Showing posts with label Denishawn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denishawn. Show all posts

Saturday, March 16, 2024

A follow up to Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight about London and Paris

In the previous post, Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight, I pointed out one of a few  factual errors found on the Louise Brooks Wikipedia page.

As I note, the Wikipedia page on the actress states, "Brooks began her entertainment career as a dancer, joining the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts modern dance company in Los Angeles at the age of 15 in 1922." I pointed out that this statement is INCORRECT. In my post, I point out that Brooks went to New York City (not Los Angeles) to study at and then join Denishawn. History records as much, and Brooks herself said so in Lulu in Hollywood, one the sources incorrectly cited to support the incorrect Wiki statement. 

I am writing this post to point out yet another incorrect statement on the Louise Brooks Wikipedia page. The two sentences which follow the incorrect statement reads: "The company included founders Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, as well as a young Martha Graham. As a member of the globe-trotting troupe, Brooks spent a season abroad in London and in Paris." The first sentence, regarding who else were in the company, is correct. However, the second sentence is NOT. This sentence is supported by a reference to the same piece cited by the previous incorrect sentence, "Just a Prairie Flower," a 1926 Picture-Play article by Malcolm H. Oettinger.

The paragraph in "Just a Prairie Flower" which, apparently, is being cited reads, "One learned that the Brooks career had been given over generously to glob trotting. There had been a season in London at the Kit-Kat, and in Paris at the Casino, as a member of the Ruth St. Denis troupe." All I can say is ... don't believe everything you read, especially in a fan magazine. 

During Brooks' two seasons with Denishawn, the only globe trotting the troupe did was to perform in a few of the bigger cities in Canada, like Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kingston, and London, Ontario. (The Louise Brooks Society website features a short history of Louise Brooks and Denishawn, as well as the complete itineraries of her two seasons with the company.) While Brooks was in Denishawn, the dance company never went to Europe. And there was never a season in London and Paris.

After Brooks left Denishawn, she joined the George White Scandals, a Ziegfeld Follies like review in New York City. She was with them for just a few months when Brooks and her then best friend, Barbara Bennett, decided to take off for Europe. Brooks would spend about three weeks in Paris before heading for London, where a job for her was waiting not at the Kit-Kat club, but at the Cafe de Paris. A detailed account of this European adventure (mostly spent on her own, as Bennett soon returned home) can be found on the Louise Brooks Society website on the page titled, Louise Brooks at the Cafe de Paris in London. It contains some never before seen material, including the only known clipping from a London newspaper mentioning Brooks' appearance at the Cafe de Paris.

(In my research into Brooks' time in Europe at the end of 1924, I have never found that she was employed or worked while in Paris -- likely she had little money and was hanging out in hotel lobbies hoping someone might come along and help her -- which is what happened.)

Why did Malcolm H. Oettinger (a furniture salesman and sometime free-lance writer) state in 1926 that Brooks had spent "a season in London at the Kit-Kat, and in Paris at the Casino, as a member of the Ruth St. Denis troupe." He likely got his facts mixed up, or thought it sounded a bit more glamorous then Brooks' actual account. 

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Louise Brooks and Los Angeles: Getting the facts straight

I want to address, yet again, a factual error that's making the rounds....

The other day, I was listening to a podcast. On March 11, the podcasters known as 5282 dropped their "Louise Brooks Special" episode. This podcast, which focuses on popular and fringe culture, originates in the UK. The Brooks' episode is a talk through her career with the three 5282 hosts, highlighting films such as Beggars of Life and Pandora's Box. At the end of the podcast, one of the hosts gave a shout-out to the Louise Brooks Society as a source for information.

However, in the course of the 5282 podcast, one of the three hosts repeated something about Louise Brooks and Los Angeles that they didn't get from the Louise Brooks Society website. That something is this ... that Brooks left home at age 15 to join the Denishawn Dance Company in Los Angeles. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

If I were a betting man, I would guess that the 5282 podcaster who repeated this "fact" likely got it from Wikipedia. The Wiki page on the actress states, "Brooks began her entertainment career as a dancer, joining the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts modern dance company in Los Angeles at the age of 15 in 1922." In support, this sentence is twice footnoted, once to a 1926 Picture-Play article, "Just a Prairie Flower," and once to Brooks' own 1982 book, Lulu in Hollywood. In the first cited source, Brooks' joining Denishawn is not explicitly mentioned (it is only stated that Brooks danced with Ruth St. Denis), and in the second cited source, Brooks herself says she went to join Denishawn in New York City.


