Helen Tamiris
Encyclopedia
Helen Tamiris was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher.
, Tamiris originally trained in free movement at the Henry Street Settlement
. She danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the Bracale Opera Company before studying briefly with Michel Fokine and with a disciple of Isadora Duncan. In 1927, she made her premiere as a solo modern dancer and two years later formed her own school and company. Concerned with establishing modern dance as a viable art form, Tamiris was active in organizing the young artists through the Concert Dancers League, Dance Repertory Theatre, Dancers Emergency Association, and American Dance Association. She also played an integral role in establishing the Federal Dance Project under the WPA.
Tamiris believed that each dance must create its own expressive means and as such did not develop an individual style or technique. She was one of the first choreographers to use jazz and spiritual music to explore social themes via dance. She is probably best known for her suite of dances called Negro Spirituals which was created between 1928 and 1941 and for How Long Brethren? (1937), a dance for the Federal Dance Project of the WPA that explored the problems facing African-Americans and won Dance Magazine's first award for group choreography. Tamiris also made works based on American themes working in concert dance (including Walt Whitman Suite and Salut au Monde) and musical theatre, including Annie Get Your Gun
(1946), Touch and Go (1949), Flahooley
(1951), Carnival in Flanders
(1953), Fanny
(1954), and Plain and Fancy
(1955). She won a Tony Award
for Touch and Go.
In 1960, with husband Daniel Nagrin
, Tamiris formed the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company.
Biography
A founder of American Modern DanceModern 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:...
, Tamiris originally trained in free movement at the Henry Street Settlement
Henry Street Settlement
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded in 1893 by Progressive reformer Lillian Wald.The...
. She danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the Bracale Opera Company before studying briefly with Michel Fokine and with a disciple of Isadora Duncan. In 1927, she made her premiere as a solo modern dancer and two years later formed her own school and company. Concerned with establishing modern dance as a viable art form, Tamiris was active in organizing the young artists through the Concert Dancers League, Dance Repertory Theatre, Dancers Emergency Association, and American Dance Association. She also played an integral role in establishing the Federal Dance Project under the WPA.
Tamiris believed that each dance must create its own expressive means and as such did not develop an individual style or technique. She was one of the first choreographers to use jazz and spiritual music to explore social themes via dance. She is probably best known for her suite of dances called Negro Spirituals which was created between 1928 and 1941 and for How Long Brethren? (1937), a dance for the Federal Dance Project of the WPA that explored the problems facing African-Americans and won Dance Magazine's first award for group choreography. Tamiris also made works based on American themes working in concert dance (including Walt Whitman Suite and Salut au Monde) and musical theatre, including Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
(1946), Touch and Go (1949), Flahooley
Flahooley
Flahooley is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Sammy Fain.The allegorical tale is set in fictional Capsulanti, USA, site of the headquarters for B.G. Bigelow, Incorporated, the largest toy corporation in the world...
(1951), Carnival in Flanders
Carnival in Flanders (musical)
Carnival in Flanders is a 1953 musical with a book by Preston Sturges, lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.Based on the 1934 French comedy film La Kermesse Héroïque, it is set in 1616 in the small Flemish village of Flackenburg, where a Spanish duke and his entourage descend upon...
(1953), Fanny
Fanny (musical)
Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled Marius, Fanny and César.The musical premiered on...
(1954), and Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn-raising and an old-fashioned country...
(1955). She won a Tony Award
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
for Touch and Go.
In 1960, with husband Daniel Nagrin
Daniel Nagrin
Daniel Nagrin was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author. He was born in New York City.Nagrin studied with Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Hanya Holm, and Helen Tamiris whom he later married...
, Tamiris formed the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company.