AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The new book by prize-winning biographer Evelyn Juers, author of House of Exile and The Recluse, portrays the life and background of a pioneering Australian dancer who died at the age of twenty-five in a remote town in India.
'A uniquely talented dancer and choreographer, Philippa Cullen grew up in Australia in the 1950s and 60s. In the 1970s, driven by the idea of dancing her own music, she was at the forefront of the new electronic music movement, working internationally with performers, avant-garde composers, engineers and mathematicians to build and experiment with theremins and movement-sensitive floors, which she called body-instruments. She had a strong sense of purpose, read widely, travelled the world, and danced at opera houses, art galleries and festivals, on streets and bridges, trains, clifftops, rooftops. She wrote, I would define dance as an outer manifestation of inner energy in an articulation more lucid than language. An embodiment of the artistic aspirations of her age, she died alone in a remote hill town in southern India in 1975.
'With detailed reference to Cullen’s personal papers and the recollections of those who knew her, and with her characteristic flair for drawing connections to bring in larger perspectives, Evelyn Juers’ The Dancer is at once an intimate and wide-ranging biography, a portrait of the artist as a young woman.'
Source : publication summary
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The Individual in the Universe : A Panoramic Biography of Australian Performance Artist Philippa Cullen
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 438 2021; (p. 17, 19)
— Review of The Dancer : A Biography for Philippa Cullen 2021 single work biography'What meaning can be drawn from an individual life? Most of us will disappear without much trace, forgotten by all but friends and family. Writers may hope for more, leaving their art behind for posterity. Performance artists, though, live their art in the moment.' (Introduction)
-
Exploring a Woman, Wild and Free
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 October 2021; (p. 17)
— Review of The Dancer : A Biography for Philippa Cullen 2021 single work biography
-
Exploring a Woman, Wild and Free
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 October 2021; (p. 17)
— Review of The Dancer : A Biography for Philippa Cullen 2021 single work biography -
The Individual in the Universe : A Panoramic Biography of Australian Performance Artist Philippa Cullen
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 438 2021; (p. 17, 19)
— Review of The Dancer : A Biography for Philippa Cullen 2021 single work biography'What meaning can be drawn from an individual life? Most of us will disappear without much trace, forgotten by all but friends and family. Writers may hope for more, leaving their art behind for posterity. Performance artists, though, live their art in the moment.' (Introduction)