Laban

Laban is the largest purpose-built contemporary dance centre in the world. Laban’s awe-inspiring landmark building is at the heart of South East London's thriving arts community and houses the largest team of specialist contemporary dance teachers in the world. Laban brings together artists to train, collaborate and research in inspiring creative, intellectual and physical space.

In 1948 Laban began its life as the Art of Movement Studio in Manchester, and moved to Addlestone in Surrey due to expansion in 1953. The Art of Movement Studio was renamed Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in 1975, and moved to new premises in New Cross, South East London.

Rudolf von Laban was born in 1879 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, into an aristocratic family. He initially studied architecture in Paris and became interested in the relationship between the moving human form and the space which surrounds it. He moved to Munich at age 30 and began to concentrate on the movement arts.

One of his great contributions to dance was his 1928 publication of Kinetographie Laban, a dance notation system that came to be called Labanotation and is still used as one of the primary movement notation systems in dance.

Laban is now pleased to offer a unique venue for corporate hire. The inspiring spaces range from a 300 seat theatre to 12 professional dance studios catering for a variety of events, from smaller meetings and conferences to product launches and evening receptions.

Laban offers a tour of the building focusing on its architecture and key features. The duration of the tour is normally up to 1 hour. The meeting point is at Reception, at the main entrance. It is advisable to check the dates and times of tours beforehand.

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Contact details for Laban Dance Centre tel:  44 (0)2086918600, fax: 44 (0)2086918400, email: [email protected]

There are some areas which are accessible to the public in the building. These are the Café, the Health Suite and the Bar in the Foyer (during a performance). Feast Your Eyes Café at Laban is open to visitors Monday – Friday 0830-1830 hrs, Saturday 0830-1630 hrs, Sunday Closed.

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