Photo: Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Yvonne Rainer is the kind of artist I find genuinely thrilling because her entire body of work questions what art is supposed to be. Born in San Francisco in 1934, she became a foundational figure in postmodern dance before pushing into experimental, minimalist filmmaking. Guggenheim Fellowships in 1969 and 1988, a MacArthur 'genius' grant in 1990, and a Maya Deren Award mark a career of sustained, uncompromising invention. What moves me most is her insistence on stripping spectacle away to reveal pure movement and idea. Still creating in her nineties, she embodies a life lived as ongoing experiment. I hold her in deep admiration.
Overview
Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental. Her work is sometimes classified as minimalist art. Rainer currently lives and works in New York.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Yvonne Rainer
- Name (Japanese)
- イヴォンヌ・レイナー
- Reading
- いゔぉんぬ・れいなー
- Born
- November 24, 1934 (age 91)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dog
- Origin
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / choreographer / dancer / videographer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1969 Guggenheim Fellowship
- Courage Award for the Arts
- 2013 Anonymous Was A Woman Award
- 2004 Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1990 MacArthur Fellows Program
- 1988 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1988 Maya Deren Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film director — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.