Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the

Judson Dance Theater Judson Dance Theater was a collective of dancers, composers, and visual artists who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. The artists involved were avant garde experimentalists ...

and the

postmodern dance Postmodern dance is a 20th century concert dance form that came into popularity in the early 1960s. While the term "postmodern" took on a different meaning when used to describe dance, the dance form did take inspiration from the ideologies of th ...

movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her dancers train their bodies, remains pervasively impactful within international

Early life and education

Brown was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1936, and received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in dance from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

in 1958. Brown later received a D.F.A. from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

in 2000. For several summers she studied with

Louis Horst Louis Horst (born January 12, 1884, Kansas City, Missouri – died January 23, 1964, New York City) was a composer, and pianist. He helped to define the principles of modern dance choreographic technique, most notably the matching of choreography t ...

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

, and

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

at the

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

, then held at

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

Work

Dance

In 1960 Brown participated in an experimental workshop devoted to improvisation at the studio of Anna Halprin, in Kentfield, California. Subsequently, at the urging of fellow choreographers,

Simone Forti Simone Forti (born March 25, 1935), is an American Italian Postmodern artist, dancer, choreographer, and writer. Since the 1950s, Forti has exhibited, performed, and taught workshops all over the world. Her innovations in Postmodern dance, inclu ...

and

Yvonne Rainer Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental.

, Brown moved to New York to study composition with Robert Dunn, who taught a class at

's studio, based on John Cage's theories of chance. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1961, Brown trained with dancer

Anna Halprin Anna Halprin (born Hannah Dorothy Schuman; July 13, 1920 – May 24, 2021) was an American choreographer and dancer. She helped redefine dance in postwar America and pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to hers ...

and became a founding member of the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

in 1962. There she worked with experimental dancers

Yvonne Rainer Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental.

, Steve Paxton,

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer/ choreographer and actress. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest mov ...

, and David Gordon. She also joined a composition class led by Robert Dunn, a musician from the

dance studio who was interested in applying the musical ideas of John Cage (Cunningham's partner and regular collaborator) to dance.Roy, Sanjoy (October 13, 2010
"Step-by-step guide to dance: Trisha Brown"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. In the late 1960s Brown created her own works which attempted to defy gravity, using equipment such as ropes and harnesses, to allow dancers to walk on or down walls or to experiment with the dynamics of stability. These "equipment pieces" were the first dances to comprise a distinct series in what would become a working method for Brown as she went on to create various "cycles" of dances throughout her career. Brown's early works ''Walking on the Wall'' (1971) and ''Roof Piece'' (1971) were designed to be performed at specific sites. In 1970 Brown cofounded the

Grand Union A grand union is a rail track junction where two double-track railway or tramway lines cross at grade, often in a street intersection or crossroads. A total of sixteen railroad switches (sets of points) allow streetcars (or in rarer instal ...

, an experimental dance collective, and formed the Trisha Brown Dance Company. ''Accumulation'' (1971), which is executed with the dancers on their backs, has been performed in public spaces of all kinds, including on water, with the dancers floating on rafts as they methodically work through the piece's graduated gestures. ''Walking on the Wall'' involved dancers in harnesses moving along a wall, while ''Roof Piece'' took place on 12 different rooftops over a ten-block area in

's SoHo, with each dancer transmitting the movements to a dancer on the nearest roof. In 1974, Brown began a residential relationship with the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, that has continued to this day. With 1978's ''Accumulation with Talking plus Watermotor'', a complex solo combining elements of three other pieces, she demonstrated a mental and physical virtuosity seldom seen in the dance world, then or now. Brown's rigorous structures, combined with pedestrian or simple movement styles and tongue-in-cheek humor brought an intellectual sensibility that challenged the mainstream "modern dance" mindset of this period. During the 1980s Brown produced large-scale works intended for the

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and began her artistic collaborations, beginning with ''Glacial Decoy'' (1979) which had sets and costumes by artist Robert Rauschenberg. This period was most notable for the slithery and highly articulated movement style which characterized much of her work during this time. The Molecular Structure cycle, which included ''Opal Loop'' (1980), ''Son of Gone Fishin (1981) and another collaboration with Rauschenberg, ''Set and Reset'' (1983), featuring a score by performance artist

