| Repository | University of Roehampton: Archives and Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | AHG |
| Creator Name | Ann Hutchinson Guest and the Language of Dance Centre, London |
| Title | Ann Hutchinson Guest Collection |
| Date | 1782-2010 |
| Extent | 6 boxes, 106 volumes, 917 files, 101 items, 112 video cassettes, 96 DVDs, and 191 audio cassettes; plus c31 linear metres of publications |
| Description | Records of Ann Hutchinson Guest and the Language of Dance Centre, London. This includes records relating to the work of the Language of Dance Centre, London; and records relating to the work of Ann Hutchinson Guest as an individual. (The records relating to the work of Ann Hutchinson Guest as an individual cover the work of Ann Hutchinson Guest both before and after the Language of Dance Centre was founded in London in 1967.)
Some of the main types of records that can be found in the collection are: Labanotated scores of dances and other movements; published books; teaching material for Labanotation; video recordings; audio recordings; musical scores; further information about dance and dance notation; and further information about the work of Ann Hutchinson Guest and the Language of Dance Centre, London.
The collection includes records that were created through the following activities:
- The administration of the Language of Dance Centre, London, the Language of Dance Association, and the Language of Dance Trust.
- The creation of publications.
- Teaching, including the teaching of Labanotation and Motif Notation.
- The involvement of Ann Hutchinson Guest and the Language of Dance Centre, London, with other organisations, groups and individuals.
- The creation and collection of Labanotated scores.
- Publicity and the promotion of the work of Ann Hutchinson Guest and the Language of Dance Centre, London.
- The collection of a library and other reference material.
Also included in the collection are two files of correspondence and autographs from well-known people, collected by Ivor Guest (husband of Ann Hutchinson Guest). |
| Language | English |
| Administrative History | Ann Hutchinson Guest is an author, researcher, dance notator, and teacher. She is an expert in the subject of dance notation, particularly Labanotation.
Ann Hutchinson Guest was born in New York City, USA, in 1918. In the 1930s, she trained in dance and learnt the Laban system for recording movement (also known as Labanotation) at the Jooss-Leeder School, Dartington Hall, UK. During the Second World War she returned to New York, dancing with the Welland Lathrop Company and in Broadway musicals. She was one of the founders of the Dance Notation Bureau in New York in 1940, and was its director until 1961 when she moved to London. In 1962 she married dance historian, Ivor Forbes Guest. She founded the Language of Dance Centre in London in 1967, and later founded the Language of Dance Center USA in Connecticut in 1997. Her research interests include Labanotation, Motif Notation and other dance notation systems; she has published extensively on the subject, has promoted the use of dance notation, and has developed the Language of Dance teaching method. Throughout her career she has worked with people and groups from across the world, particularly in the UK and the USA, and has been a member of many organisations relating to dance and dance notation, including the International Council of Kinetography Laban. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and Ohio State University, USA.
The Language of Dance Centre was established in London by Ann Hutchinson Guest in 1967. Language of Dance is a teaching method that teaches dance and dance notation through the Movement Alphabet and Motif Notation. The aim of the Language of Dance Centre is to use the Language of Dance teaching method to teach people of all ages, genders, cultural background and abilities. Work that has been carried out by the Centre includes: the teaching of dance; the teaching of Labanotation and Motif Notation; the creation of Labanotated scores; the creation of publications relating to Labanotation and Motif Notation, including the publication of Labanotated scores; and the collection and loaning-out of reference material relating to dance, dance notation, and movement.
More information about the Language of Dance Centre, London, can be found on their website: http://www.lodc.org |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The books and publications in AHG/7/1, and some of the musical scores in AHG/7/3, are available for access on the open shelves. For access to the rest of the material in the collection, please contact the archivist to make an appointment. |
| Finding Aids | The books, journals and publications in AHG/7/1 can be searched using the Library Catalogue https://library.roehampton.ac.uk/home (choose “Special Collections” from the menu). |
| Related Material | Further collections relating to dance that are held by Special Collections and Archvies at the University of Roehampton include:
- The Monica Collingwood Collection, containing scrapbooks, photograph albums, programmes and other material relating to ballet in the 20th Century, collected by Monica Collingwood, a lifetime ballet fan. See reference code: MC
- The Naseem Khan Collection, containing published books relating to South Asian classical dance that had been collected by Naseem Khan, a writer and former dance critic. See reference code: NK |