Brenda Farnell and the Laban Script in Anthropology Studies

When people think of Labanotation, it is commonly in relation to preserving/recording dance movements and choreography. It is interesting to note that a group of anthropologists are using Labanotation for other kinds of movement such as rituals, ceremonial action and sign languages. They call this the Laban script to emphasize Labanotation’s formal properties as a true writing system that is comparable to any “alphabetic” script. In one case, Brenda Farnell has adapted the system to notate non-vocal (action) signs in the storytelling performances of Nakota people, an indigenous nation of North America.

Read the rest of this article in Library News from the Dance Notation Bureau...