Mettler, Barbara 1907-

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METTLER, Barbara 1907-

PERSONAL: Born March 12, 1907, in Chicago, IL. Education: Attended Smith College; studied at Mary Wigman Central Institute of Dance, Dresden, Germany, 1931-33; attended Bennington College, 1936.

ADDRESSES: Office—Tucson Creative Dance Center, 3131 North Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85716.

CAREER: Dancer, choreographer, and educator. Operator of dance studio, New York, NY, 1934-40; teacher of summer dance classes in Sanbornton and Meredith, NH, 1940-53; dancer and choreographer until 1954, including tour of Eastern and Midwestern U.S. cities, 1953-54; St. Paul's Rehabilitation Center of Newly Blinded Adults, Newton, MA, teacher of dance and movement, 1956-58; teacher at schools and workshops in Tucson, AZ, 1961-63; Tucson Creative Dance Center, Tucson, AZ, founder and teacher, 1963-96. Keuka College, founder of Department of Expressive Movement and teacher, 1943-46; National University, San Jose, Costa Rica, teacher, 1979; visiting faculty member at Arizona State College (now Northern Arizona University) and Arizona State University. Mettler Studios, Inc., producer and director of films on dance education, including Creative Dance for Children, 1966-67; Art of Body Movement (videotapes), 1970; Group Dance Improvisation, 1978; A New Direction in Dance, 1978; Pure Dance, 1980; The Language of Movement, 1985; and Baby Dance, 1989.

AWARDS, HONORS: Award from Arizona Arts Council, 1995.

WRITINGS:

Basic Dance on a College Level: Workshop at Goddard College, Mettler Studios (Boston, MA), 1956.

This Is Creative Dance! A Picture Book, photographs by Allan A. Hammer and others, Mettler Studios (Tucson, AZ), 1962.

Children's Creative Dance Book, [Tucson, AZ], 1970.

Basic Movement Exercises, [Tucson, AZ], 1973.

Group Dance Improvisations, illustrated by Judith Grunbaum, Mettler Studios (Tucson, AZ), 1975.

Materials of Dance as a Creative Art Activity, edited by June Warner, Mettler Studios (Tucson, AZ), 1979.

The Nature of Dance as a Creative Art Activity, Mettler Studios (Tucson, AZ), 1980.

Dance as an Element of Life, Mettler Studios (Tucson, AZ), 1983.

Contributor to books, including Dance Research Monograph One: 1971-1972, edited by Patricia A. Rowe, [New York, NY], 1973. Contributor to periodicals, including American Journal of Dance Therapy, Dance, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, and Dance Observer.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

International Dictionary of Modern Dance, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.

PERIODICALS

Contact Quarterly, summer, 1977, Steve Paxton, review of Materials of Dance as a Creative Art Activity.

Dance Observer, December, 1961, Ernestine Stodelle, review of Materials of Dance as a Creative Art Activity.*

ONLINE

Tucson Creative Dance Center Web site,http://www.dancecreative.org/ (January 7, 2004), "Barbara Mettler."

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