Laban Movement in Piano: An Introductory Guide to Incorporating Laban Choral Conducting Gestures in Piano Performance and Pedagogy

Abstract

Rudolf von Laban was a pioneering movement theorist, deeply interested in the expression of human movement. His teachings have been adapted by James Jordan and Giselle Wyers for expressive choral conducting. Pianists, both performers, and educators, have long emphasized expressive playing as an essential element of piano performance and instruction. This dissertation investigates how Laban’s concepts, along with the choral movements developed by Jordan and Wyers, can be applied to piano performance and teaching to teach expressive movements from the outset of the learning process.