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Art Is an Act of Survival — Dancer Alexandra Beller on Aloneness, Healing & Finding Your Voice
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"This is what it feels like to be alive. Does anybody recognise it?" Dancer and choreographer Alexandra Beller believes that's the question at the heart of all art — and the answer is what makes us feel less alone.
In this episode of Stories and Stanza, Alexandra shares 25 years of lived experience inside the creative process — from performing with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to teaching artists how to trust themselves while creating. We explore why authenticity isn't something you can teach but something you facilitate, how the body holds feelings the mind can't access, why labels can be a form of violence, and what it means to separate who you are from what you make.
Alexandra also reads from her upcoming book The Anatomy of Art (Bloomsbury, September 2025) — a field guide for artists blending poetic insight with practical tools for navigating the messy, thrilling terrain of making.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Art and Aloneness
02:00 Meet Alexandra Beller
05:30 Authenticity Through Movement
15:00 Healing Beyond Labels
27:00 The Body Remembers What the Mind Won't Say
34:00 Books and Creative Integrity
38:00 Reading from The Anatomy of Art
44:30 Protecting Authenticity in a Product-Driven World
✍️ ABOUT ALEXANDRA BELLER
Alexandra Beller is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and author with 25 years inside the creative process. She performed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and has since taught and mentored professional artists, first-time movers, and private clients across the United States. Her work sits at the intersection of creativity and healing — drawing on Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and somatic practices to help people find their authentic voice through the body.
Her upcoming book The Anatomy of Art (Bloomsbury) is a field guide for artists and educators, blending poetic insight with practical tools for navigating creative process, doubt, burnout, and artistic pressure.
🔗 Connect with Alexandra: https://www.alexandrabellerdances.org/
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IB7QHTnIpo0
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