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Creator
Halprin, Anna
Call number
(S)* MGZMD 297
Physical description
1.42 linear feet (1 box, 1 volume)
Preferred Citation

Anna Halprin papers, (S) *MGZMD 297. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Anna Halprin, an American dancer known for her innovative and experimental technique, is a leading figure of the postmodern dance movement. This collection documents the artist's career with print materials, press clippings, biographies, San Francisco Dancers' Workshop newsletters, award programs, and photographs.

Biographical/historical information

Anna Halprin is an American postmodern dancer known for her innovative and experimental technique. Born Anna Schuman in Winnetka, Illinois, in 1920, Halprin began studying dance at the age of five. At the University of Wisconsin, Halprin studied formally under instructor Margaret H'Doublier. Before graduating from college in 1942, Halprin married landscape architect, Lawrence Halprin, with whom she had two daughters: Daria and Rana.

In the early 1970s, Halprin began to engage in dance therapy as a means for healing and restoration. She authored several books on the subject, including: Dance as a Self-Healing Art (1977) and Movement Ritual: An Organization of Structural Movement to Encourage Creative Exploration (1979). In 1978, Halprin and her daughter, Daria, founded the Tamalpa Institute, a non-profit organization for dance and expressive arts therapy based in San Rafael, California.

Halprin also founded the San Francisco Dancers' Workshop (1955) and instructed an array of notable dancers such as Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, Meredith Monk, and Yvonne Rainer.

Scope and arrangement

The Anna Halprin papers document the performance history of the renowned dancer from the years 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of print materials, press clippings, biographies, newsletters, award programs, and photographs. Photographs and press clippings make up the bulk of the collection.

Photographs include black and white images of Halprin performing solo and group shots of dancers practicing on a dance deck built at her San Francisco home. Press clippings include performance reviews and accounts of Halprin's expressive arts therapy techniques. Newsletters from the San Francisco Dancers' Workshop date from the mid- to late-1970s. These materials also consist of a brochure developed by Halprin, Exit: Dance as a Process for Personal & Artistic Growth, an account of a specific Dancers' Workshop that outlines and elucidates the workshop process. There is also a printed booklet outlining the group's mission statement and 3 year plan from 1968 to 1970.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by genre.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Anna Halprin, 2008.

Processing information

Compiled by Sarah Wade, Pratt Institute, 2012, 2012

Related Material

Anna Halprin Legacy Oral History Collection. Museum of Performance & Design Performing Arts Library, San Francisco. Anna Halprin Papers. Museum of Performance & Design Performing Arts Library, San Francisco.

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

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org.