Benesh, Joan (1920–)

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Benesh, Joan (1920–)

English dancer and notator. Born Joan Dorothy Rothwell, Mar 24, 1920, in Liverpool, England; m. Rudolf (accountant, painter, and musician, 1916–1975).

Danced with Sadler's Wells Ballet (late 1940s); with husband, developed a dance notation system to record and decipher dance steps, now known as the Benesh Movement Notation (BMN, 1955), then wrote An Introduction to Benesh Dance Notation (1956); notated 1st score written in Benesh Movement Notation, Royal Ballet's version of Petrouchka (1957); founded Benesh Institute of Choreology with husband (1962), where she served as principal (1965–75); with husband, received Royal Academy of Dancing's Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award. The Benesh notation system is now used to document all dance in England and as a teaching medium at Royal Academy of Dancing and Rambert School.