Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts
Encyclopedia
The Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis
and Ted Shawn
in Los Angeles, California
, helped many perfect their dancing talents. Some of the school's more notable pupils include Martha Graham
, Doris Humphrey
, Charles Weidman
, Jack Cole
, and silent film star Louise Brooks
. The school was especially renowned for its influence on ballet
and experimental Modern dance
. In time, Denishawn teachings reached another school location as well - Studio 61 at the Carnegie Hall Studios
.
Eventually, the working relationship between Shawn and St. Denis turned romantic. The two artists fell in love and, lovers living together being considered unorthodox at this point in history, were married on August 13, 1914. Their "honeymoon" consisted of a second joint tour - accompanied by a small company of dancers - from Saratoga, New York
to San Francisco, California
. A new collection of dances, including more ballroom variations, St. Denis solos and Shawn's famous Dagger Dance, was showcased. For promotional purposes, the dancing group was referred to as the St. Denis-Shawn Company.
It was not until February 6, 1915, on yet another tour, that the term "Denishawn" actually surfaced. At a performance in Portland, Oregon
, a theater manager promised eight box seats to whoever could dream up the most creative name for the latest St. Denis-Shawn ballroom exhibition. The unchallenged, winning title was "The Denishawn Rose Mazurka." While the name as a whole didn't warrant much popularity, the "Denishawn" portion attracted audience members and the press - to such an extent that the namesake couple chose to officially change their company name from the St. Denis-Shawn Company to Denishawn Dancers.
With this new name in town, Shawn and St. Denis began brainstorming ways to expand their contributions to the dance world. Shawn was the first to suggest opening a school - a dual-purpose institution that could be a successful source of income and in turn pass on the founders' ideas of new Modern dance. St. Denis and Shawn opened their Denishawn School in 1915, and together formulated a guide for both their pedagogy
and choreography
, an excerpt of which is quoted below:
"The art of dance is too big to be encompassed by any one system. On the contrary, the dance includes all systems or schools of dance. Every way that any human being of any race or nationality, at any period of human history, has moved rhythmically to express himself, belongs to the dance. We endeavor to recognize and use all contributions of the past to the dance and will continue to use all new contributions in the future" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 11).
meditations and Shawn's various classes (ballet
, ballroom
and what would later be called "Denishawn" technique). $500 covered the cost of a 12-week program that included daily technique classes, room and board, arts and crafts and guided reading lessons.
When taking technique classes, students danced in bare feet and wore identical one-piece black wool bathing suits. Classes lasted three hours every morning. Shawn typically taught during the first block of time, leading students through stretches, limbering exercises, ballet barre and floor progressions and free-form center combinations. St. Denis then took over with instruction in Oriental and yoga techniques. Author and former Denishawn pupil Jane Sherman recalls an everyday class, laden with ballet terminology:
"A typical Denishawn class began at the barre; first came stretching, petits and grands battements, a series of plies in the five positions, sixteen measures of grande rondes de jambes, and thirty-two measures of petites rondes de jambes. These might be followed by slow releves in arabesque, fast changes, entrechats, and exercises to prepare for fouettes. In short, the works!
After ballet arm exercises out on the floor, we next worked to perfect our develops en tournant, out attitudes, out renverses, and our grande jetes. The each pupil danced alone a series of pas de basques: the Denishawn version, the ballet, the Spanish, and the Hungarian. The Denishawn pas de basque was distinguished by arms held high and parallel overhead as the body made an extreme arch sideways toward the leading foot.
Next usually came a free, open exercise affectionately nicknamed "arms and body," done to a waltz from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. A forerunner of the technical warmups now used in many modern dance schools, it started with feet placed far apart and pressed flat on the floor. With a slow swinging of the body into ever-increasing circles, came head, shoulder, and torso rolls, the arms sweeping from the floor to the ceiling. After a relaxed run around the circumference of the studio, we ended in a back fall ... we might then sit down to practice Java
nese arm movements, do hand stretches to force our Western fingers backward into some semblance of Cambodia
n flexibility ...
