(Lighting Designer)
Ruth Grauert holds an Honorary Doctorate from Ursinus and Centenary College, M.A. from Columbia University and a certificate as dance educator from the Henry Street Playhouse. Having worked for 40 years with Alwin Nikolais, she has designed lighting and served as mentor for many dancers in that discipline. Her published articles are concerned with various aspects of performance aesthetic. Her award-winning poetry deals primarily with man in nature. Ruth’s Web site,BearnstowJournal.org, offers articles and discussion forums on dance, poetry, the arts, and the Nikolais aesthetic. When Annelise Mertz, Professor Emerita of Washington University in St. Louis, asked Ruth to write an article about how Bearnstow approached the teaching of the arts for her book The Body Can Speak, the essay “The Common Aesthetic” was Ruth’s response and may be read at her Web site.