance notation. His lifetime work resulted in the establishment of the Dance Notation and Motif Collection of the Institute for Musicology. In addition to the Folk Dance Department of the Institute, Lányi taught dance notation in many places at home and abroad.
The memorial symposium featured 10 presentations on the theory and application of kinetography by teachers and former and current students of the Hungarian Dance University. The symposium closed with an informal meeting remembering a beloved colleague.
https://www.magyartanctudomany.hu/hirek/lanyi-100-szimpozium-a-szaz-eves-lanyi-agoston-tiszteletere/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learning Notation
|
|
|
Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (France)
Under the supervision of Olivier Bioret and Estelle Corbière, three students completed their 2nd cycle (Master’s degree) in notation at Conservatoire de Paris this past September, with the following notation and reconstruction projects:
Ekaterina Koltakova: score of Necesito (chor. Dominique Bagouet, 1991), extracts; transmission of Déserts d'amour (chor. Dominique Bagouet, from Philippe Reinaldos's score).
Juliette Meschi: score of Esquisse (chor. Kathy Mépuis, 2022), extracts; transmission of Trois en une (chor. Matt Mattox, from Sylvie Duchesne's score).
Thaïs Weishaupt: score of Amazones (chor. Marinette Dozeville, 2021), extracts; transmission of Bartenieff Fundamentals (from Jacqueline Challet-Haas's score).
Eight students completed their first cycle in June, namely: Faustine Aziyadé, Aurélie Camus-Dalle, Florence Casanave, Chloé Corolleur, Julie Lefilliatre, Kevin Martial, Alejandro Russo, Lucas Viallefond.
|
Dance Notation Bureau (USA)
Exam Success Across Borders: From April to December 2023, the DNB proudly announces the outstanding achievements of seven students who successfully passed the Elementary Labanotation Exam, namely Rita Cifuentes González, Mei-Ya Hsu, Dong-Chen Hu, Chih-Hsin Huang, Panagiota Loukisa, Mariana Rogel Mondragon, Omar Hernandez Olivera. An additionalsix conquered the Intermediate Labanotation Exam, namely Eve Currens, Ella Heywood, Catherine Mori, Raquel Reisz, Annie Specker, and Sofia Wilson.
Hailing from the United States, Mexico, Taiwan and Greece, these students have showcased dedication and proficiency in the language of dance.
|
Dance Notation Bureau in Collaboration with Espacio Laban (Mexico)
The Dance Notation Bureau (DNB) Elementary Labanotation Course joined hands with Espacio Laban in Mexico for an online learning experience for the third time. Taught by Mei-Chen Lu in English and skillfully translated into Spanish by Miriam Huberman, the course ran from June 6 to July 8, 2023. The collaboration aimed to bring Labanotation knowledge to the audience in Mexico.
|
Online Kinetography Course by Labkine (France)
Starting in January 2024 the company Labkine will be offering a new online training course (in French and English). "Online Kinetography" imagined and directed by Noëlle Simonet, offers personalized monitoring and group modules built on learning the fundamentals and/or deepening kinetography and movement analysis.
The specificity of this training offers tailor-made support adapted to the candidates' project. Courses will be given by Noëlle Simonet accompanied by Aurélie Berland, with digital educational materials accessible to participants. A team of notators, recognized for their specific skills and experience in various areas of movement, will support on points relating to their domain of expertise, assisting participants in the reflection and implementation of their project.
For more details: https://www.labkine.com/formation-training
|
|
|
|
|
|
Staging from Scores
|
|
|
José Limón – Missa Brevis
Julie Brodie, Mara Frazier, and Valarie Williams are working collaboratively on multiple stagings of the José Limón masterpiece, Missa Brevis. The project brings together stagers, dancers, and coaches from The Ohio State University, Kenyon College, and José Limón Dance Foundation, culminating with a sharing of the work with Columbus, Gambier and Mt. Vernon communities in Ohio, USA. This ambitious project involves 11 Kenyon students and 18 OSU students. Kenyon and OSU students have assisted with reading and staging the dance from score, and respective casts have merged to create the whole. Kenyon dancers performed in the OSU fall concert November 1-5, and OSU dancers will join Kenyon for the December 7-9 Fall Dance Concert. The work will be then performed at the Memorial Theater in downtown Mt. Vernon, Ohio in February, 2024. This staging from score was coached by Dante Puleio, the Artistic Director of the world-renowned José Limón Dance Company.