Class always closed with the learning of another part of a dance. Based on the theory that one learns to perform by performing, dance exercises were essential elements in Denishaw training, and some of them were so professionally interesting that they became part of the concert repertory" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 18,19).
One school in Massachusetts has continued to teach Denishawn Dance for over 50 years. The Marion Rice
Studio of the Dance, in Fitchburg Massachusetts, educated students and performed Denishawn dances for the local community as well as at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (1972), Marymount Manhattan College (1978), NY City College "Roots" Festival (1986) and the 2000 Millennium Dance Festival in Washington, DC.
theaters, convention centers and outdoor stadiums. Besides being invited to standout performance venues like New York's prestigious Palace Theater (1916), Denishawn was the first American company to present "serious Western dance" in Japan
, Burma, China
, India
, Ceylon, Java
, Malaya
and the Philippines
(1925-26) (Sherman, Enduring Influence 77). In some ways, the presented work was resembled ballet - each piece was a full-company story with elaborate costumes, sets and lighting. In terms of movement, however, the differences were obvious - no pointe shoes, no pas de deux lifts, no exact format for patterning solos and ensemble pieces.
Most Denishawn works fall into one of four categories:
Many Denishawn solo works remain in the active repertoire of many companies. Their solos are of special interest to many for their exotic qualities. Several of their solos were included in "The Art of the Solo" presented at the Baltimore Museum of Art
on September 29, 2006. These included three revival premieres, namely, Shawn's "Invocation to the Thunderbird"(1916), last danced by Denishawn dancer John Dougherty and "Death of Adonis" (1922). Both were recreated by Mino Nicolas, programe curator, with the aid of film, written accounts and photographs. Also featured were the revival premiere of Ruth St. Denis' "The Peacock/A Legend of India" (1906) which was recreated using the same methods. Her signature solo, "The Incense" will also be performed by Cynthia Word of Washington DC.
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis was an early modern dance pioneer.-Biography:Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university...
and Ted Shawn
Ted Shawn
Ted Shawn , originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. Along with creating Denishawn with former wife Ruth St. Denis he is also responsible for the creation of the well known all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, helped many perfect their dancing talents. Some of the school's more notable pupils include Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey
Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...
, Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman is a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance forms popular at the time to create a uniquely American style of movement...
, Jack Cole
Jack Cole
Jack Cole may refer to:*Jack Cole *Jack Cole *Jack Cole *Jack Isadore Cole , founder of the Coles chain and Coles notes...
, and silent film star Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
. The school was especially renowned for its influence on ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and experimental Modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
. In time, Denishawn teachings reached another school location as well - Studio 61 at the Carnegie Hall Studios
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
Beginnings
Initially solo artists, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn began collaborating on work in 1914. At the time, St. Denis was preparing for a tour of the southeastern region of the United States, and needed a male partner to help present new ballroom dances. Shawn, who had admired St. Denis since seeing her perform in 1911, auditioned for and was awarded the role. The resulting tour featured the partnered pieces along with individual works from St. Denis and Shawn respectively.Eventually, the working relationship between Shawn and St. Denis turned romantic. The two artists fell in love and, lovers living together being considered unorthodox at this point in history, were married on August 13, 1914. Their "honeymoon" consisted of a second joint tour - accompanied by a small company of dancers - from Saratoga, New York
Saratoga, New York
Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...
to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. A new collection of dances, including more ballroom variations, St. Denis solos and Shawn's famous Dagger Dance, was showcased. For promotional purposes, the dancing group was referred to as the St. Denis-Shawn Company.
It was not until February 6, 1915, on yet another tour, that the term "Denishawn" actually surfaced. At a performance in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, a theater manager promised eight box seats to whoever could dream up the most creative name for the latest St. Denis-Shawn ballroom exhibition. The unchallenged, winning title was "The Denishawn Rose Mazurka." While the name as a whole didn't warrant much popularity, the "Denishawn" portion attracted audience members and the press - to such an extent that the namesake couple chose to officially change their company name from the St. Denis-Shawn Company to Denishawn Dancers.
