ISTA, International School of Theatre Anthropology, was founded in 1979. Conceived and directed by Eugenio Barba, it is based in Holstebro, Denmark. ISTA is a multicultural network of performers and scholars giving life to an itinerant university whose main field of study is Theatre Anthropology. ISTA holds open sessions periodically on the request of national and international cultural institutions which provide the necessary funding. Each session has a different theme defining a particular subject which is investigated through practical classes, work demonstrations and comparative analysis. Each time, a limited number of actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, scholars and critics can apply to participate. ISTA's network is centred around a permanent core of Euro - Afro - American - Asian performers and scholars from many universities. The network gathers, works and communicates not only during the public sessions, but also through mutual contacts, exchanges and initiatives, smaller closed work sessions and within the framework of the University of Eurasian Theatre whose open activity presents the results of ISTA's research. During its 16 years of existence ISTA has been a laboratory for research into the technical basis of the performer in a transcultural dimension. The objective of this methodological choice, deriving from an empirical approach, is the understanding of the fundamental principles which engender the performer's "presence" or "scenic life".