Labanotator No - 62
Labanotator No - 62
Labanotator No - 62
62
The Zabattotatoe January 1991
(Laban 1928)
2 The Labanotator, No. 62, January 1991
THE PARTS OF THE BODY
The sign for the head has remained the same, but interesting changes took place in the signs for the
parts of the arms and legs.
1 1
— V o r / r i ( IU-M f o r K fir p e r / r i c h o n :
— Sdiullrr: ii) linkc, b) redid- Sduillcr. ^C
•houlder A
elbow A
\
= nn,,,,,,, *rle* *
| 3*7.
2d (AK 1951)
Mod.
—-——~IIZI Fliif;crwiir7rl. \ 2e
Mod. ////
2a (Laban 1928)
2.2 Knust devised (or inherited) a variation of this vertical line, the length of the line varying according to
the number of strokes, Ex. 2d. This example is taken from Knust's 1951 Handbook of Kinetography
Laban. His 1956 German publication, Abriss der Kinetographie Laban, later also published in
English, shows the signs drawn in the same way.
2.3 For unification, in 1965 the Dance Notation Bureau agreed to drop the extended stroke in favor of
Knust's drawing. The present drawings (resulting from the IBM Labanotation element and also no
doubt from use of computers) make the elbow sign the same length as the wrist sign, giving it a 'gap-
toothed' look, Ex. 2e. It is interesting to note that Laban introduced the letter M (for manus) as an
abbreviation for the hand sign. This seems not to have caught on, I found no example of its use.
The Labanotator, No. 62, January 1991 3
IHifte.
3b 3c
•3d
Knic.
FuCgelcnk.
1 h + +
3e 3f
FuBspltze (Zehen).
3g (AK 1951)
3a (Laban 1928)
22
•« •• »•
4a 4b 4c (Laban 1928)
4d
5a -j h
5b =i t=
5c
5d
4f (Laban 1930) 5e
a a
b b'
c B
d
6a 6b (Laban 1928) 6c (Laban 1930) 6d (AK 1956)
The Labanotator, No. 62, January 1991 5
6.4 Around 1965 AHG proposed 6e as the logical sign for the fingers, with dots added for the individual
fingers, 6f being the thumb, 6g the index finger, etc. The base knuckle is shown as in 6h, 6i being the
'knee' (second) knuckle, and so on. There was general agreement to these and they were included in
Valerie Preston-Dunlop's 1969 book Practical Kinetography (p. 103) as well as AHG's 1970 revised
edition of Labanotation.
6.5 Knust's 1979 Dictionary gives the old signs as first choice but lists 6e as "another method under
consideration". The signs for the toes were likewise changed to five strokes. These are listed in AK
1979 only at the end as an alternate version.
6e 6f 6g 6h 6i 6j 6k
n n n n - f i - n n - n ' - n r t
7a 7b 7c 7d 7e 7f 7g
i® <D D DID
KW KIN KIN KIN (AK 1956) ^ ft ^ S R=
7h 7i 7j 7k 71 7m 7n
8. LIMB SIGNS
8.1 Knust (1956) added dots to the joint signs to show parts of the limbs, these being used for touching
indications. This is shown in Ex. 8a. The dot above the sign meant the part of the limb slightly
above that joint, a dot below indicated the part of the limb slightly below that joint.
8.2 SL 1936 developed the limb signs of 8b and 8c (later b' and c') which meant the whole of the limb
above the stated joint. For touching the center part of the limb was understood.
a 4 h- a'
b i* b' 8b \!
c ? * c' „ „ || II || ||
d 3 k d' 8c
KIN e 35 e'
<LN)
8b'
8a (AK 1956)
6 The Labanotator, No. 62, January 1991
8.3 When AHG learned of Knust's signs she realized that more specificity would be gained by adopting
both sets of signs in designating what part of the limb was being touched. This unification was
agreed in 1965.
8.4 In 1967 the writing of the limb signs of 8b and 8c was abbreviated to 8d and 8e. The original
drawing of the limb signs was modified to 8d' and 8e'. This version appeared in AHG 1970 and AK
1979. Exs. 8d and 8e are still preferred by some as the shape of the limb sign is more visible.
8.5 Indications for specific surfaces of the limbs, 8f-i (SL 1936), followed the same idea as the indications
for hand surfaces (as mentioned above, the dots in 8i were introduced only in 1963). However AK
1979 also has other somewhat similar indications with a quite different meaning. By placing the pin
for 'above' within the limb sign Knust indicates the upper region of the limb, 8j; a 'below' pin
indicates the lower region, 8k; and an 'at center' pin indicates the center region, 81. The sign of 8j is
thus the same as 'a' in 8a, and 8k me same as 'b' in 8a. In this way three regions are shown, without
statement of surface. Ex. 8m is an alternative way of writing, using the example of the left lower arm.
H H -4 \* Ml
Under or Outer Thumb or big Little finger or
. , back or top toe side little toe side
8e 3i
"' iK
fc 8e'•
° >3\ ^ 8f 8g 8h 8i
(AHG 1970)
! 1 IT I 1 I
9a A limb Both arms Left arm Right arm Both legs Left leg Right leg (AHG 1970)
ft HI tt IH H rr ]\\\ + $
9b (VPD 1963) 9c (VPD 1969) 10a lOb lOc
±=±
2. Leeder never wrote a textbook but published many kinetograms, scores of his classroom studies and
dances. In later years he mainly followed the Labanotation rules in his usages.
3. Azra, one of Laban's daughters, was very involved with the notation, however, (according to Knust)
when she came up with some new ideas for the system Laban was furious and Azra's reaction was to
drop the notation completely. This was obviously before Laban's interests were taken into other
directions and he happily left the development of the system to others.
4. Anxious to regain his copyright which had expired, Laban hastily put out a book in 1954. This
publication was so full of errors that he had all copies withdrawn and another edition, noticeably
reworked, came out in 1956 with the same title Principles of Dance and Movement Notation (a
revised edition annotated by Roderyk Lange appeared in 1975). Despite his years of not using the
notation and the great amount of work done in the interim by Knust, Hutchinson and Leeder, Laban
did not notify colleagues of the contents of this book, introducing some signs that had never been seen
before.