WHAT IS LANGUAGE OF DANCE®
Language of Dance® (LOD) is a unique tool for exploring, creating and recording dance through the use of symbols.
Dr Ann Hutchinson Guest identified and codified the Movement Alphabet®, in which each movement element is represented by a symbol. This allows the exploration of movement possibilities and gives the opportunity to choreograph dance sequences using the symbols as a starting point for creativity.
Dr Hutchinson Guest further developed Rudolf Laban’s Kinetography, for which she coined the term “Labanotation”. She then began to explore using the notation symbols in a freer way while teaching children in New York City in the 1950s. The experience inspired her to identify the list of prime movement actions, universal to all movement forms. After extensive research, she codified what she felt to be the ABC of movement, which she named the Movement Alphabet®. Here, the main components of movement are represented by basic Motif Notation symbols together with the corresponding movement/dance terminology.
Below is an image of the Movement Alphabet®, which you can also download as a PDF by clicking on the button underneath.