And anyways, anyone who has read or seen The Chaperone, the PBS film which depicts Brooks leaving home to join Denishawn -- will know that Brooks did so in New York City -- not Los Angeles. (I know The Chaperone is fiction, but it is based on fact.) Besides Brooks' own account, as found in Lulu in Hollywood, the facts around Brooks first venture to LA can be found in the definitive biography of the actress by Barry Paris. In it, Paris notes that Brooks went to Los Angeles for the very first time in 1927, when her studio, Paramount, had her move from their East Coast production facility to their West Coast studio in Hollywood. 

Part of the confusion regarding Brooks, Denishawn and Los Angeles likely stems from the fact that the dance company had two "headquarters," one in NYC and one in LA. (They also had a summer retreat in Mariarden in Peterborough, New Hampshire.) But still, that doesn't change the fact that Brooks joined Denishawn in New York. Let me also add that I have done considerable research on Brooks' two seasons with the dance company. I have tracked the Denishawn tours city by city, and can state that the furthest west the company ever got while Brooks was a member of Denishawn was Colorado.

I mention all this because not only did an incorrect, but not insignificant, fact make its way from Wikipedia to an UK podcast, but it can also be found on a key, authoritative site like Janus Films, the company behind the theatrical release of the latest restoration of Pandora's Box. Back on January 27 of this year, I posted a blog about the Pandora's Box restoration, and pointed to the handful of factual errors and sloppy writing found on the Janus press release. At the time I stated, "The Louise Brooks Biography included in the Press Notes, for example, is riddled with factual errors. I count five or six. Here is one: Louise Brooks did NOT join the Denishawn Dance Company in Los Angeles, as the biography states. She went to New York City, as stated in the Barry Paris biography and as depicted in The Chaperone. Likewise, the Production History essay makes a few questionable (read inaccurate) conclusions...." I sent an email to Janus, but never heard back.

Let me end with an image. It is scanned from the Barry Paris biography and depicts Brooks' arrival in Los Angeles for the first time in 1927. The caption reads "Louise Brooks greeted by Eddie Sutherland's friend Monte Brice upon her arrival in Hollywood, January 6, 1927."

The note on the reverse of the original of this Paramount publicity image, in Brooks' own hand, states, "First arrival in Hollywood, Jan 1927."

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2024. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Louise Brooks biopic screens on PBS in NYC on December 31

Is The Chaperone, the Louise Brooks biopic about her early days as a dancer, becoming a new holiday TV favorite? The PBS produced film made its television debut in 2019 just before Thanksgiving, with encore showings around the country on Thanksgiving day. And now, this year, The Chaperone is set to air again on at least one station on December 31, New Year's Eve. 

Many PBS stations have not yet released their program schedule for the end of this month, but one that has, WNET in New York City, is set to show The Chaperone at year's end. Here is their announcement.

New Year’s Eve TV

Stay in, stay healthy, and say goodbye to 2020 on Thursday, December 31.

Ring in the new year with United in Song: Celebrating the Resilience of America (Thursday, December 31, 8 p.m.), featuring Anna Deavere Smith and Denyce Graves. Say goodbye to 2020 with a concert celebrating the irrepressible strength of Americans. From the enormity of COVID-19 to the presence of social injustice, this special evening brings us together in the pursuit of our uniting as one America.

The special is followed by encores of two Masterpiece series. The Chaperone (Thursday, December 31, 9:30 p.m.) is a fictionalized story of young Louise Brooks leaving Kansas to pursue a dance career in New York City, escorted by her aunt, played by Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey).  

My Mother and Other Strangers (Thursday, December 31, 11:30 p.m.) is set in Northern Ireland during World War II. A village is transformed by the presence of American soldiers at the nearby base.

The Chaperone is based on Laura Moriarty’s 2012 New York Times bestselling novel. It tells the story of the summer a teenage Brooks left her Kansas home and headed off to New York City, where she studied dance at Denishawn.The show reunites several individuals associated with the hit PBS series, Downton Abbey. Among them is Julian Fellowes, who scripted Downton Abbey and adapted The Chaperone, and Elizabeth McGovern, who starred in the TV series and produced and stars in The Chaperone. Michael Engler, who directed episodes of the TV show as well as the Downton Abbey film, directed The Chaperone.


The BIG star of The Chaperone is Haley Lu Richardson, a talented young actress who plays Brooks in what I think was an Oscar worthy performance. She is charming, vivacious, and even inspiring. And what's more, I think Richardson gets Brooks. I think she really captures Brooks' spirit. I like the film, and am pleased to own it on DVD. My long article on the film, "Never the Victim: Louise Brooks and The Chaperone," was published on Film International. Please do check it out.

