Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks

Nineteen twenty-two was a pivotal year in the life of Louise Brooks. It was a whirlwind year. Brooks was a teenager, just 15 at the beginning of the year, and she was following her passion for dance while performing in local theaters and before clubs and civic organizations in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas. By the end of the year, she was a member of the prestigious Denishawn Dance Company, touring the United States and performing alongside such dance greats as Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn. This blog commences a new series of posts documenting significant happenings in Brooks' life on this day one-hundred years ago.

* * * * * *

On this day in 1922 in the life history of Louise Brooks . . . . Brooks, along with other students from the Mills-Fischer School of Dance and Dramatic Arts, attends a performance in nearby Hutchinson, Kansas by dance legend Anna Pavlova and her Ballet Russe. The Mills referenced in the name of the dance school was none other than Alice Mills, who was immortalized as "The Chaperone" in Laura Moriarty's splendid novel of the same name which centers on Brooks and events in her life in 1922.


What a remarkable happenstance -- the coming together of two iconic figures of the 20th century. Its only equivalent was when Ruth St. Denis took Brooks and the other Denishawn dancers to see Isadora Duncan perform.

In case you are not familiar with Pavlova (or Pavlowa), she was one of the great dancers of the 20th century. Her Wikipedia entry begins, "Anna Pavlovna was born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova (12 February 1881 – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Pavlova is most recognized for her creation of the role of The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour around the world, including performances in South America, India and Australia." Her likeness and legend are commemorated in artwork all around the world. 

Friday, September 3, 2021

An account of Louise Brooks 1940s Wichita interlude

This post is the third in a series highlighting newly available material uncovered as more issues of the various Wichita newspapers have come online. As mentioned, I have been systematically plowing through them, gleaming bits of new information, some of which I have been adding to my extensive three part chronology on the Louise Brooks Society website beginning at Louise Brooks: Day by Day 1906-1939. This material focuses on the early 1940s, when Louise Brooks returned to Wichita after giving up o Hollywood. For more on this period in Brooks' life, see Louise Brooks: Day by Day 1940-1985.

In early 1940, Louise Brooks was a resident of Los Angeles. She was living in a modest apartment, and trying to eek out a living. She and her business partner Barrett O'Shea ran a dance studio, which at best was only moderately successful. She and O'Shea also did occasional exhibition dancing, as when on April 20 they danced at the Arrowhead Spring Hotel in nearby San Bernadino. Things came crashing down when in June Los Angeles newspapers reported that Brooks and other "Hollywood folk" had been the victim of a con-man / swindler. Brooks lost $2,000, then a considerable amount of money.

With little seemingly to keep her (Brooks' acting career had come to a halt), the one time silent film actress left Hollywood and returned home to Wichita in August. By September, the Wichita papers were carrying stories about the Brooks new career, as a dancer and dance instructor. 

To Brooks, who had toured the United States as a Denishawn dancer and had been celebrated as an actress and screen beauty around the world, Wichita must have seemed a comedown. But still, she carried on. She also had to earn a living. 

The Wichita newspapers reported that Brooks and a new partner, Hal McCoy, had opened a dance studio. They also reported on their various engagements. On September 23, 1940, Brooks and Hal McCoy dance at the Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kansas during a program sponsored by the College Hill Business association. On October 21, Brooks and Hal McCoy dance at the Young Republican meeting at the state's Central Republican headquarters. Hundreds turned out according to local press reports. The event celebrated National Young Voters for Wilkie Day, which was being observed throughout the nation. A broadcast speech by Wendell Wilkie was heard. On October 27, the Wichita Eagle reports that Brooks was enlisted by the Wichita Country Club to instruct locals on new dances including the Conga and Rumba, with the first such instruction taking place October 29.

On November 7, local newspapers report that Brooks is among the local talent participating in a benefit musical for crippled children for Wesley Hospital. On November 14 (her 34th birthday), Brooks speaks about and demonstrates new dances (the tango, rhumba, conga, etc...) at the Wichita Little Theater as part of its workshop program. And on November 24, a classified advertisement for Brooks' self-published booklet, The Fundamental of Good Ballroom Dancing, begins running in the Wichita Eagle. The ad runs nearly every day for a month.


All this activity likely didn't add up to much. We can't be sure how many dance engagements the Brooks - McCoy team had, but it wasn't likely very many. In January of 1941, Brooks ran an advertisement for what today may be called a life coach. The advertisement in the Wichita Eagle promotes private Tuesday morning classes in which Brooks offers "a rare opportunity to reap the benefits of her career among the most fascinating women of the theatre, screen, and society. Learn the way to grace and dominant sureness...." The depression was still on, and Brooks, likely in need of money, was trading on her onetime fame.


