Daria Halprin

Daria Halprin (born December 30, 1948) is an American somatic/ expressive arts therapist, author, teacher dancer, and former actress known primarily for her naturalistic performances in three films of the late 1960s and early 1970s and as Founding Director of Tamalpa Institute.

Daria Halprin
Born	(1948-12-30) December 30, 1948 San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S.
Occupation	Expressive Arts Therapist/Educator, author, dancer, actress
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	Dennis Hopper ​ ( m. 1972; div. 1976) Khosrow Khalighi (1979-present)
Children	Ruthanna Hopper Jahan Khalighi
Parent(s)	Lawrence Halprin Anna Halprin

Early life

Daria Halprin was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the daughter of San Francisco-based landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and choreographer Anna Halprin (née Schuman),[1] who, in the 1950s, was one of the Western pioneers of using dance as a healing art. Like her mother, Halprin studied dance, and in the mid 1960s, began acting in film.

Acting career

In 1968, she appeared in Revolution, a documentary by Jack O'Connell. Shot mainly in San Francisco, the film exposed the thriving counterculture movement and featured a series of interviews with that city’s hippie residents.

Subsequently, Halprin was chosen by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni for the lead in his second English-language feature, Zabriskie Point.[2] The film, released in 1970, was a statement on the burgeoning violence in America and the growing rift between the establishment and the counterculture as interpreted through a European sensibility. Following release of the film, with her Zabriskie Point co-star Mark Frechette, Halprin briefly joined self-styled guru Mel Lyman, a former member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, and his 100-member commune, before fleeing due to the severity of cult life.[3]

In 1972, Halprin appeared in her third and final movie, John Flynn's thriller The Jerusalem File, in a major role alongside Nicol Williamson and Donald Pleasence. Also in 1972, she married actor/director Dennis Hopper. The marriage produced one child, Ruthanna Hopper, before the couple divorced in 1976.

Later life

In the 1970s, Halprin developed an interest in creative arts therapy. In 1978, she and her mother Anna founded the Tamalpa Institute[4] and developed the Halprin Process, an expressive arts approach for transformative healing that integrates movement/dance, visual arts, performance techniques and therapeutic practices. She has authored The Expressive Body in Life, Art and Therapy, Coming Alive: The Creative Expression Method, and was a contributing author to Foundations of Expressive Arts Therapy.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Revolution	Herself	Documentary
1970	Zabriskie Point	Daria
1972	The Jerusalem File	Nurit	(final film role)

References

1. New York Times
2. Daria Halprin on IMDb
3. Return to Zabriskie Point: The Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin Story Archived 2008-07-27 at the Wayback Machine at Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict
4. Tamalpa Institute