From symbols to movement: ‘LANTD’, the design and implementation of a Laban notation-based method for teaching dance

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the design and evaluate the impact of a Laban Notation-based method for Teaching Dance (LANTD) on novice dancers’ performance, in the case of Greek traditional dance. In this research, traditional dance is conceived in its second existence as a kind of presentational activity performed outside its community of origin. One hundred and six second-year university students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Athens, Greece, participated in a five-week programme randomly assigned in experimental groups A and B. Experimental group A was taught a repertoire of Greek traditional dances by the LANTD method with the use of Labanotation symbols and multimedia tools, i.e. Labankido© tutorials, while experimental group B was taught the same dances only by reproducing the teacher’s performance. The Dance Performance Assessment Instrument (DPAI) was used to collect pre, post and retention data on discrete Labanotation and Effort/Shape parameters of dance performance. Intra- and inter-person comparisons were conducted for group and gender. Results showed that dance performance improvement of participants in group A was superior to that of their peers in group B. As LANTD promoted Greek students’ dance performance overtime, it is suggested to be implemented in other dance genres.