Yvonne Rainer
1934–
Yvonne Rainer has worked as a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and writer for more than fifty years. In 1962 she cofounded the Judson Dance Theater, a loose collective of choreographers who ushered in the era of postmodern dance through the cooperative efforts of dancers, artists, and musicians. Gathering in the Greenwich Village basement of the Judson Memorial Church, the participants championed pedestrian actions and the use of everyday objects, and they accepted nondancers onto the stage, a space that was not always clearly demarcated from where the audience sat.
Between 1966 and 1969 Rainer made five short 8mm and 16mm black-and- white films. She incorporated them into live multimedia performances, but they were otherwise rarely seen prior to their 2004 release under the overarching title Five Easy Pieces. In the opening seconds of Rainer’s first film, Hand Movie, the back of the dancer’s hand appears against a neutral background, filling the camera frame from fingertip at the top to wrist at the bottom edge. Isolated from the rest of her body, the hand’s components—wrist, palm, and five fingers—move as a dancer might: it contracts and extends; it stretches, turns, and bends at the joints. The fingers move in isolation, press together, or spread apart. The tendons push against the skin as the hand flexes and disappear when it goes slack. Hand Movie emerged from severely limiting circumstances. Rainer made it with the help of fellow dancer William Davis while convalescing in the hospital after a life-threatening illness and surgery. “I was very ill,” Rainer explained, “but I could move my hand.”
Introduction
Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental. Her work is sometimes classified as minimalist art. Rainer currently lives and works in New York.
Wikidata identifier
Q452238
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed May 23, 2025.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, choreographer, cinematographer, dancer
ULAN identifier
500104494
Names
Yvonne Rainer
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed May 23, 2025.
