Peter Brinson

Peter Brinson was the author of many books, television programs, articles and dance reports. He has been a dance advocate and consultant all over the world. In the 1980s he was head of post-graduate and community studies at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. With Peggy van Praagh as mentor Brinson began his career as dance producer, animateur and scholar in the early 1950s. In 1964 he founded and directed The Royal Ballet’s Ballet for All company, researching and creating all the programs for what became a unique pioneering effort in making ballet accessible to wider audiences. In 1971 Peter was appointed Director of the UK & British Commonwealth Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation where he initiated the Gulbenkian Workshops for Choreographers and Composers in London, and later, a ground-breaking series of studies on dance education and training. In 1963 he and Peggy a co-authored book they called The Choreographic Art and their association continued to develop after van Praagh’s relocation to Australia. Peter Brinson’s first visit to Australia was in the summer of 1975-76 when he conducted a course in dance history and criticism at the University of New England at Armidale in Northern NSW. Peter’s course–in association with the choreographic workshops–was the beginning of serious dance scholarship in Australia.