The Chaperone is an inspiring, holiday worthy film because it is essentially a story about overcoming adversity, about redemption, and hope. It is about making something of one's self when you doubted you could. Those who know Brooks' life story will know what I am talking about. If you haven't had a chance to see the film, track it down streaming online, on DVD, or on television.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

And a last nifty new Louise Brooks related find #4

During this pandemic era, I continue to stay home and conduct what research I can over the internet. And recently, I came across a few items which I had never seen before. I thought I would share them with readers of this blog. Here is the fourth installment in a short series of new finds.

I have long felt that Louise Brooks carried the shame of her 1924 dismissal from the Denishawn Dance Company for the better part of her life. I think Brooks viewed herself as a dancer, an artist if you will, and her dismissal from the company by Ruth St. Denis -- an artist she early admired, was a cause of personal shame. Brooks rebounded of course, and found work with the George White Scandals and Ziegfeld Follies before moving on to a successful career in the movies. But still, I think, she never really let go of that early humiliation.

I say this because Brooks, to some degree, continued to follow the careers of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. They were long in her thoughts, I believe, and Brooks likely desired some sort of closure, or at least understanding. In a 1964 letter to Jan Wahl, Brooks mentioned that she once attended one of Shawn's classes in 1926, while she was making pictures for Paramount on Long Island. Who knew?

Brooks never again danced with Ruth St. Denis or Ted Shawn, but she did go see them dance in 1949, twenty-five years after she was dismissed from Denishawn. On November 10, 1949, Brooks saw Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn perform "Creative Dances on Ethnic Themes" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

Brooks letters, especially those to Wahl, are sprinkled with references to Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, and Brooks' time with Denishawn. In the same 1964 letter referenced above, Brooks said she had even received an invitation to Jacob's Pillow, where the 50th Golden Wedding anniversary of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn would be celebrated. I don't think she went.

In their later years, Brooks carried on a correspondence with Ted Shawn. Brooks also wrote about her time with Denishawn in her private journals, and in her book, Lulu in Hollywood. Brooks' time with Denishawn was important to her, and as late as 1979, Brooks wrote a letter to dance historian Jane Sherman (herself a one-time Denishawn dancer) saying she believes she was omitted from accounts of Denishawn.

I mention all this because just recently I came across an extraordinary March 1929 Los Angeles clipping which by chance juxtaposes Louise Brooks and Ruth St. Denis. Brooks was starring in The Canary Murder Case, which had just opened. And Ruth St, Denis was dabcing at a venue in Los Angeles. At the time this clipping was published, Brooks was in New York City, so she likely never saw this obscure bit. But I wonder if Ruth St. Denis did, and what she might have thought. The famed dancer did have a clipping service (which gathered publicity from magazines and newspapers, I once had the chance to look through her scrapbooks), and Ruthie may have checked out what press she had received from time to time. If she had seen it, I wonder what went through her mind about her once wayward student?

Sunday, June 21, 2020

A few bits about Louise Brooks and Tulsa (and Sue Read)

The other day, I was thinking about Louise Brooks and Tulsa.... and whatever connections there may be between the actress and the Oklahoma city. The earliest mention of Brooks in one of the Tulsa newspapers occurred in 1922, when the Tulsa World ran an item about the 15 year old in its "All Over Oklahoma and Neighboring States" column. Under Kansas news, the Tulsa paper reported an item out of Independence.


As a member of Denishawn, Brooks also visited the city. The young dancer and future actress was just 17 years old at the time. The occasion was a Monday, February 4, 1924 evening performance by the Denishawn dancers at the city's Convention Hall - (less than three years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre). There was considerable interest in the event, which a local newspaper called one of the "treats of the season." Brooks was one of the company of 26.


Of course, most all of Brooks' silent and sound films showed in Tulsa, Oklahoma when first released in the 1920s and 1930s. One curious piece I came across just the other day appeared in Radio News Guide, a regional publication published in Tulsa about the then new medium of radio. It highlights a young soprano, Sue Read, who bears a striking resemblance to Brooks, a resemblance commented on in the clipping.


[I wondered whatever happened to her, but couldn't find much. Apparently, she continued to sing and make radio appearances throughout the 1930s and 1940s. She also made appearances at local clubs and events in the 1940 and late 1950s in and around Pennsylvania. If she is the same Sue Read, she was a former Powers model and a descendant of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.] The same picture of Sue Read appeared in The Microphone, a weekly New England publication which billed itself as the "Original Radio Newspaper."


Sunday, November 24, 2019

If you watched The Chaperone and want to find out more about Louise Brooks

If you watched The Chaperone and want to find out more about Louise Brooks, here is where to start.

