This guidebook traces the life's work of radical dance-maker Anna Halprin, documenting her early career as a modern dancer in the 1940s through to the development of her groundbreaking approach to dance as an accessible and life-enhancing art form. Tracing the evolution of the San Francisco Dancers' Workshop, it explores Halprin's connections with the avant-garde theatre, music, visual art and architecture of the 1950s and 60s, and analyses her work from this period. Anna Halprin not only offers a useful introduction to the life and work of this major figure, but also provides an important historical guide to a time when dance was first explored beyond the confines of the theatre and considered as a healing art for individuals and communities.

Table of Contents

Authors' note and Acknowledgements, Chapter One - Life and work, Chapter Two - Theory and Practice, Chapter Three - The Mountain Performances, Circle the Earth and The Planetary Dance, Chapter Four - Practical Explorations, Bibliography.

Reviews

'A very welcome book on the life and work of Anna Halprin ... [Worth and Poynor] discuss Halprin's work knowledgeably ... Overall, this book provides a very informative and well-balanced introduction to Halprin's diverse work.' Studies in Theatre and Performance