Laban dance centre

Laban dance centre- Deptford by Sharn Gill

Located in the heart of SE8, you will find one of the leading dance training centres in the country and perhaps, even, the world. Laban isn’t just the award winner of the Stirling Architecture Prize 2003 and the RIBA Building Award 2003, or just the largest purpose-built contemporary dance space in the world, but it’s also a heritage that embraces every element of dance and movement.

The history behind Laban began with one pioneer - Rudolf Laban. Born in 1879 in an Austro-Hungarian empire, he rejected the idea of following in his father’s military footsteps. Instead, he moved to Germany and dedicated his life to studying and establishing the freedom of movement as a serious form of self-expression. He worked towards making dance and movement available for all - regardless of culture or age and became a recognised intellectual in the field of dance theatre and movement art. Despite his success, his work was destroyed during Nazi Germany and he fled to Britain.

The birth of the Laban centre in the UK began in Manchester in 1938 and moved to Surrey in 1953; it was here that Laban expanded his work to form the basis for the expressive movement training of actors. Although Rudolf died in 1958, his ideologies live on and grow in their current residence - Deptford - and forms the basis for many training institutions around the country..

Today, Laban boasts a plethora of diplomas, BA, MA and Research Degree programmes in choreography, teaching dance, performance workshops, classical, alternative and contemporary dance, dance science and dance health amongst many. The fact that the curriculum is also open to international students only makes admission more competitive. Only 120 students are accepted onto the undergraduate course and a further 30 on the MA courses available. "The criteria for selection can vary with every applicant but they must have the basics: commitment, creativity and enthusiasm", comments Lorraine Fisher, a spokesperson for Laban.

When it comes to stating the top reasons for living and working in Deptford, she goes on to say "It’s a great place for visual arts, it’s affordable and the area is on the up with all of the redevelopment planned".

In addition to the professional training, Laban also offer short public access courses and host a variety of dance performances by Akram Khan, Henri Oguike, Wendy Houstoun, Benji Reid, Charles Linehan, Russell Maliphant and Jasmin Vardimon and the like. Be prepared to get addicted and pick out those dancing shoes.

Laban
Creekside
London SE8 3DZ
tel: 020 8691 8600