(Left) Louise Brooks as a Denishawn dancer c. 1923                (Right) Louise Brooks as Lulu in Pandora's Box, 1929
The one and only biography of actress and dancer is titled Louise Brooks, and it's author is Barry Paris. It is a great read. It is a book that will fascinate you, it is a book that will immerse you in the rich history of the Jazz Age, and it is a book that will break your heart. It is full of empathy. And it is smartly written. This biography was first published in 1989 (with a different cover), and it is still in print  today. I read a lot of biographies, and 25 years after I first read the Barry Paris biography, I still feel that it is the single best biography I have ever read and will ever read. I love it. And you will too. Get a copy on amazon HERE.


Later in life, Louise Brooks became an accomplished writer. In 1982, a collection of her autobiographical essays was published (with a different cover) under the title Lulu in Hollywood. It became a bestseller, and it too is still in print today. Get a copy on amazon HERE.

  

Today, Louise Brooks is best known for playing Lulu in the classic 1929 silent film, Pandora's Box. It is a masterpiece, and is considered one of the great films of the silent era. Unfortunately, it is not currently available on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States, but may be found on online streaming services or on DVD in Europe

Fortunately, Brooks' other best film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is available on DVD / Blu-ray. It's a tragic story that may well break your heart - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is raped and conceives a baby, only to have the child taken away; this young unwed mother is then sent to a reform school, but escapes, only to end up as a prostitute. Like Pandora's Box, it is a German silent film; in fact, the two films were made within a year of each other. I recommend the Kino Lorber discs as the best version available. Get a copy on amazon HERE.


Louise Brooks' other best available film on DVD is an American film. It is titled Beggars of Life (1928), and it tells the story of an orphan girl who murders her abusive stepfather and goes on the run dressed as a boy. It is a terrific film, despite its grim story. I recommend the Kino Lorber discs as the best version available. Get a copy on amazon HERE.


If you enjoyed The Chaperone as a film as much as I did, you may well want to read Laura Moriarty's fine novel - the basis for the film. It too is available on amazon HERE.


As is the film of The Chaperone. It too is available on amazon HERE

Of course, there are other books and DVDs available to those willing to go further. This blog was begun in 2002, and needless to say, there are many entries to check out. Also worth checking out is my website, the Louise Brooks Society at www.pandorasbox.com. I started it online in 1995, and it is full of information and images of Louise Brooks, including her days as an aspiring dancer in Kansas and her two seasons with the Denishawn Dance Company.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Forthcoming book - Ted Shawn His Life, Writings, and Dances

Of all the individuals associated with Louise Brooks and her careers as a dancer and actress, few are as seminal as Ted Shawn. As one of the co-founders of Denishawn Dance Company, Shawn played a significant role in ushering Brooks into the prestigious modern dance troupe. Her joining Denishawn would eventually lead her to the New York stage and then to film, where she would make her mark. As a seminal individual in Brooks' early life, Shawn is portrayed in the recent PBS film, The Chaperone.

I am thrilled to learn of a big new 536 page book on the legendary dancer, Ted Shawn: His Life, Writings, and Dances by Paul A. Scolieri. The book, from Oxford University Press, is set for a December release.



Here is the publisher's description: "Ted Shawn (1891-1972) is the self-proclaimed "Father of American Dance" who helped to transform dance from a national pastime into theatrical art. In the process, he made dancing an acceptable profession for men and taught several generations of dancers, some of whom went on to become legendary choreographers and performers in their own right, most notably his protégés Martha Graham, Louise Brooks, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. Shawn tried for many years and with great frustration to tell the story of his life's work in terms of its social and artistic value, but struggled, owing to the fact that he was homosexual, a fact known only within his inner circle of friends. Unwilling to disturb the meticulously narrated account of his paternal exceptionalism, he remained closeted, but scrupulously archived his journals, correspondence, programs, photographs, and motion pictures of his dances, anticipating that the full significance of his life, writing, and dances would reveal itself in time.

Ted Shawn: His Life, Writings, and Dances is the first critical biography of the dance legend, offering an in-depth look into Shawn's pioneering role in the formation of the first American modern dance company and school, the first all-male dance company, and Jacob's Pillow, the internationally renowned dance festival and school located in the Berkshires. The book explores Shawn's writings and dances in relation to emerging discourses of modernism, eugenics and social evolution, revealing an untold story about the ways that Shawn's homosexuality informed his choreographic vision. The book also elucidates the influences of contemporary writers who were leading a radical movement to depathologize homosexuality, such as the British eugenicist Havelock Ellis and sexologist Alfred Kinsey, and conversely, how their revolutionary ideas about sexuality were shaped by Shawn's modernism."

