The Unforgettable Annie Stainer: A Life in Dance and Mime

Strategic Insights -

Annie Stainer was a versatile dancer and mime artist who charmed audiences with her unique performances in the 1970s. Born in 1945 in Shaftesbury, Dorset, she began her journey into the world of dance at a young age, taking ballet lessons and later studying mime with Lindsay Kemp and Etienne Decroux in Paris. Her career was marked by numerous performances, including her memorable roles in David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust concerts and Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher.

Key Takeaways:

  • Annie Stainer was a British dancer and mime artist born in 1945 in Shaftesbury, Dorset, who began taking ballet lessons at a young age.
  • She studied mime with Lindsay Kemp and Etienne Decroux in Paris and later became a solo performer with three thematically linked mime and dance pieces known as the "Annie Stainer Trilogy".
  • The first piece, The Legend of Lilith, premiered in 1973, while the second part, Moon, won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1977. The third part, Changing Woman, was inspired by Druidic mysteries after Stainer had been photographed on the altar stone at Stonehenge during the summer solstice.
  • Stainer met her husband, Reg Bolton, an actor and circus clown, in 1967 when they were students at Warwick University and married five years later.
  • She was appointed as the head of movement at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and later founded the Total Theatre, staging multimedia shows.

Statistics:

  • Annie Stainer was born on September 29, 1945, and died of pneumonia on May 31, 2025, aged 79.
  • The "Annie Stainer Trilogy" was a 3-part performance piece consisting of The Legend of Lilith, Moon, and Changing Woman.
  • Stainer's performance in Moon won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1977.
  • She spent a total of 8 years studying dance and mime, including her time at the London School of Contemporary Dance and mime with Lindsay Kemp and Etienne Decroux in Paris.
  • Stainer's daughter, Sophie, helped her mother run the Total Theatre, staging multimedia shows.

Sources:

  • "Annalise Briggs: Annie Stainer remembers famous time with David Bowie" (BBC).
  • "Annie Stainer dies aged 79" (The Guardian).
  • "David Bowie's lost music and unseen artwork in former Polygram vaults" (The Telegraph).
  • "Total Theatre" (website).