Elaine Summers

Elaine Summers
Born(1925-02-20)February 20, 1925
Perth, Australia
DiedDecember 27, 2014(2014-12-27) (aged 89)
New York City, United States
Occupation(s)Choreographer, experimental filmmaker, and intermedia pioneer
Years active1962–2014
Career
Current groupElaine Summers Dance & Film & Web Company
Former groupsJudson Dance Theater
DancesOverture (1962), Fantastic Gardens (1964), Walking Dance for Any # (1968), Energy Changes (1973), Illuminated Workingman (1976), Crow's Nest (1980), Skydance (1984), Flowing Rocks Still Waters (1985), Hidden Forest (2007), Skytime (1995-present)
In films: collage for Overture (with Stand Vanderbeek and Eugene Friedman, 1962), Judson Fragments (1962-65, b/w, no sound), films for Walking Dance for Any # (16mm, b/w, no sound, four-projections-edit, 1968), Illuminated Workingman, Crow's Nest (single edit, color, no sound, 1979), and other intermedia pieces; Absence & Presence (started 1968, finished 1986, b/w, no sound, 12 minutes), Two Girls Downtown Iowa (16mm, b/w, no sound, 11 minutes), Iowa Blizzard (16mm, b/w, no sound, 12 minutes)

Lillian Elaine Summers (February 20, 1925 – December 27, 2014) was an American choreographer, experimental filmmaker, and intermedia pioneer. She was a founding member of the original workshop-group that would form the Judson Dance Theater and she significantly contributed to the interaction of film and dance, as well as the expansion of dance into other related disciplines, such as visual art, film, and theater. She fostered the expansion of performing dance in new, often outdoor locations. Her movement approach Kinetic Awareness offers a comprehensive perspective on human movement and dance.

She died at Bellevue Hospital, New York, on the morning of December 27, 2014, after a fall at her home.[1][2]

  1. ^ Kourlas, Gia (January 8, 2015). "RIP Elaine Summers, original Judson member". TimeOut.
  2. ^ Fox, Margalit (January 15, 2015). "Elaine Summers, Who Meshed Dance and Film, Dies at 89". The New York Times.