As a Denishawn dancer

I am not a dancer, but I am a BIG fan of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis and Denishawn. I have  read all of the earlier books on both dancers, as well as the couple on Denishawn, and even own autographed books by both Shawn and St. Denis. (I even have a rare copy of St. Denis' poetry booklet, as well as an album of her speaking.) My point of entry was Brooks, of course. Over the last twenty years, I have amassed a huge amount of material on Brooks' two seasons with Denishawn, and sometime in the future plan on writing a book detailing the two tours. How much is a huge amount? Would you believe I have clippings, advertisements, articles, and reviews for every one of the hundreds of stops they made throughout the United States and Canada. There is a narrative in there somewhere!

Louise Brooks and Ted Shawn

Friday, February 8, 2019

Official Trailer for Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone

A release date has been set and a trailer released for the new Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone. According to it's Facebook page and IMDb page and other sources, the film opens in theaters in New York on March 29, and in L.A. on April 5. Following its theatrical release, the film will air on PBS television.

Produced by PBS Masterpiece and based on the 2012 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Laura Moriarty, The Chaperone reunites the writer (Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes), director (Michael Engler), and star (Elizabeth McGovern) of Downton Abbey for "an immersive and richly emotional period piece." The film stars Haley Lu Richardson as a teenage Louise Brooks, as well as Campbell Scott, Victoria Hill, Geza Rohrig, Blythe Danner, and Miranda Otto (as dance great Ruth St. Dennis) and Robert Fairchild (as dance great Ted Shawn). A website for the much anticipated film has also been established at www.thechaperonefilm.com/ (There is also an old PBS webpage.)


The Louise Brooks Society and the Louise Brooks community has long anticipated the release of The Chaperone. (We're fans of the novel, and in fact, the Louise Brooks Society provided the cover image for the hardcover and softcover editions of the book in the United States, as well as other editions released around the world.)

The Chaperone takes place against the backdrop of the tumultuous early 1920’s. A Kansas woman (Elizabeth McGovern in the title role) is forever changed when she chaperones a beautiful and talented 15-year-old dancer named Louise Brooks (played by Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer. One is eager to fulfill aspiration of dance stardom; the other is on a mission to unearth the mysteries of her past.

PBS Distribution puts it this way: "Louise Brooks the 1920s silver screen sensation who never met a rule she didn’t break, epitomized the restless, reckless spirit of the Jazz Age. But, just a few years earlier, she was a 15 year-old student in Wichita, Kansas for whom fame and fortune were only dreams. When the opportunity arises for her to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe, her mother insists there be a chaperone. Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern), a local society matron who never broke a rule in her life, impulsively volunteers to accompany Louise (Haley Lu Richardson) to New York for the summer. Why does this utterly conventional woman do this? What happens to her when she lands in Manhattan with an unusually rebellious teenager as her ward? And, which of the two women is stronger, the uptight wife-and-mother or the irrepressible free spirit? It’s a story full of surprises—about who these women really are, and who they eventually become."


Besides a Facebook page, there are also Twitter account and Instagram account to follow the latest on this new film release.

Want to find out more? Check out this 2012 interview with Chaperone author Laura Moriarty by Louise Brooks Society director Thomas Gladysz on the San Francisco Chronicle website. There is also a related LBS blog posted at the time we had the privilege of introducing Laura Moriarty at one of her author events around the time of the book's release. Stay tuned to this blog and the Louise Brooks Society website and Twitter account for the latest news on this exciting new release.

What's a Louise Brooks Society blog post without a gorgeous picture of Louise Brooks? Here is a portrait of the 16 year old dancer (and future film star) taken during her first season (spoiler alert) with Denishawn dancing alongside legend Martha Graham (who is not a character in the new film, though was likely present during some of the NYC scenes depicted in the film). I think Haley Lu Richardson looks the part.


Of all her fellow dancers, Brooks looked up to Martha Graham the most. In later years, she told Kenneth Tynan, “Graham['s] genius I absorbed to the bone during the years we danced together on tour.”

Brooks, apparently, also made an impression on Graham. In her autobiography, Blood Memory, Graham wrote, “Louise Brooks was a member of the Denishawn Company and breathtakingly beautiful. She wore her hair always in that pageboy. Everything that she did was beautiful. I was utterly absorbed by her beauty and what she did. Even before she was introduced to me, I remember watching her across the room as she stood up with a group of girls from Denishawn, all dressed alike. Louise, though, was the absolute standout, the one. She possessed a quality of strength, an inner power that one felt immediately in her presence. She was very much a loner and terribly self-destructive. Of course, it didn’t help that everyone gave her such a difficult time. I suppose I identified with her as an outsider. I befriended her, and she always seemed to be watching me perform, watching me in the dressing room. She later said, ‘I learned how to act by watching Martha Graham dance.”

