Two performers practicing acro yoga or a similar art form on a stage with a brick wall and curtains in the background. One person is standing on the other's back, supporting themselves with one hand on their partner's legs and the other extended outward. Both are dressed in casual clothing.

Photo Credit: Anton Martynov

The Anatomy of Art in the Classroom

"It doesn't hand you a path. It shows you what the land looks like."
(Marisa Tomei)

Students in Alexandra Beller/Dances Summer Intensive

Essays

Tips

Embodiment Exercises

Scores

Writing prompts

Guide to feedback

Questions for the Artist

Viewings

Essays Tips Embodiment Exercises Scores Writing prompts Guide to feedback Questions for the Artist Viewings

Table of contents for a process book, listing sections with page numbers including 'Before You Begin,' 'Groundwork,' 'In Practice,' 'From the Field,' 'Guidance,' 'Frameworks,' 'Tuning In,' 'Studio Lab,' 'Pagework,' 'Movements + Maps,' 'Contributor’s Note,' and 'Studio Provocations.'

Inside Every Chapter

Twelve components, repeated in all twelve chapters: priming questions, an essay, practical tips, a case study, a framework, an embodiment exercise, a studio lab, writing prompts, a movement score, a contributor's note, and a bank of studio provocations.

Group of people sitting on a wooden floor in a circle, engaging in a discussion or workshop, in a room with mirrors and large windows.

A Guide to Giving Feedback

A shared language for responding to work in progress: what to notice, what to ask, and when to hold an opinion. Written so students can use it with each other.

List of art exhibition program with titles, artists, and works, including Marina Abramović, BANDALOOP, Eiko & Koma, David Parsons, Akram Khan, William Kentridge, Faye Driscoll, Meredith Monk, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Dimitris Papaioannou, Jiří Kylián, Xavier Le Roy. The heading is 'Time' with the subtitle 'Recommended Viewing.'

The Companion Library

168 curated performance viewings organized by concept, an interdisciplinary reading list for every chapter, and guided audio for each embodiment exercise. Access comes with the book.

Explore the book: Read a chapter or find a copy.

Ways to Explore:

Read the sample packet. The course preview includes Marisa Tomei's Preface, the Introduction, the complete chapter on Process, and the Conclusion — 62 pages, free.

Click "Read a sample" below to open the 62-page preview.

Purchase the Paperback, e-book, or audiobook. The book releases September 17, 2026, and is currently available for pre-order.

Check your library. The Anatomy of Art is on Bloomsbury Collections. If your institution subscribes, you may be able to read it today. If not, librarians usually order on a faculty request; here's a note you can forward:

I'd like to request that the library acquire The Anatomy of Art: Unlocking the Creative Process for Theater and Dance by Alexandra Beller (Bloomsbury / Methuen Drama, 2026). It's available on Bloomsbury Collections. ISBN 9781350564176 (paperback), 9781350564183 (hardback). I'm considering it for a course, and it would serve students across our dance and theater programs.

Seriously considering it and need the full text? Write to me with your course and enrollment, and I'll see what I can arrange with Bloomsbury.

If your term starts before students can get copies, tell me and I'll send a chapter PDF to bridge the first few weeks.

Read a sample

Purchase the book

Photo Credit: Judith Stuart

Photo Credit: Maria Baranova

If you assign the book, I'll drop into your class by Zoom for twenty or thirty minutes later in the semester: questions, conversation, whatever your students want to ask.

Free.

If you'd like something fuller, I also teach a creative process master class, in person or online. Email me, and we can talk about what that would look like.

Look through the supplemental materials!

If you're considering the book for a course, "Read a sample" above opens the 62-page preview.

I'll also give you full access to browse the whole companion: the viewing selections, reading lists, and the audio.

Tell me a little about the course, and I'll send you a code.