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

and a set design by Rauschenberg, solidified Brown's stature as an innovator within the dance world and as an artist of global significance. Three screens simultaneously broadcast separate black and white film collages from five 16 millimeter projectors (more than 20 years before a video component became the norm in new choreography), while the dancers rippled around the stage in part-translucent costumes marked with gray and black figures that resembled newsprint. Unlike

and John Cage, who worked separately on projects and left it to the viewer to put the elements together, Brown and her collaborators worked toward a shared vision. Sculptor

Nancy Graves Nancy Graves (December 23, 1939 – October 21, 1995, in Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and sometime-filmmaker known for her focus on natural phenomena like camels or maps of the Moon. Her works are included in ...

designed the set for ''Lateral Pass,'' (1985), which began Brown's Valiant cycle. It used a larger pad, bolder movement phrases to articulate Brown's evolving spatial aesthetics. This led to ''Newark'' (1987), with decor and a sound concept by

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism (a term he nonetheless stridently disavowed).Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In ...

. For ''Astral Convertible'' (1989) and ''Foray Forêt'' (1990), costumes and sets were once again made by Rauschenberg. ''Astral Convertible'', in particular, originally was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of a major Robert Rauschenberg exhibition in 1991 and presented on the museum's steps, overlooking the National Mall. Performances of ''Foray Forêt'' include local marching bands from the presenting city. ''For M. G.'' (1991; "M.G." refers to Michel Guy, a former French minister of culture who died in 1990) is sculptural and kinetic, opening with a dancer running in figure-eight circles around the stage, slowing into loping motion down the center. In ''You Can See Us'' (1995), she performed together with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1996. Also in a mirror duet drawn from a solo, ''If You Couldn't See Me'' (1994), Brown performed entirely with her back to the audience for ten minutes with an electronic "sound score" on a bare stage. In the 1990s she also turned more to choreographing classical music, creating ''M.O.'' (1995) based on the Musical Offering by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

composer

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, and the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

production of ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and ...

'' (1998) by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

composer Claudio Monteverdi. Brown found inspiration in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

for ''El Trilogy'' (1998–2000), completed her second

, '' Luci mie traditrici'' (composed by Salvatore Sciarrino) in 2001, and in 2002 choreographed the song cycle '' Die Winterreise (Winter's Journey)'' by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n composer

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

for

Simon Keenlyside Sir Simon Keenlyside (born 3 August 1959) is a British baritone who has performed in operas and concerts since the mid-1980s. Biography Early life and education Keenlyside was born in London, the son of Raymond and Ann Keenlyside. Raymond play ...

. Brown worked again with Laurie Anderson in 2004 on ''O Zlozony/O Composite'' for the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

. Among her well-known disciples are

Diane Madden Diane Madden (born 1958) is a modern dancer, teacher and choreographer based in Brussels, Belgium and New York City. Education Madden attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Career Beginning in 1980, she worked with the Trisha Brown ...

and Stephen Petronio, Brown's first male dancer in 1979. Brown choreographed her last piece in 2011.

Drawing

Though Brown has long been known for her collaborations with artists, it is less known that she has also produced a substantial body of drawings. In recent years she has shown these drawings, including during a major multidisciplinary 2008 celebration of her work at the

, Minneapolis. In 2009, the Chelsea gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Company, which represents her husband, Burt Barr, presented her first solo exhibition in New York, featuring work dating to the 1970s.

Exhibitions

In 2003, "Trisha Brown: Dance and Art in Dialogue 1961-2001", was organized by the

Addison Gallery of American Art The Addison Gallery of American Art is an academic museum dedicated to collecting American art, organized as a department of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. History Directors of the gallery include Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr. (1940– ...

at Phillips Academy and the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

; the exhibition later travelled to the

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the University District, it wa ...

in 2004. In 2007, works of Brown's choreography and drawings were included in documenta 12. In 2008, the

presented "Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing." In honor of her company's 40th anniversary season in 2010, the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

hosted several performances as part of "Off the Wall: Part 2 — Seven Works by Trisha Brown". In 2011, the Trisha Brown Dance Company took over the atrium of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

as part of a Performance Exhibition Series in conjunction with the survey "On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century". That same year, "Trisha Brown" was mounted at the

Serralves Foundation Serralves is a cultural institution located in Porto, Portugal. It includes a Contemporary Art Museum, a Park, and a Villa, each one an example of contemporary architecture, Modernism, and Art Deco architecture. The Museum, designed by Álvar ...

, Porto.