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

The Costumes in Modern Dance’s Attic include those worn by Louise Brooks

There is a BIG, must read, illustrated article in the June 19th New York Times about Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and their costumes, which are being put on display for the first time ever. Gia Kourlas' excellent piece, "The Costumes in Modern Dance’s Attic," looks at a forthcoming exhibit, "Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob’s Pillow, 1906-1940," at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) in Williamstown, Massachusetts. 

 The article begins with a mention of Louise Brooks, and ends with a couple of illustrations and a couple of paragraphs focusing on one of Brooks' Denishawn costumes. Brooks joined Denishawn when she was 15 years old, and was a member of its touring company during its 1922-1923 and 1923-1924 seasons. (Brooks leaving home to join Denishawn is also at the heart of a forthcoming film from PBS Masterpiece, The Chaperone, starring Elizabeth McGovern as the title character and Haley Lu Richardson as the teenage Brooks.) The New York Times article (which links to the Louise Brooks Society website), starts this way:
The modern dance tree has abundant roots, and two of its thickest and oldest belong to Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Their Denishawn company and school in Los Angeles, which lasted from 1914 to ’29, toured the world with a new spirit of dance — barefoot and weighted, exotic and spiritual. They were celebrities of their day....

As for their students? One was the beautiful, young Louise Brooks. Another, more important for the art form, was the pathbreaking choreographer Martha Graham.
According to the Williams College Museum of Art press office, "Dance We Must: Treasures from Jacob’s Pillow, 1906-1940 explores the contributions of Jacob’s Pillow founder Ted Shawn and the iconic Ruth St. Denis to American modern dance. Gathering over 350 materials, including more than 30 costumes and accessories, over 200 photographs, five original antique costume trunks, and a dozen original artworks from both the Jacob’s Pillow Archives and Williams College Special Collections, the exhibition contextualizes the pioneering work of Shawn and St. Denis within the scope of American art history through artifacts that have never been seen before. Dance We Must will be on view at Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) from June 29 through November 11, 2018."


As the New York Times notes, the Brooks’ costume shown above is an authentic dress from the Hopi tribe made of wool and decorated with colorful embroidery. Brooks wore it to great acclaim in a Native American-themed piece, "The Feather of the Dawn" (significantly the first North American Indian ballet ever created for an American audience), in which she was featured opposite Denishawn founder Ted Shawn. Martha Graham thought Brooks stood out in this piece, and so did newspaper critics across the country. The New York Times article has a color close-up of the costume.

In the Teens, Twenties, and Thirties, Denishawn was the leading modern dance troupe in America. Through touring the United States and the world, they brought modern dance to the masses. They also influenced a generation of dancers including Martha Graham, widely considered one of the greatest American dancers of the 20th century. Certainly, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn deserve greater recognition as modern dance pioneers; the Williams College Museum of Art exhibit is a good start. I, for one, would like to see Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn profiled by PBS as part of American Masters.


To learn more about Louise Brooks and her time with Denishawn, check out THIS PAGE on the Louise Brooks Society website. 

 

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Did she or didn't she? Louise Brooks last Denishawn performance?

I have been researching Louise Brooks' time as a Denishawn dancer for more than a decade. And over that time, I have managed to collect material on each of her hundreds of Denishawn appearances -- from the first on Monday, October 2, 1922 at the Temple Theatre in Lewistown, Pennsylvania to her last on Saturday, May 3 at the Palace Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey.

Brooks' two seasons with Denishawn is laid out in the form of a timeline on two pages on the Louise Brooks Society website, Denishawn Dance Company Tour 1922 - 1923 and Denishawn Dance Company Tour 1923 - 1924. This information is drawn, in part, from The Professional Appearances of Ruth St. Denis & Ted Shawn: A Chronology and an Index of Dances 1906 - 1932, by Christena L. Schlundt. This rare but exceptionally useful book was published by the New York Public Library in 1962.
Louise Brooks as a Denishawn dancer, circa 1924.

What I have done over the last decade is to "reverse engineer" Schlundt's timeline. I have done this through literally hundreds of inter-library loan requests, searching through on-line databases, as well as trips to libraries and archives in the Midwest and on the East coast. In doing so, I have collected a filing cabinet full of newspaper articles, images, advertisements and programs. All together, they paint a portrait of Brooks' two full seasons with Denishawn, then the leading modern dance troupe in America.