With this new name in town, Shawn and St. Denis began brainstorming ways to expand their contributions to the dance world. Shawn was the first to suggest opening a school - a dual-purpose institution that could be a successful source of income and in turn pass on the founders' ideas of new Modern dance. St. Denis and Shawn opened their Denishawn School in 1915, and together formulated a guide for both their pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
and choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, an excerpt of which is quoted below:
"The art of dance is too big to be encompassed by any one system. On the contrary, the dance includes all systems or schools of dance. Every way that any human being of any race or nationality, at any period of human history, has moved rhythmically to express himself, belongs to the dance. We endeavor to recognize and use all contributions of the past to the dance and will continue to use all new contributions in the future" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 11).
Technique and classes
The first Denishawn School was housed in a Spanish-style mansion on top of a hill in Los Angeles. There were two spaces reserved for technique classes: an indoor studio where St. Denis primarily taught, and an outdoor ballroom for yogaYoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
meditations and Shawn's various classes (ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
and what would later be called "Denishawn" technique). $500 covered the cost of a 12-week program that included daily technique classes, room and board, arts and crafts and guided reading lessons.
When taking technique classes, students danced in bare feet and wore identical one-piece black wool bathing suits. Classes lasted three hours every morning. Shawn typically taught during the first block of time, leading students through stretches, limbering exercises, ballet barre and floor progressions and free-form center combinations. St. Denis then took over with instruction in Oriental and yoga techniques. Author and former Denishawn pupil Jane Sherman recalls an everyday class, laden with ballet terminology:
"A typical Denishawn class began at the barre; first came stretching, petits and grands battements, a series of plies in the five positions, sixteen measures of grande rondes de jambes, and thirty-two measures of petites rondes de jambes. These might be followed by slow releves in arabesque, fast changes, entrechats, and exercises to prepare for fouettes. In short, the works!
After ballet arm exercises out on the floor, we next worked to perfect our develops en tournant, out attitudes, out renverses, and our grande jetes. The each pupil danced alone a series of pas de basques: the Denishawn version, the ballet, the Spanish, and the Hungarian. The Denishawn pas de basque was distinguished by arms held high and parallel overhead as the body made an extreme arch sideways toward the leading foot.
Next usually came a free, open exercise affectionately nicknamed "arms and body," done to a waltz from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. A forerunner of the technical warmups now used in many modern dance schools, it started with feet placed far apart and pressed flat on the floor. With a slow swinging of the body into ever-increasing circles, came head, shoulder, and torso rolls, the arms sweeping from the floor to the ceiling. After a relaxed run around the circumference of the studio, we ended in a back fall ... we might then sit down to practice Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese arm movements, do hand stretches to force our Western fingers backward into some semblance of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n flexibility ...
Class always closed with the learning of another part of a dance. Based on the theory that one learns to perform by performing, dance exercises were essential elements in Denishaw training, and some of them were so professionally interesting that they became part of the concert repertory" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 18,19).
One school in Massachusetts has continued to teach Denishawn Dance for over 50 years. The Marion Rice
Marion Rice
Marion Burbank Stevens Rice was an American modern dance choreographer, dance teacher and producer.-Early life:...
Studio of the Dance, in Fitchburg Massachusetts, educated students and performed Denishawn dances for the local community as well as at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (1972), Marymount Manhattan College (1978), NY City College "Roots" Festival (1986) and the 2000 Millennium Dance Festival in Washington, DC.
