Born: 24 March 1920, United Kingdom
Died: 27 September 2014
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Joan Rothwell
Joan Benesh was a British ballet dancer who, with her husband Rudolf, developed the Benesh Movement Notation, which is the leading British system of dance notation. The notation uses a five bar staff to record the position of the limbs and body, with additional signs above the staff to record the facial expression and the position of the eyes and fingers. These details arose from Joan’s interest in the traditional Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam. The Benesh Institute of Choreology was created in 1962 with Joan as principal, establishing a library of dance scores in London and a residential training college in Sussex.