According to Schlundt, the last three Denishawn performances during which Brooks was a member of the company took place at the beginning of May. The season ended. And sometime shortly thereafter, Brooks was dismissed from the company for having an attitude. According to Schulndt and what I have been able to find, the last three performances were
Thursday, May 1, 1924 in the evening at the Rivoli Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey

Friday, May 2, 1924 in the evening at the Savoy Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey 

Saturday, May 3, 1924 in the evening at the Palace Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey 

Recently, however, I came across an advertisement for a performance which postdates what is thought to be Brooks' last appearance with Denishawn.

This advertisement appeared on May 4, 1924 in the Zanesville Times Signal.


I found this advertisement in the May 4, 1924 edition of the Zanesville Times Signal, a small town Ohio newspaper. Perhaps the ad represents an event scheduled at the last minute, one that wasn't represented on their documented tour itinerary. This supposition is supported by the fact that there are no anticipatory articles or advertisements in the Zanesville newspapers prior to this engagement.

Nor, curiously, are their any follow-up pieces, like a review. Denishawn was a very popular troupe, drawing large, sometimes sell-out crowds wherever they played. As such, they also received a pretty fair amount of press coverage, whether articles announcing their coming to town or reviews which followed their performances.

What is also curious is that two of the other advertisements on the newspaper page on which the above advertisement appears reference March events. Might the above ad been run by mistake? The Denishawn Dance Company had appeared earlier in Zanesville on Wednesday, March 26 at the Weller Theatre. A June article in the same newspaper mentions what a hit they had been earlier in the year (not saying exactly when), and notes that the company would return in October for yet another engagement. Apparently, the citizenry of Zanesville really liked the Denishawn Dancers.

I am flummoxed. Either I have found an undocumented Denishawn performance, or the Zanesville Times Signal layout department really screwed up. There aren't any on-line records I can think to check. Nor are there any reference works here at LBS headquarters which shed any light on this minor mystery.
The Weller theater in Zanesville, Ohio.
If you can provide any information on this mystery, whether to confirm or rule out an appearance by Denishawn in Zanesville, Ohio on May 4, 1924, please contact the Louise Brooks Society.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

A few more interesting bits about Louise Brooks

My research turned up a couple of rather interesting bits regarding Louise Brooks after she left Wichita, Kansas.



On July 18, 1922 the Wichita Daily Eagle reported that Brooks had been moved to the advanced class in dancing at the Denishawn school. Undoubtedly, she communicated as much in a letter home, which was then transmitted to the local newspaper.

And, on July 24, 1922 the Wichita Daily Eagle reported that Brooks had received an offer from the famous Shubert company, which she turned down; it was reported that Brooks intended to continue her studies with Denishawn before returning home to finish high school. Which she never did.

At the end of the summer, Alice Mills returned to Wichita and opened an authorized (meaning franchised) Denishawn school. This advertisement dates from September, 1922.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Art, sensuality, and the everyday: A silent film era Denishawn dance film

From the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library, a short 7:00 minute film showing life at the Denishawn house in Los Angeles in the early 1920's. Unfortunately, it does not include Louise Brooks, who was a member of Denishawn from the Fall of 1922 through the Spring of 1924. As there is little footage of Denishawn from this time, this provides a valuable glimpse of the kind of dance Brooks studied and performed, along with vintage glimpses of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn.


NYPL description: "Brief scenes of Denishawn house, Los Angeles, Ruth St. Denis teaching class, leading students in a dance, and in Oriental costume with a peacock; Ted Shawn auditioning small girl wearing pointe shoes; informal shots of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn; Denishawn students at play. The compilation concludes with a 1913 Thomas Alva Edison Company special effects film, The Dance of the Ages, in which Norma Gould, Ted Shawn and dancers perform miniaturized on a banquet table top; Shawn's scenario of brief dances evokes historical eras from the Stone Age to the early twentieth century."

Recognize the kneeling bobbed young woman to the right of a seated Ruth St. Denis. This photo, taken in the summer of 1923 in  Petersburgh, New Hampshire, depicts St. Denis and her students in Mariarden, at the Summer Theatre and School of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Currier of Boston.


Thursday, June 11, 2015

Was Louise Brooks first film appearance in 1923, not 1925?

I am trying to follow up on a lead.... there is a small chance that Louise Brooks may have had an uncredited bit part in Cause for Divorce. The film, an independent production produced and directed by Hugh Dierker, was released in late 1923 by Hugh Dierker Productions and distributed by the Selznick Distribution Corporation. The film was shown around the country in the first half of 1924. If true, Brooks appearance in this film would pre-date her uncredited role in the 1925 film, The Street of Forgotten Men.