Repertory and performance
The Denishawn Dancers took advantage of many performance opportunities - in colleges, concert halls, vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
theaters, convention centers and outdoor stadiums. Besides being invited to standout performance venues like New York's prestigious Palace Theater (1916), Denishawn was the first American company to present "serious Western dance" in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Burma, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Ceylon, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(1925-26) (Sherman, Enduring Influence 77). In some ways, the presented work was resembled ballet - each piece was a full-company story with elaborate costumes, sets and lighting. In terms of movement, however, the differences were obvious - no pointe shoes, no pas de deux lifts, no exact format for patterning solos and ensemble pieces.
Most Denishawn works fall into one of four categories:
- Orientalia: Chronologically, these were the first true Denishawn works. St. Denis was responsible for the majority of these pieces, though Shawn did put together a small number of Oriental solos and group dances. As their title suggests, these pieces incorporate aspects of East Indian movement, dress and environment (in the form of set design). A particularly famous work from this period is St. Denis's Radha, a mini-ballet set in a Hindu temple in which an exotic woman dances to honor the five senses.
- Americana: While St. Denis found her most powerful inspiration in the Far East, Shawn seemed to find his in the cultures of America. His works dominate the Americana series, complete with musical scores by American composers and portrayals of "American" characters like cowboys, Indians and ballplayers. Shawn's comic pantomime Danse Americaine, for example, centers on a soft-shoe dancer acting as a baseball player.
- Music Visualizations: Inspired by Isadora Duncan's approach to music, St. Denis developed the music visualization, which she defined as "...the scientific translation into bodily action of the rhythmic, melodic and harmonious structure of a musical composition without intention to in any way 'interpret' or reveal any hidden meaning apprehended by the dancer" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 47). Meaning, movement was set strictly to music without reading into anything emotionally. If the music swells, the body swells: if the music grows quiet, the body comes to rest. St. Denis's Soaring, set on five female dancers, is arguably her most well-known music visualization.
- Miscellanea: Also known as "Denishawn divertissements," these shorter works included those that cannot fit neatly into the pigeonholes of "Oriental," "Americana" or "Music Visualization" (Sherman, Enduring Influence 55). These works were reserved for performances that didn't require presentations of full-length ballets.
Many Denishawn solo works remain in the active repertoire of many companies. Their solos are of special interest to many for their exotic qualities. Several of their solos were included in "The Art of the Solo" presented at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
on September 29, 2006. These included three revival premieres, namely, Shawn's "Invocation to the Thunderbird"(1916), last danced by Denishawn dancer John Dougherty and "Death of Adonis" (1922). Both were recreated by Mino Nicolas, programe curator, with the aid of film, written accounts and photographs. Also featured were the revival premiere of Ruth St. Denis' "The Peacock/A Legend of India" (1906) which was recreated using the same methods. Her signature solo, "The Incense" will also be performed by Cynthia Word of Washington DC.
See also
- Modern danceModern danceModern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
- 20th century concert dance20th century concert dance20th century concert dance is the name given to a category of dance forms that include:* Free dance* Modern dance* Expressionist dance* Postmodern dance* Dance improvisation* Contemporary dance* Dance for camera...
- Louise BrooksLouise BrooksMary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
- Martha GrahamMartha GrahamMartha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
- Eleanor KingEleanor KingEleanor King was an American modern dancer, choreographer, and educator. She was a member of the original Humphrey-Weidman company, where she was a principal dancer in the pioneering modern dance movement in New York City, then moving on to choreography and founding her own dance company in...
- Humphrey-WeidmanHumphrey-WeidmanHumphrey-Weidman is a modern dance technique based on the theory and action of fall and recovery. It originated in 1928 when Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman broke away from the Denishawn school and moved to New York City. There they pioneered modern dance in the United States by founding a dance...
- Marion Rice Denishawn DancersMarion Rice Denishawn DancersMarion Rice Denishawn Dancers is a dance company devoted to preserving Denishawn dance, the choreography of modern dance pioneers Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, taught and staged by Marion Rice, a Massachusetts modern dance and ballet teacher, performer, choreographer and producer who died in...
- Marion RiceMarion RiceMarion Burbank Stevens Rice was an American modern dance choreographer, dance teacher and producer.-Early life:...