DR ANN HUTCHINSON GUEST MBE
It is with broken hearts that we announce our dearest Ann passed away peacefully at home, on Saturday 9th April 2022.
To the very end, Ann was the strong, determined, and dignified woman we all loved, a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. She will be dearly missed by us, her LOD family and the greater dance world. She was a pioneer ahead of her time and a mentor and inspiration to everyone who knew her.
Please understand it was important for the Language of Dance Centers to wait before making any formal, public announcements until all of Ann’s family and close friends were notified.
Among her many great accomplishments, which included writing and publishing over 50 books, her proudest was creating the Language of Dance Approach and founding the Language of Dance Trust with its family of worldwide Centers. She was an extremely compassionate person, wanting to share her extensive dance and notation knowledge with the world through the development of the Language of Dance® and its Movement Alphabet®. Ann strived to make dance and dance literacy accessible and enjoyable for children and adults, from 1 to 103 and beyond!
We take comfort in knowing that she lived to be 103, had a remarkable life and can now be at peace reunited and dancing with her beloved Ivor. We will miss so many things about Ann like her wonderful humour and the way she lit up and commanded any room when she entered.
In the coming days, weeks and months, we will continue to honour our incredible Ann, we will invite the dance community to share your memories and photos and will ensure her legacy lives on forever.
If you would like to help us continue Ann’s wonderful work and legacy, please make a donation to the Language of Dance® Trust here or purchase access to A Film About Ann Hutchinson Guest (2020) here. All proceeds will go towards the Language of Dance® Centre’s education and outreach projects, inspiring people of all ages and abilities to explore and create dance.
Love,
Ann’s LOD Family xxx
Dr Ann Hutchinson Guest MBE (1918-2022) was a world renowned expert in dance notation, highly acclaimed author and researcher on dance, and the founder of the Language of Dance Centre.
Dr Hutchinson Guest studied Labanotation with Sigurd Leeder at Dartington Hall in England in the 1930s, and trained in modern dance and ballet. In New York she co-founded and directed the Dance Notation Bureau, danced on Broadway and taught at the Juilliard School. Her research into dance notation systems of the past provided revivals of ballets such as the Pas de Six from La Vivandière and Nijinsky’s L’Apres-midi d’un Faune.
Through her exploration and analysis of movement, she evolved the educationally rich Language of Dance teaching method. For her development and practical application of Labanotation, she was awarded two honorary doctorates; Lifetime Achievement Award from Motus Humanus, Outstanding Contribution to Dance Research Award from both the Congress on Research in Dance, and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). The numerous dance scores and publications Ann Hutchinson Guest has produced include The Bournonville School and the Cecchetti Method and an extensive collection of Language of Dance Books and Materials including ‘Your Move’ and an ‘Introduction to Motif Notation’.
In 2021 she was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her services to dance.
In 2020, to celebrate Dr Hutchinson Guest’s 102nd birthday, the LODC UK commissioned a short film about her extraordinary life’s work.