Simone Forti, a pioneering force in postmodern dance, has died at the age of 91, according to an announcement from her gallery, Raffaella Cortese in Milan.
Early Life and Movement Studies
Forti grew up in a Jewish family in Florence until Benito Mussolini stripped Jewish Italians of their citizenship in 1938. Forti eventually enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, before dropping out to move to San Francisco. There, she began her formal dance training under the dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin.
The Birth of Dance Constructions
In 1959, Forti returned to New York City and immersed herself in the downtown performance scene. She connected with influential artists, dancers, and composers including Robert Ellis Dunn, John Cage, Yvonne Rainer, and Steve Paxton, contributing directly to the early development of the Fluxus movement. By 1960, she debuted her groundbreaking “Dance Constructions” at the Reuben Gallery before staging them at Yoko Ono’s Chambers Street Loft Series.
Did you know? Forti’s “Dance Constructions” utilized ordinary, everyday actions prompted by cheap materials like plywood and rope. These experimental works were influential in Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton’s founding of the Judson Dance Theater in 1962.
Evolution into Logomotion and News Animations
Following a one-year residency in Italy where she observed animals at the zoo, Forti began integrating animal movements into her choreographic practice. Upon returning to the United States, she taught at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Throughout the 1980s, she expanded her methodology by pairing movement with spoken language—a practice she termed “Logomotion.” Around the same time, she created her “News Animations” series, producing spontaneous performance pieces in response to daily newspapers. In 1988, she relocated to Vermont, joining a pre-existing community of artists that included her longtime friend and collaborator Steve Paxton.
Institutional Recognition and Legacy
Forti moved back to Los Angeles during the late 1990s to accept a teaching position at UCLA. While her influence on modern choreography was felt among peers for decades, major institutional recognition arrived later in her life. The Museum der Moderne in Salzburg hosted her first major retrospective exhibition in 2014, and MoMA in New York acquired her “Dance Constructions” the following year. In 2023, her lifetime contributions to the field were recognized with the prestigious Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Simone Forti?
Simone Forti was an Italian-born postmodern dancer, choreographer, and pioneer of the downtown New York performance scene who influenced modern choreography through her “Dance Constructions” and incorporation of everyday materials.
What are Simone Forti’s “Dance Constructions”?
First presented in 1960, her “Dance Constructions” were performance works built from cheap, everyday materials like plywood and rope that focused on ordinary physical actions.
What major awards did Simone Forti receive?
In 2023, Simone Forti was awarded the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.
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