Laban Dance Centre

INFORMATION

From the same architects of Tate Modern, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, a new building for the world’s largest contemporary dance school, the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, opened on February 5th 2003. Just as Tate Modern it is an important new cultural landmark for London.

The centre was founded by Rudolf Laban, an Hungarian refugee, soon after the second world war. He was one of the founding figures of modern European dance. He fled nazi Germany and settled in Britain in 1948 where he established the art of movement studio in Manchester. This later became the Laban centre for movement and dance, and was relocated to New Cross in South London.

The new building is located in Deptford Creek, one of those curiously placeless voids in the city where rubbish and litter accumulate like fluff under the wardrobe. It still shows the scars of wartime bombing. A most uncommon location for such a notorious project. It's one of those confrontations of the banal with the fragile.

For the design of the building the architects collaborated with Michael Craig-Martin, an artist. the result is a special mix between color and light. by day, the semi-reflective, semi-translucent polycarbonate both mirrors the passing weather and allows the regular activity of the centre - dance classes, rehearsals and workshops. By night the centre becomes a colored illuminating volume. An effect caused by the glass facade and the colored walls at the inside.

A remarkable building designed for an equally remarkable institution.

HOW TO VISIT

The Laban Centre for Dance and Movement can be visited on wednesdays. There is a small public area you may enter, including the cafetaria.

by train
If travelling from Central London, travel from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge Stations to either Deptford or Greenwich. There are frequent trains and the journey time is approximately 15 minutes. (Please note if travelling from Charing Cross or Waterloo East, you may need to change trains at London Bridge.) Laban is approximately a 10 minute walk from either station.

by bus
Bus numbers 47, 53, 89, 177, 188, 225 and 453 stop near Laban.

by road
From Central London: Take the Old Kent Road to its end in New Cross then follow the A2 until you reach the junction for Deptford Church Street. Turn left and continue to the mini roundabout, then turn right into Creekside.
From M2/M25: Follow the A2 until you reach the turning for the junction for Deptford Church Street. Turn right and continue to the mini roundabout, then turn right into Creekside. There is limited parking at Laban but there is also on street parking.

address
Creekside
London SE8 3DZ

www.laban.org