Anna Halprin
1920-2021
dancer, choreographer, activist
Anna Halprin was born in 1920 in the United States. At an early age she had an interest in the ritual dances of the Jewish community. She studied at the University of Wisconsin. Afterwards she moved to New York City, where she engaged in modern dance. She has challenged traditional dance methods and has, among other things, founded the first interacial dance troupe in the United States, offered dance classes for HIV-positive men in San Francisco in the 1980s, organized artistic demonstrations to preserve nature, and led the annual Planetary Dance ritual for peace.
I met Anna in 2011 and took dance and performance classes with her at the legendary dance deck designed by her husband Lawrence Halprin. Over my annual trips to San Francisco we developed a relationship of mutual care and exchanged thoughts often accompanied by sharing food prepared at her home in Kentfield. She passed away in 2021 and for this occasion I wrote an article about her legacy. ︎︎︎ article on Anna’s legacy
In 2017 I interviewed Anna and researched closely the history of her work, three years later I presented the video material as part of a performance lecture at Copenhagen Contemporary invited by Dansehallerne. You can see the video here.
︎︎︎photos by Bartolomeo Koczenasz, 2017︎︎︎photo by Vala T. Foltyn, performance at Anna’s dance deck with guest artists Dana and Shinichi Iova-Koga, 2011.
