Simone Forti's Legacy: How One Dancer Made Footholds for Generations

Julia Wagner · 2026-08-13

### The End of an Era in Dance Simone Forti passed away in 2026, leaving behind a legacy that reshaped modern dance. She was 90 years old. For over six decades, Forti challenged what dance could be. She wasn't just a choreographer; she was a philosopher of movement, a builder of community, and a mentor to countless artists. ### From Italy to the Avant-Garde Born in Florence in 1935, Forti moved to the United States as a young woman. She quickly fell in with the Judson Dance Theater, a group that redefined dance in the 1960s. There, she explored improvisation, everyday movement, and the raw poetry of the human body. Her work wasn't about perfect pirouettes. It was about presence, risk, and connection. Forti's pieces often looked simple: walking, running, falling. But they asked deep questions. What makes a movement a dance? How do we relate to gravity, to space, to each other? She once said, "We live to make footholds for each other." That line became her motto. It captures her belief that art is a shared act of support. ### The Art of the Foothold For Forti, a foothold wasn't just a physical step. It was a moment of trust. When you dance with someone, you literally hold each other up. You create a space where both can move freely. That idea extended to her teaching. She mentored generations of dancers, encouraging them to find their own voice. She didn't want copycats; she wanted collaborators. Her influence reached far beyond the studio. Musicians, visual artists, and writers drew from her ideas. She collaborated with legends like Steve Paxton and Yvonne Rainer. But she never sought the spotlight. She preferred the quiet power of the work itself. ### A Lasting Impact on Dance Today, Forti's legacy lives in every improvisational dance class. In every choreographer who values process over product. In every dancer who understands that technique is just the beginning. Her archives are held at the Getty Research Institute, where scholars continue to study her notebooks, scores, and films. For those of us in the dance world, Forti's life is a reminder. Dance isn't just about performance. It's about building community. It's about making footholds for the next person. That's a lesson we can carry into our studios, our classes, and our choreography. So the next time you're in the studio, think of Simone Forti. Think of how you can make a foothold for someone else. That's how we keep dance alive. > "We live to make footholds for each other." — Simone Forti ### Continuing the Conversation What does it mean to make a foothold in your own practice? It could be as simple as offering feedback to a fellow dancer. Or as complex as creating a new work that challenges norms. Forti showed us that the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact. Her spirit lives on in every dancer who takes a risk, who reaches out, who builds a bridge. Her passing is a loss, but her work is a gift. Let's honor it by continuing to move, to question, and to support one another. After all, we're all just making footholds for each other.