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Sep 21, 2006

"I envision a future where more of us will call ourselves artists and work together to make an art concerned with the primary issues of life. I envision a future where art is once again honored for its power to inspire, teach, transform and heal. I envision a future where all people dance together, where the circle is open enough for both children and grandparents." --Anna Halprin

Dancing to Heal

Anna Halprin, the world-renowned experimental dancer, turned 85 this year. Her focus on dance as a healing art started when she diagnosed her own cancer and survived through a combination of surgery, conventional medical therapies, and unconventional visualization processes. Her institute seeks to draw from the wisdom of the body and the creativity of the imagination as a source for authentic expression, artful communication and new ways of learning and living. Halprin has been dancing and teaching for more than six decades and her unusual work has touched the lives of thousands of people struggling with physical illnesses. Says Halprin, "Before cancer I lived for my art, since cancer I live my art." Excerpts from a speech she gave follow.