Frontiers

The daily life of Bonnie Bird, an American modern dancer in the 1930s, is revealed in this book. The author shares her interviews with Bonnie Bird and the intimate letters that she wrote to her family in Seattle from New York when she was working with Martha Graham between 1931 and 1937. She also had the then novice dancer Merce Cunningham among her students and the young John Cage as her accompanist. Bonnie Bird’s applications of psychology led her to pioneer new concepts and techniques in dance education that have influenced generations of contemporary dance teachers. Her last 20 years were spent at London’s Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, where the accomplishments of a lifetime were gathered together to extend the frontiers of dance. Bonnie Bird’s own notes for teachers of contemporary dance for young people are included in this book.