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Juana de Laban: A Brief Biography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Robyn Baker Flatt
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Extract

I knew Juana de Laban for about twenty-three years. She was my mentor and distinctly affected the course of my life. Throughout those years I was thrilled but perplexed as to why this very strong woman with so many prominent associations would choose to befriend me, and why our friendship kept recurring after periods of being apart. When at the end of her life she handed her personal collection to me for deposit in the Dallas Theater Center, I became the link between this dynamic individual and her final effort to remain part of the fabric of life. In retrospect, as her personal and professional history unfolds a clearer picture emerges.

I have constructed this biography from her materials and from correspondence with her family, students, and colleagues. I must stress that Juana was an extremely private person. She almost never spoke of personal things. Many persons still living also wish to respect her privacy. Furthermore, her own notes are often in conflict as to dates and figures. This brief account, therefore, stands to be verified, expanded and perhaps corrected in time.

Type
Articles
Information
Dance Research Journal , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , Spring 1981 , pp. 4 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Congress on Research in Dance 1981

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References

Notes

1. Dewey, Violet E., “Dance Keeps Professor on the Move,” The Milwaukee Journal, 11 March 1971.Google Scholar

2. Brinkerhoff, Mary, “She Toasts Dance at SMU's Barre,” Dallas Morning News, 2 September 1971.Google Scholar

3. Ibid.

4. “The Triad,” a dance program at the Young Men's Hebrew Association in New York City, New York, 18 March 1939.

5. Brinkerhoff.

6. Brinkerhoff.

7. Brinkerhoff.

8. These dates were taken from the personal notes of Juana de Laban, Juana de Laban Collection.

9. Biographical note in program for “The Triad.”

10. Interviews with Elizabeth Hecht, Fort Worth, Texas, September 1979 through August 1980.

11. Benoit, Patti, “Dr. de Laban: Body is ‘Ready Tool’ For Dance,” Temple Daily Telegram, Temple, Texas, 5 December 1976.Google Scholar

12. Rudolf Laban to Juana de Laban, 23 December 1950, Juana de Laban Collection.

13. To the best of my knowledge, one of the brothers operates a health spa and school while the other is a mechanical designer. One of the sisters is a radio news translator while the other is an x-ray technician in cancer research.

14. Biographical note in program for “The Triad.”

15. Ibid.

16. No further information is available to me about the exact date or place.

17. I have constructed this sequence of events as my best estimate of fact based on interviews, printed newspaper articles, and Juana's own notes.

18. I have no further information on this incident.

19. Miller, Anne, “Drama Professor Surprised by US,” The Baylor Lariat, 15 May 1963.Google Scholar

20. Ibid.

21. Hanya Holm to Juana de Laban, 21 July 1947, Juana de Laban Collection.

22. The complete title of her dissertation is “The Dance in the American Theater: An Analytical History Based on the New York Stage from 1750 to 1821.”

23. Undated brochure, Juana de Laban Collection.

24. Telephone interview with Sandye Moore, Temple, Texas, Fall, 1979.

25. Hecht.

26. Paul Baker to Juana de Laban, 19 February 1954, Juana de Laban Collection. “I hope to have something concrete to offer you before the middle of March.”

27. Quill, Guinter, “Noted Professor Directs Baylor Spring Production,” Waco Times Herald, 19 April 1961.Google Scholar

28. Brinkerhoff.

29. Brinkerhoff.

30. Dianne Woodruff to Robyn Flatt, 5 October 1980.

31. Brinkerhoff.

32. As director of curriculum development and faculty appointments for the DTC's graduate program, I was officially in a position to see that the Laban expertise be utilized.

33. The text for the latter course was Dell, Cecily's A Primer for Movement Description, Dance Notation Bureau, Inc., New York, 1970.Google Scholar

34. Interpretation of Psalm 1; 27: 1–6; and 150,” sacred dance performance directed by Juana de Laban at Grace Presbyterian Church, Temple, Texas, 15 May 1977.

35. Hecht.

36. Notes in bulletin of Grace Presbyterian Church, 15 May 1977, Juana de Laban Collection.

37. Interview and notes from Gary Moore in Temple, Texas, October 1979 and August 1980.

38. Juana made this comment to Marian Mitchell, librarian at the Dallas Theater Center. Marian in turn passed it on to me in November 1980.