July 31 to August 2, 2026
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro
MAM Rio
The International Conference
LABAN 2026 JOURNEYS:
BODY–SPACE CARTOGRAPHIES
will invite artists, students, researchers, and educators from diverse fields to constitute territories of passage, understood as spaces of movement between memories and futures, between tradition and reinvention, between bodies, spaces, and ways of knowing.
The cartographies evoked here are simultaneously concrete actions and poetic gestures: traversing disciplines, languages, cultures, and modes of knowledge transmission. Such passages open space for the creation of zones of sharing, friction, intervention, and displacement, while also fostering intergenerational and transdisciplinary contributions from diverse political, geographical, and ideological contexts, inviting new perspectives and an expanded understanding of oneself and
one’s surroundings.
LABAN 2026 reaffirms its commitment to the professional community that, over decades, has built this international gathering as a space for exchange, deepening, and resonance of Labanian thought. At the same time, it proposes itself as a gateway for those who wish to approach the field of movement studies. We hope to create, for all participants, a welcoming environment in which different layers of experience may coexist, fostering exchange between well-established knowledge and emerging perspectives.
Coordination
Regina Miranda and Lígia Tourinho
By interweaving Labanian thought with contemporary research in theatre, dance,
cinema, architecture, performance, philosophy, and pedagogy, LABAN 2026 proposes Labanian movement studies as a form of sensitive, embodied, and situated
knowledge, and cartography as a living process that unfolds through bodies, practices, and the relationships between body, space, memory, and creation.
LABAN
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
History: Rio de Janeiro,
2002–2026
The LABAN International Conference was born from the desire to expand, in Brazil, dialogue around the Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis System and its multiple applications in the arts, education, health, and the humanities. Since its inception, it has brought together artists, educators, researchers, and movement professionals from different regions of Brazil and abroad, strengthening networks of exchange and collaboration in the study of human movement.
Its origins can be traced to the local meetings known as the Laban Encounters, organized in São Paulo by Professor Maria Mommensohn. In 2002, the project was entrusted to choreographer Regina Miranda with the mission of expanding its scope and developing it into an international event. The first Rio de Janeiro edition, held at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), was dedicated to the theme “The Language of the Body” and marked the beginning of an ongoing trajectory of research, education, and dissemination of the legacy of Rudolf Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff.
By bringing together professionals from Brazil, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia dedicated to diverse approaches to movement, the Conference has become a unique space for exchange among different fields of knowledge. Throughout its history, it has welcomed artists, therapists, academics, educators, researchers, and cultural leaders interested in understanding movement not only as a technique or artistic expression, but also as a language, a field of inquiry, and a social practice.
The development of the Conference has paralleled the growing expansion of the Laban/Bartenieff System in Brazil. Since the 1980s, this field of study has gained significant national recognition through educational initiatives, research projects, and artistic creations that have contributed to the consolidation of a broad community of professionals working in universities, schools, dance and theater companies, cultural institutions, social projects, and research centers.
Over more than two decades, the LABAN International Conference has established itself as one of the leading international forums of Latin American origin dedicated to movement studies. Its programs have fostered encounters between tradition and innovation, articulating artistic practices, academic investigations, and pedagogical experiences in constant dialogue with the cultural and social transformations of the contemporary world.
Organized by Centro LABAN RIO in partnership with universities, cultural institutions, and international organizations, the Conference has built an extensive network of collaboration that includes the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) in New York, the Laban Centre and the Laban Guild International in London, as well as important Brazilian institutions such as the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Angel Vianna College, and CAL (Casa das Artes de Laranjeiras), together with major cultural venues including the Rio de Janeiro Choreographic Center, the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, Casa França-Brasil (currently Casa Brasil), and Parque Glória Maria.
More than an event, the LABAN International Conference has become a territory of encounter among different generations, cultures, and ways of thinking about movement. Its trajectory reflects an ongoing commitment to the investigation of the moving body, the circulation of knowledge, and the development of practices capable of connecting art, education, research, and social transformation.
As it reaches its 2026 edition, the Conference reaffirms its mission to foster international dialogue, stimulate new perspectives in artistic creation and research, and contribute to the continued expansion of the legacy of Laban and Bartenieff for future generations.