Integrated Movement Therapies (IMT)® combines
complementary approaches to movement education,
rehabilitation and physical fitness based on the work of
Rudolf Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff, with influences
from yoga, dance, tai chi and diverse studies in
functional and expressive movement. Created by
Danielle Bélec from over 20 years of experience as a
dance artist, academic and practitioner, IMT offers a
framework for the study of conscious movement as the
basis for self-knowledge and intentional living.

Rudolf Laban (1879–1958) was an Austro-Hungarian
dancer, choreographer, movement educator and early
pioneer of European modern dance. Best known for
his movement notation system called Labanotation, he
dedicated his life to investigating the basic components of
movement as they relate to function, personal expression,
and human nature. In the 1920s and ’30s, Laban’s teaching
flourished, leading to the opening of schools across Europe.

Laban’s protégé, Irmgard Bartenieff brought Laban
Movement Analysis to America when she immigrated
in the 1930s. By 1966, with an extensive background in
physical and occupational therapy, Bartenieff began the first
graduate studies certification program in Laban Movement
Analysis, and by 1978 opened the Laban/Bartenieff Institute
of Movement Studies in New York where Laban’s movement
research and training continues today.