Brooks continued on continuing on. The second world war had begun in Europe. On March 28, Brooks participates in a benefit for Greek war relief at the Miller theater in Wichita. Brooks originated a comedy jitterbug number performed by locals Jim Kefner and Jack Walker. Advertisements for the event credit the Louise Brooks Dancing School. And on April 29, Brooks demonstrated ballroom and South American dances at Jubilesta, a fundraiser for the local P.T.A. and student council of the Wichita high school East. According to press reports, Brooks directed a student conga chain. Funds raised by the event went toward the purchase of a movie screen for the school.

For Brooks, the sky fell in again on May 21, 1941. According to Wichita press reports, Brooks was involved in an automobile accident when the car she is traveling in overturned after encountering an oil slick on South Hillside, just outside Wichita city limits. The car was badly damaged, and Brooks was treated at St. Francis Hospital. "Hospital attendants said that she suffered a three -inch laceration on the scalp and numerous bruises. Miss Brooks said attending physicians shaved a portion of her head to stitch the wound. 'I hate to lose my hair worse than to suffer the hurts,' Miss Brooks said." 

Reporting by then old news in her nationally syndicated gossip column, Dorothy Kilgallen wrote in June: "Louise Brooks, the silent screen star, suffered severe burns recently. Had all her hair singed off." In November, Kilgallen again gave a shout-out to Brooks, writing the actress was "stranded in Wichita, Kan. and s-o-s-ing friends for any kind of job."

Evidently, Brooks attempt to establish a career as a dancer & dance instructor in Wichita had fizzled. In August of 1942, Brooks was hired as a sales girl at Garfields, a department store in Wichita. Brooks works the accessories counter. By the middle of September, Brooks employment at Garfields had come to an end. That Fall, there was also a press report that Brooks helped students at Wichita University stage a skit for their forthcoming Spring Celebration. Brooks was once again at loose ends. 

In January of 1943, wealthy New York investment banker Albert Archer calls Brooks in Wichita, and she asks him to wire her the money to get to New York. Some four days later, Brooks departs Wichita by train, with a stop in Chicago. On January 15, she arrived in New York City. Her Wichita interlude had come to an end.

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.”

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Let's Dance: Louise Brooks and the popular dances of her time


It is well known that Louise Brooks was a gifted dancer: she was trained in aesthetic dances, like those performed by Denishawn, and talented as well as in the popular dances of her time, like the Charleston and Black Bottom. In fact, she is thought to be the first person to dance the Charleston in London, at the popular Cafe de Paris nightclub. She did so in late 1924.




Later, in the mid-1930's, Brooks even made a living touring as a Ballroom dancer in nightclubs on the East Coast, Midwest, and South. And, in 1939, she self-published a booklet called The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing. Brooks could cut a rug.

What did the popular dances of the 1920's look like? Here are a few video clips, one vintage, the other contemporary, which give an idea of what Brooks was up to on the dance floor.








And here is a clip from Love Em and Leave Em (1926) which shows Brooks making moves on the dance floor.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

First known event advertisement to name Louise Brooks

Pictured here is what I believe to be the first newspaper advertisement to name Louise Brooks. This ad from May, 1919 states that Brooks -- then only 12 years old -- would appear in "The Progress of Peace," an allegorical pantomime featuring 50 characters. The ad notes that Brooks will perform a solo dance.

The event, held under the auspices of the local Y.W.C.A. under the direction of the women's committee of the Victory loan, was a benefit to further the sale of Liberty bonds, or what were known as war bonds. Vivian Jones, a childhood friend and the future actress known as Vivian Vance (of I Love Lucy fame), also took part. Jones played one of the "peoples of the world." Music was supplied by local Paul O. Goepfert and His Orchestra. And Eva Rude (Brooks' aunt) helped with costumes.

While living in Independence, Brooks studied gymnastics and aesthetic dancing with Mrs. May Argue Buckpitt, who wrote, directed and organized the pantomime. Brooks' contribution to "The Progress of Peace" was “The Gloating Dance of Destruction,” arranged by Mrs. Milburn Hobson, also from Independence.  According to press accounts from the time, a “large audience” turned out at the local Beldorf theater (pictured below).