Cause for Divorce was shot in 1923, while Brooks was still a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. I have run across a clipping from the time Brooks was on tour with Denishawn mentioning that the company took part in the making of a local film. The title was not given. What I need to find out is where Cause for Divorce was made. If it was shot in Hollywood, then Brooks does not appear in it. If Cause for Divorce was made in the South, then there is a chance she did. Does anyone know anything about Cause for Divorce or Hugh Dierker Productions? Does this film still exist? Here is the IMDb entry for the film.

And here is the AFI catalogue entry, which may provide a clue. I have tried tracing the career of the film lead, Fritzi Brunette, but she is pretty obscure. The only cast member I was familiar with was Junior Coughlan. Did he ever work in the South? Director Hugh Dierker is also obscure. He only produced three films. The first was When Dawn Came (1920), which featured Colleen Moore.


Here is a tantalizing clue, a clipping from 1924, which mentions that Ted Shawn and the female Denishawn dancers participated in some way in Cause for Divorce. If the film was shot in Hollywood, then the participants were likely members of the Los Angeles branch of Denishawn (which did not include Brooks). If the film was shot in the South, then the participants may have been members of Denishawn's touring company, which then included the future actress.

I realize this is all a bit speculative, but any help is greatly appreciated.



Saturday, July 12, 2014

Louise Brooks & Anna Pavlova

As is known, Louise Brooks was a member of the Denishawn Dance Company (then the leading modern dance troupe in America). She joined the company at age 15, and danced with them as a junior member for two seasons while they toured the United States and Canada. Notably, Brooks' time with Denishawn brought her into close contact with a handful of the key figures in modern American dance, namely company founders Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, and dancers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weideman.

Brooks had other encounters with other noted dancers. While touring with Denishawn, for instance, the company took the opportunity to see a performance by Isadora Duncan, an occasion Brooks later wrote about (commenting on Duncan's wardrobe malfunction at the time).

What hasn't been known till know is that Brooks saw a performance by Anna Pavlova, another great dancer. Pavlova (sometimes spelled Pavolwa) was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet as well as the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for the creation of the role "The Dying Swan" and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world. One of Pavlova's tours brought her to Kansas.

Abd that's when Brooks saw her dance. Prior to joining Denishawn, in January of 1922, Brooks and groups of Wichita dance students ventured to nearby Hutchinson, Kansas to see the famous touring prima ballerina. Here is a small article from the Wichita news paper noting the occassion, followed by an advertisement for the event.



Friday, July 11, 2014

Denishawn: Ruth St. Denis documentary & interview

Denishawn founder Ruth St. Denis speaks in five part video documentary, embedded below. Originally compiled for a presentation at the National Museum of Dance in 2006.


Part one


Part two



Part three



Part four



Part five

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Denishawn dance, what did it look like?

For two seasons, a teenage Louise Brooks was a junior member of the Denishawn Dance Company - then the leading modern dance troupe in America. During the 1922-1923 and 1923-1924 seasons, Brooks regularly performed alongside Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Charles Weideman and others.


There is no film of Louise Brooks during her two seasons with Denishawn. And, as far as I know, there was little or no footage of the Denishawn Dance Company shot during the 1920s. All of which leads one to wonder what Denishawn dances looked like. Here is a video which give us something of an idea. Bonus points to those who spot Louise brooks in the still images in the second video.



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Denishawn article from the Ohio State University newspaper

As was mentioned in the previous post, over this past weekend I was in Columbus, Ohio and took the opportunity to visit the Ohio State University Thompson Library where I came across a few clippings in the school's student newspaper which were related to Louise Brooks.

Here is an article which appeared in The Lantern around the time of Louise Brooks first appearance in the city as a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. This piece doesn't mention Brooks specifically (other Denishawn articles from the time sometimes do). Nevertheless, it give a sense of the era and of Brooks' time in Denishawn. Brooks dances in Columbus twice, on Thursday March 8, 1923 and Saturday, November 24, 1923. Both were evening performances. Martha Graham was in the company during the first performance.

The piece is presented here for your amusement.




Thursday, October 3, 2013

Louise Brooks referenced in National Geographic

Louise Brooks scholar Tim Moore found this: "October’s National Geographic magazine – "Special 125th Anniversary Edition: The Power of Photography" – concludes with a color image of the couple who gave Louise Brooks the opportunity to leave Wichita for bigger and better things when she was 15. The caption implies she was a student of theirs in Los Angeles, but it was New York and New Hampshire." It's a beautiful image. 


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