The story of Trinity Laban begins in 1870s London with the establishment of the College of Church Music by Henry George Bonavia Hunt. Launched initially to improve the teaching of choral singing, the institution was soon incorporated into Trinity College London, becoming Trinity College of Music in 1876.
Many years later, in 1946, the Laban Dance Centre was founded by Rudolf Laban in Manchester. Over the years that followed, the company moved first to Surrey, UK, and then to New Cross in London. Having gained an international reputation as a leading school for dance and movement, Laban merged with Trinity College of Music in 2004 to form the UK’s first and only conservatoire of music and contemporary dance.
Now called Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the institution educates over 1,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from its London locations in Greenwich, Deptford and New Cross.
The conservatoire’s continued success is down to its longstanding commitment to discovering, supporting and developing the most talented and innovative performers to nurture the resourceful, enterprising and adaptable artistic leaders of tomorrow.
Competition for admission is fierce. Auditions are held in November, December, March or April of each year to find the world’s most talented musicians and dancers. With an average acceptance rate of 9.9%, Trinity Laban is one of the most selective schools in Europe.
Today’s faculty offers classes for the local community as well as postgraduates and undergraduates. Trinity Laban’s facilities include 13 purpose-built dance studios, including eight with ballet barres, a 300-seat theatre, smaller performances spaces, studios, performances laboratories and a dance library.
The best measure of the company’s success is, of course, in its alumni. Notable performers to have trained at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance include world-famous conductors Howard Arman, Sir John Barbirolli and Barry Wordsworth, musicians Peter Arnold, Tom Misch and Eric Parkin, and choreographers Lea Anderson and Sir Matthew Bourne.
