Feelings Are Facts: The Life Of Yvonne Rainer

The life and career of the "professional provoker and revolutionary" dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and feminist are presented in Jack Walsh's "Feelings are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer."

Born in California, and raised in foster homes because her mother was unwilling to parent, Yvonne Rainer moved to New York City in the late 1950s after dropping out of Berkeley. She first studied dance with Martha Graham, then moved to Merce Cunningham's ensemble.

In 1962, she created the post-modern Judson Dance Theater, which fused the disciplines of theater, painting and music into movement, along the lines of the Bauhaus and Ballets Russes. Rainer choreographed for controversy, not entertainment, creating structure by chance, wanting to "open up the palace gates of high art" by layering glorious, inflated classical music over pedestrian movement.

"I was aware I was standing on shaky ground," she said

In the '70s, she created the collaborative improvisatory group Grand Union, which make situations with common objects like mattresses and focused on supporting bodies. The dancers rarely rehearsed together, and would just show up to blend their movements and spoken word.

She dated the artist Robert Morris, a "complimentary and competitive" relationship, and he encouraged her to use her minimalist eye to make films, which she did. Her feminism considered elitism as patriarchal, so she focused on fragmented narratives, saying "if you can stand it for two minutes, then try it for four."

Other films focused on lesbianism when she came out herself, and on cancer when she had a mastectomy.

Her nontraditional approaches, often considered groundbreaking by collegiate art curriculums, caught the attention of Mikhail Baryshnikov, whose White Oak project commissioned a piece from her in 1999, even though she hadn't choreographed in over 25 years.

Her "After Many a Summer Dies the Swan" debuted in 2000, and while some were disappointed that Misha performed her everyday motions rather than showcase his celebrated athleticism, some interpreted his embracement of Rainer's "anti-ballet," positing he thought that "I've wrecked my knees, so now I've found this other trove of American treasures."

In 2009, at age 74, Rainer continued to choreograph and dance in L.A. in "Spiraling Down," still utilizing her trademark pedestrian movements, directing dancers "don't do it on the music" (Ravel's "Bolero"), although the performers appreciated the extra permissiveness for making more choices when performing with the creator.

In 2011, Rainer created "Assisted Living: Good Sports 2" based on two years of New York Times' sports photos. And even after a career with such longevity, Rainer said, "I never wanted to be famous. I just want an intent 100 people."

Karin McKie is a writer, educator and activist at KarinMcKie.com

This story is part of our special report: "Wicked Queer: Boston LGBTQ Film Festival". Want to read more? Here's the full list.