Anawalt is an acclaimed critic, writer, and media entrepreneur. She co-founded the USC Annenberg master’s program in arts journalism; was chief dance critic for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, LA Weekly, and KCRW; and is the author of "The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company", which was the basis of a PBS documentary. Anawalt ran the Getty Arts Journalism Program for thirteen years and the NEA Arts Institute for Theatre and Musical Theatre for seven years. She is also the co-producer of the Engine Series and founder of DanceMapLA.