|
Helen Tamiris – Negro Spirituals
This iconic work has come to life through two remarkable staging efforts with Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) and with Valarie Parker Henry (VHDance / Dance Mosaic). RDT did four ticketed performances and up to 10 enriching non-ticketed school performances since June 2023. Valarie Parker Henry (VHDance / Dance Mosaic) has performances scheduled starting in late November 2023.
|
Doris Humphrey – The Shakers
With Agnes Scott College, staged by Bridget Roosa — with a total of four performances in October 2023 and April 2024.
|
Doris Humphrey – Water Study
Jillian Hopper takes the stage at Eastern Michigan University to present Water Study – four performances starting on January 26, 2024.
|
Lotte Goslar – Bounces
|
Sian Ferguson, a dance instructor at Cabrillo College in Los Altos, CA, brought the vivacious Bounces to her students, staging the dance from the score. The performances were on December 1 and 2, 2023.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lynne Weber, Executive Director of the Dance Notation Bureau, captured the essence of creativity by notating the dance video of the renowned TikTok creator, drewJeeezy. With an impressive 90 million likes garnered in just six years, drewJeeezy's "I Just Wanna Rock" is choreographed to Lil Uzi Vert's hit song. This fascinating collaboration between notation and hip-hop demonstrates the dynamic intersection of technology and dance notation.
|
Raymundo Ruiz González is currently a Fellow PhD at Temple University in the Dance Department. He has been granted the prestigious Mexican scholarship Fonca-Conahcit-FINBA to develop his Ph.D. project focusing on the research of notational practices at the Dance Notation Bureau and the Fondo Nacional para el Desarrollo de la Danza Popular Mexicana. During his PhD studies, Ruiz González will be directed by the renowned scholar Dr. Mark Franko. With this project, Raymundo hopes to continue creating bridges between Laban's communities and particularly to continue developing projects among the Latin-American community.
Sinibaldo De Rosa, graduated (2nd cycle) from Conservatoire de Paris in 2022, with the notation project “Staging Kurdish Alevi Rituals: 4Kapı 40Makam” (see report: doi:10.18866/biaa2022.10). While serving as Event Secretary for the Society for Dance Research in 2023, Sinibaldo also published a chapter on ritual postures within Alevi rituals in French within the book Danses et Rituels (publ. Centre national de la danse). Dr. Sinibaldo De Rosa will be pursuing a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship on "Negotiating Abjection: Performance and Politics among Turkey’s Diasporas in Lombardy” at the University of Milan in 2024.
|
Foteini Papadopoulou is currently a temporary lecturer for Kinetography at the Institute of Contemporary Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.
In 2024, Foteini will proceed with the 2nd round of her Movement Journals/Moving Journals (MJ/MJ) series: For a year, she will create one movement event each day and notate them in Kinetography Laban. In this research, Foteini will turn her attention to her Pontic Greek heritage and traditional art and craft techniques and aesthetics of the Pontic Greeks. The project, under the working title how to transpose and recharge, is funded by the Kunststiftung NRW.
Victoria Watts is currently the Executive Director at Seattle’s Moisture Festival, known as the world’s largest and longest-running festival of variety, comedy, and burlesque. Watts also accepted an invitation to serve as Chair for Benesh International’s Board of Studies, volunteering some time with them in the creation of some teaching materials.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
· source: ICKL 2023, group photo in Seoul.
|
|
· source: Fügedi's book Signs of Dance, cover.
|
|
· source: Ann Hutchinson, image from Cassia Sakarovitch's documentary.
|
|
· source: Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, photo Beckton Beach. Creative Commons.
|
|
· source: Limon's Missa Brevis, restaging 2023, photo Valarie Williams.
|
|
· source: drewJeeezy on TikTok.
|
|
Sungu Okan is the ICKL newsletter Editor, with contribution from Marion Bastien. Thanks to Julie Brodie for her help.
|
In order for us to prepare ICKL Newsletter #15 (planned May 2024), we kindly ask you to send your news before April 10, 2024, to newsletter@ickl.org.
You are welcome to send us news that could be of interest for the Laban community such as announcements of courses, workshops, lectures, restagings, new scores or scores in progress.
|
|
If for some reason you are not involved anymore in notation activities and want to unsubscribe, send a mail to secretary@ickl.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