Recognition

In 1983, Brown received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Oberlin College. She has also received numerous honorary doctorates. She received a

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

grant in 1991, and served on the National Council on the Arts from 1994 to 1997. Brown is an Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

. In 1988 she was named '' Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres'' by the government of France. In January 2000 she was promoted to officier and in 2004, was again elevated; this time to the level of commandeur. Brown's ''Set and Reset'' is included in the baccalaureate curriculum for French students pursuing dance studies. Brown was a 1994 recipient of the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and she was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2002, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts, and in 2005 she won the

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for lifetime achievement. As part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in 2010-11, Brown selected Australian dancer and choreographer Lee Serle as her protégé. In 2011, Brown won the

Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize or Gish Prize is given annually to "a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life." It is among the most prestigious and on ...

, an award worth about $300,000 that was named after the silent film actresses, and the Bessie Award for lifetime achievement. In 2012 Brown was the recipient of a

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellow award. She also received a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award in 2013.

Death

Trisha Brown died on March 18, 2017, in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, after a lengthy illness. She is survived by her son, Adam Brown, his wife Erin, her four grandchildren – and by her brother Gordon Brown and sister Louisa Brown. Trisha Brown's husband, artist Burt Barr, died on November 7, 2016.

Works

Brown's works include:"Full repertory by date"
Trisha Brown Dance Company website * ''Homemade'' (1966) * ''Man Walking Down the Side of a Building'' (1970) * ''Floor of the Forest'' (1970) * ''Leaning Duets'' (1970) * ''Accumulation'' (1971) * ''Walking on the Wall'' (1971) * ''Roof Piece'' (1971) * ''Primary Accumulation'' (1972) * ''Group Primary Accumulation'' (1973) * ''Structured Pieces II'' (1974) * ''Spiral'' (1974) * ''Locus'' (1975) * ''Structured Pieces III'' (1975) * ''Solo Olos'' (1976) * ''Line Up'' (1976) * ''Spanish Dance' (1976) * ''Water Motor'' (1978) * ''Accumulation with Talking plus Water Motor'' (1978) * ''Glacial Decoy'' (1979) * ''Opal Loop'' (1980) * ''Son of Gone Fishin (1981) * ''Set and Reset'' (1983) * ''Lateral Pass'' (1985) * ''Carmen'' (1986) * ''Newark'' (1987) * ''Astral Convertible'' (1989) * ''Foray Forêt'' (1990) * ''For M.G.: The Movie'' (1991) * ''One Story as in falling'' (1992) * ''Another Story as in falling'' (1993) * ''If you couldn't see me'' (1994) * ''M.O.'' (1995) * ''Twelve Ton Rose'' (1996) * ''L'Orfeo'' (1998) * ''Winterreise'' (2002) * ''PRESENT TENSE'' (2003) * ''O Zlozony/O Composite'' (2004) * ''How long does the subject linger on the edge of the volume...'' (2005) * ''I love my robots'' (2007) * ''L'Amour au Theatre'' (2009) * ''Pygmalion'' (2010) * ''I'm Going to Toss My Arms – If You Catch Them They're Yours'' (2011) * ''Les Yeux et l'âme''(2011) * ''Rogues'' (2011)

References

Notes Bibliography * Mazzaglia, Rossella (2007) ''Trisha Brown''. Palermo: L'Epos.

External links

Trisha Brown Dance Company WebsiteNYPL acquisition of Trisha Brown Dance Company's ArchiveArchival footage of Trisha Brown Dance Company performing ''Set and Reset'' in 1986 at Jacob's Pillow

Archival footage of Trisha Brown Dance Company performing ''Lateral Pass'' in 1986 at Jacob's Pillow

Archival footage of Trisha Brown performing ''If You Couldn't See Me'' in 1994 at Jacob's Pillow

Archival footage of Trisha Brown Dance Company performing ''Five Part Weather Invention'' in 1999 at Jacob's Pillow

Archival footage of Trisha Brown Dance Company performing ''Les Yeux et L'Ame'' in 2011 at Jacob's Pillow
danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org; accessed June 17, 2019.
Archival footage of Trisha Brown Dance Company performing ''Les Yeux et L'Ame'' in 2017 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Trisha 1936 births 2017 deaths American choreographers Contemporary dance choreographers Modern dancers MacArthur Fellows People from Aberdeen, Washington Bessie Award winners Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Mills College alumni Bates College alumni Prix Benois de la Danse winners