Laban Dance Centre

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'Laban' in Deptford, south-east London opened in February 2003. It is a purpose-built centre for contemporary dance, and includes 13 dance studios, a 300-seat theatre, library and café.

Laban, originally the Art of Movement Studio based in Manchester, was founded by Rudolph Laban an Austro-Hungarian dancer, choreographer and a dance/movement theoretician. In 1958 the school moved from Manchester to Addlestone in Surrey, and then to New Cross in London 1975 and is renamed Laban Centre for Movement and Dance and again in 1997 it is renamed Laban Centre London. In 2002 the new building opens in Deptford, to critical acclaim. It is now known locally as 'Laban.'

In 2005 Laban merged with Trinity College of Music to form the first conservatoire for music and dance in the UK.

Designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the building won the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2003.