Forti, Simone (c. 1935–)

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Forti, Simone (c. 1935–)

American postmodernist choreographer. Born c. 1935, in Florence, Italy.

Immigrated with family to US as a child and was raised in Los Angeles, California; trained and began work with Ann Halprin in San Francisco (1956); worked in Dancers' Workshop with Halprin in performance creations and improvisation for 4 years; moved to NY (1959) where she trained and associated with Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Robert Whitman, Robert Dunn, and more; began choreographing works of her own (1960) which are now recognized as crucial forerunners to genre of improvisation of 1970s; presented works at Reuben Gallery (1960), equipment piece at Yoko Ono-sponsored event (1961), and numerous other venues throughout New York City. Works of choreography include Rollers (1960), Hangers (1961), Platforms (1961), Face Tunes (1967), Throat Dance (1968), The Zero (1974), Big Room (1975), Red Green (1975), Estuary (1979) and Home Base (1979).