Lineage

Trisha Brown began her movement to postmodern dance with experimental musician Robert Dunn. He encouraged his students to play around with musicality, phrasing and their own style of technique. His teaching and influence resulted in the showcasing of his classes work at Judson Memorial Church. This has led to further exploration by Movement Research at the Judson Church. They have gone on to perform their experiments and concerts on Monday nights.

Dunn was not the only musician to inspire Brown and other modern dance artists. Louis Horst pushed her to experiment with music and how to create without the constraints of following certain musical cues. This history helped when she was later influenced by Lina Wertmuller, and her change of direction to operas, in which she branched out with other styles of dance.

“O zl˜ozony/O Composite" used classical ballet with members of the Paris Opera Ballet

Brown was also very much influenced by Anna Halprin, with whom she trained. Haprin used a lot of improvisation, the physical athleticism of the body, as well as art drama and psychology combined with dance. Yvonne Rainer, a fellow dancer, also experimented with exploring the body and its movements. This most likely pushed Brown to do the same. However, she also continued with her own ideas and intentions. While Rainer had her No Manifesto, Brown said she was "forever having to give herself permission to say yes". Rainer, Brown and Steve Paxton all worked with dance as very pedestrian movement; everyday life can be dance, and untrained dancers can be performers. These artists worked with her in Judson Dance Theatre and they pushed the boundaries of what was modern dance. Without them, she may not have explored these different developments.

She worked with many different artists. For many of her pieces she collaborated with Robert Rauschenberg to add the aestetics of the piece including "Glacial Decay" and "Foray Forêt".

"Glacial Decay" Robert Rauschenberg set and costume design

Later, more inspiration came from Terry Winters and Dave Douglas. Visual and auditory art were very important to her, and these partnerships allowed her to gain knowledge into these unknown fields, giving her knowledge for future endeavors. This encouraged her even more when she transitioned into opera.