A ‘hands-on’ choreographer, Helen Tamiris
Aug
16
2020
When I was a dance student, it was perfectly normal to be utterly terrified of certain instructors. But they didn’t often man-handle you. Two generations ago, however, this was not the case. A student of Jack Cole described him banging her head on the ground as she stretched on the floor in second position. Banging ...
Edna Guy: her race kept her from dancing with Denishawn
Mar
24
2018
Three years after Tamiris premiered her first Negro Spirituals, Edna Guy and Hemsley Winfield collaborated to stage the First Negro Dance Recital in America on 29 April 1931. With tickets priced from one to four dollars, spectators at the Theatre in the Clouds, an intimate space located on the top floor of the Chanin Building ...
Dance Heritage Coalition unveils “Irreplaceable Dance Treasures” online
Aug
28
2012
The Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) has launched a tremendous new online exhibition, America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100. Newly commissioned essays, bibliographies and research resources, and curated visual materials are included. Here’s but a brief sampling: Anna Schuman Halprin is one of the “founding mothers” of the American avant-garde in modern dance. Beginning with ...
Distinguished dance professional, Jodee Nimerichter, named as director of American Dance Festival
Jan
5
2012
It wasn’t a surprising announcement but a pleasant piece of news nonetheless to learn of strong recognition for a well qualified woman of the arts today. Jodee Nimerichter, long associated with the historic and esteemed American Dance Festival (ADF), was named as director of the 79-year-running summer dance festival. Nimerichter will be the first woman ...