Anna Halprin, the source of many of the ideas in experimental dance of the last 60 years, passed away at age 100 on May 24. Her teachings strongly influenced Judson Dance Theater, site-specific dance, somatic dance practice and community rituals. For her, dance was something to bring out of the theater and into our daily […]

July 13, 2020, marks the 100th birthday of Anna Halprin. In 1955, disillusioned with New York City’s modern dance scene, Halprin returned to her home just north of San Francisco and began experimenting. On the outdoor deck designed for her by Lawrence Halprin (her husband) and Arch Lauterer, she pioneered task-based improvisation. Among the students […]

One reason I love to teach is that sometimes students come up with great ideas. The original Susan Landor photo of Ceremony of Us workshop from 1969 In the six-minute video below, you’ll see how an exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts prompted Branden Kazen-Maddox, an MFA student in my […]

Postmodern legend Anna Halprin is 97(!) today, and, as luck would have it, her work is currently being celebrated in three major exhibitions around the world: “Radical Bodies: Anna Halprin, Simone Forti, Yvonne Rainer in California & New York, 1955–1973” UCSB Dance Company performed Halprin’s “Paper Dance” at a Radical Bodies Event at Kaye Playhouse. […]

It’s our 90th anniversary! To celebrate, we excavated some of our favorite hidden gems from the DM Archives—images that capture a few of the moments in time we’ve documented over the decades. Ted Shawn surveys the construction of the Jacob’s Pillow theater, 1942 Courtesy DM Archives Trisha Brown (right) and company walking on the Great […]

The Radical Bodies evening broke all attendance records at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse on May 31. People were lining up in the courtyard almost two hours before curtain, and the mood was festive. All 650 seats were filled, more than 100 people were turned away and about 60 went across the street to watch the […]

In this moment of history, choreographers of all walks of life are addressing racism and violence through dance. But this is not a new trend. For as long as this country has struggled with racial discrimination, dance has been a way to bring community together, a way to share a message and a way to […]

  History.In.Motion NEW YORK CITY Over 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; 20 years ago, Nelson Mandela helped end apartheid in South Africa. New York Live Arts resident artist Kyle Abraham will premiere three works—a feat that would exhaust even the most seasoned choreographers—inspired by both momentous events. The Watershed, an evening-length […]