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Creator
Adler, Janet
Call number
*MGZMD 578
Physical description
7.13 linear feet (18 boxes, 1 oversize folder). 5 audio recordings. 15 moving image recordings. 17.1 gigabytes (310 computer files)
Language
Multiple languages
Preferred Citation
Janet Adler papers, *MGZMD 578. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Janet Adler was a dance and movement therapist who specialized in the Discipline of Authentic Movement. Her papers, dating from 1960 to 2023, chronicle her early career working with children on the autism spectrum to her later development of the Discipline of Authentic Movement and her teaching practice. The collection holds her published writings, administrative records, correspondence, audio and moving image recordings, photographs, and creative works.

Biographical/historical information

Janet Adler (born 1941 in Frankfort, Indiana) was a dance and movement therapist who founded the Discipline of Authentic Movement and the Mary Starks Whitehouse Institute (1981-1983). Her early work with children on the autism spectrum was documented in the film Looking for Me (1968), and she later directed Still Looking (1988), a film focused on the Discipline of Authentic Movement.

The Discipline of Authentic Movement is a physical awareness practice blending dance, therapy, and spirituality. Though it has mystical roots, it functions as a modern, secular tool accessible to anyone interested in personal growth or the expansion of human consciousness.

Adler's development of the discipline is differentiated by her implementation of Zen Buddhist structures rather than the Jungian frameworks used by her teacher, Mary Starks Whitehouse. This shift followed a period she described as a "mystical initiation" in the late 1970s, during which her focus moved from clinical psychology to the study of embodied consciousness. Adler received a doctorate in Mystical Studies from the Union Institute in 1992, where she formalized the concept of the "inner witness."

From 1986 to 2006, Adler taught the Discipline of Authentic Movement to individuals and groups in Northern California. Her work during this period focused on the relationship between the discipline and other fields, including Zen, Jewish Mysticism, mystical texts, and initiation processes. Additionally, Adler taught in Europe from 1992 to 2001, establishing a collective of participants that continues to practice the Discipline of Authentic Movement.

From 1988 to 2005, Adler worked in hospice care in Santa Rosa, California, serving first as a volunteer caregiver and later as an Interfaith Chaplain. After moving to Galiano Island, British Colombia, she co-created and directed a volunteer hospice program, Transitions in Dying and Grieving, from 2007 until 2023.

In 2013, Adler founded Circles of Four, a post-graduate program for those training to teach the Discipline of Authentic Movement. Her final book, Intimacy in Emptiness: An Evolution of Embodied Consciousness, was published in 2022.

Adler died at her home on Galiano Island, British Colombia in 2023 at the age of 82.

Scope and arrangement

The Janet Adler papers (1960–2023) chronicle the career of the dance and movement therapist, from her early work with children to her development of the Discipline of Authentic Movement.

The collection contains biographical and academic records, including Adler's master's thesis on dance therapy and her doctoral dissertation on contemporary initiation.

Materials related to Adler's professional practice include correspondence, notes, newsletters, and administrative records from the Mary Starks Whitehouse Institute and the Circles of Four program.

Documentation of Adler's hospice work, specifically with the Galiano Hospice Collective, includes written records and audio recordings.

The papers also feature production materials and recordings for Adler's documentary films, Looking for Me and Still Looking, as well as published writings, translations, and transcripts of lectures and interviews.

Additionally, the collection holds professional correspondence, photographs of Adler's studios, and creative works produced by her students, such as sketches, artist books, and textiles.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged topically: Biographical and Academic Records; Professional Practice and Authentic Movement; Films; Published and Presented Writings; Correspondence and Professional Engagements; and Photographs and Art.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Janet Adler, 2023.

Processing information

Processed by Tara D. Strongosky in 2026.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor