Structured as a biographical and interpretative study of one of the last bearers and transformers of modern dance’s legacy, this monograph not only provides an intimate look at the life and works of Nancy Spanier but is also a document rich in dance history: José Limón, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Martha Graham, Pearl Lang, Louis Horst, Anna Sokolow, Daniel Nagrin, and Helen Tamiris are only few of the great pioneers of American modern dance with whom Nancy Spanier worked or was formed by in her early years. Nancy Spanier: The Arc of a Dancing Life proposes a revaluation of Spanier’s body of work from an art historian’s perspective, revealing new trajectories in the cross-pollination among different art forms and in the transition from the modern to the postmodern.

Larisa Oancea is an independent art historian and researcher. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Theory. Trained both as an art historian and an anthropologist, Oancea has developed a strong interest in the intersection of the arts with other disciplines. She is currently based in Venice, Italy, where she collaborates mainly with interdisciplinary artists, magazines, and cultural institutions.

NANCY SPANIER: THE ARC OF A DANCING LIFE

by Larisa Oancea

Published by Performance Inventions

Designed by Yogurt Creative Agency

24 x 19 cm (9.8 x 7.5 in)

200 pages