Anna Beard

she/her

Austin Historical Weapons Guild, Austin, TX

Anna Beard started dancing in her Wonder Woman underoos when she was about four. Her formal training began at age seven, and she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2003. Along the way, she danced and trained with the Kyrgyz National Ballet, AuxWerks, and others.

Anna has been teaching for twenty years. She has helped artists refine their movement in everything from aerial circus to flowarts. She is deeply interested in the pedagogy of movement and will enthusiastically talk about it to anyone who will listen.

Her current focus is on teaching adults. She wants to show that you can learn dance at any age. Anna is a co-owner of Austin Historical Weapons Guild and teaches there regularly. She has also taught at HEMA events across the US.

Anna has recently developed an interest in (read: obsession with) sword fighting. She has expanded her use of dance pedagogy to support swordplay movement and training. She is also interested in the shared historical context of sword fighting, renaissance dance, and ballet.

If you run into her at Dance Fight, buckle up for a long chat about dance history or the glory of Meyer!