DNB Extension
Welcome!
The Dance Notation Bureau Extension for Education and Research contributes to the mission of excellence at the Department of Dance at the Ohio State University, with a focus on Laban-related studies in the training of dancers and dance researchers. The Extension has a unique and formal agreement with the Dance Notation Bureau in New York City, the only one of its kind in the country.
The DNB Extension promotes and implements research, develops curriculum, and expands dance notation literature and archival materials. Documentation and preservation efforts, along with performances of works restaged from score, form the core of our work. Available coursework complements the MFA in Dance Directing and Documentation, the BFA with focus in Laban Studies, and the new PhD in Dance Studies. In addition, the Labanotation Teacher’s Certification Course held at the OSU campus every other year draws students from across the United States and internationally, from countries in Europe and Asia.
Extension faculty research and actively develop materials and computer software for research, publication, and instructional purposes. Three software programs, LabanWriter, LabanReader, and Labanlink, have emerged under the umbrella of the Extension, as well as LabanLab, a website for learning Labanotation.
The DNB Collection in OSU’s Rare Books and Manuscripts is the largest collection of dance notation scores in a university library in the world. Scores and books on many different systems of notation are available for research.
The Extension is made up of a full complement of researchers including faculty members Co-Interim Directors Melanie Bales and Valarie Williams and Professors Emeriti Odette Blum, John Giffin, Vera Maletic, Sheila Marion, and Lucy Venable. One full-time graduate associateship is available each year.