According to the local newspaper, "The play dealt with Progress, rallying the peoples of the world to righteousness and truth, blesses them and gives them happiness. She is greatly perturbed by the coming of Destruction and Death" (played by Brooks). "Then the Peoples of the world are driven back and Progress is overcome. There is a call to arms and the Nations are mobilized. Belgium enters the fray and is back by the Allies, one by one. Columbia is supported by the Seven Assisting Organizations and the red Cross. The coming of Peace is represented in pantomime by the Allies and the Dance of the Dawn of Peace."

At the conclusion of the event, all of the cast as well as five old soldiers (Civil War? or from the Spanish American War?) and eight veterans of the then recent world war came on the stage.

This war/peace-themed event took place just 5 months after the end of the First World War, the "War to End All Wars." Admission to the benefit was 10 and 20 cents, which included an admission tax. I assume the admission tax was left over from the war, when movie theaters were taxed to raise funds for the war. (That tax continued into the 1920s; I have come across advertisements noting a "war tax" on performances by the Denishawn Dance Company while Brooks was a member.)



It's worth noting the ways in which the war in Europe impacted Brooks' youth -- both directly (like the two benefits she participated in), and indirectly (like the tax on movie theater admissions). As a bright youngster, she must have been very aware of the war and the many ways it affected daily life. As a youngster in Cherryvale, for example, Brooks had friends who came down with German measles, which during the war were known as "Liberty measles."

More importantly, Brooks knew a few men who served in the armed forces, among them neighbors in Cherryvale, as well as her cousin Robert Rude, of the 137th U.S. inf., Co. H., who was stationed at Camp Doniphan and who once visited the Brooks' family home while on a furlough.

Tomorrow's blog will look at another little known early Brooks' performance, and will include a rare image of Brooks not seen in nearly 100 years.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Louise Brooks teenage dancer and choreographer

It is known that prior to joining the Denishawn Dance Company, a young Louise Brooks danced at local events in Kansas. These events were held at clubs, churches, and meeting halls. What has not been known until now is that Louise Brooks, still a teen, also choreographed a dance. The dance was titled "The Little Tin Soldier and the Little Rag Doll." This article appeared in the Wichita newspaper in March, 1922.




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.



Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Amelia Lowe has our vote

Amelia Lowe has our vote. The "So You Think You Can Dance" contestant sports a sleek Louise Brooks bob and admits to a love of the 1920's and silent film.  The Star-Ledger newspaper in New Jersey ran a story about Lowe in today's paper. The piece is titled "Silence is golden: Amelia Lowe embraces the 1920s on 'So You Think You Can Dance'." And here is a video clip of her recent appearance on the television show. She charms.


More about the 18 year old Amelia Lowe can be found here.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Another significant find!

On and off for more than a few years I have been searching for any sort of record regarding a couple of appearances Louise Brooks made in 1935. At the time, she was working as a ballroom dancer as part of a dance act known as Dario and Brooks.

In his biography, Barry Paris recounts a number of Brooks' dance performances. "Louise and Dario danced at the Place Pigalle for almost three months - until January 5, 1935 - a phenomenal run by dance-act standards. From there they went on tour, performing at the Embassy Club in Miami, the Patio in Palm Beach, and clubs in Indiana and Kentucky, returning to New York in between engagements at the Central Park Casino and the Capital Theatre . . . ."

Over the years, I have been able to find material (listings, advertisements, articles, etc...) about each of these performances. Sometimes, that material has been interesting and surprising. However, the only two performances I couldn't find material on were the appearances in Indiana and Kentucky. They were the two I had the least to go on.

Well, eureka. After more than a few years and a number of attempts, I finally found something on the Kentucky appearance. It took hours of looking through microfilm of Kentucky newspapers, scrolling and skimming and reading each day's paper for months on end. Here is what I found.


This plain advertisement may not seem like much, but it is the first record found on this particular 1935 engagement in Kentucky. I was thrilled to find it. And hopefully, I'll be able to uncover even more with additional searching. Now that I know when and where to look.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Dance inspired by Louise Brooks

The silent film star Louise Brooks, a one time member of Denishawn and an exhibition dancer later in life, is the inspiration behind a dance piece in Spain. The piece is called "Sono Silente," or "Silent Dream."

Dolores Mayan, artistic director and choreographer of the company, sent me an email about the performance. More information, including images, text and video can be found at the dance company's website at www.bstudiodanza.com/ Additional information can be found at www.bstudiodanza.com/pageID_6666168.html

According to her email, her choreography was "inspired by the actress Louise Brooks" and her still "potent image" - and in particular two of her movies, The Canary Murder Case and Pandora's Box. Bangs, black bobs, expressive physical behavior and cages which echo those seen in The Canary Murder Case can be seen in the video clip seen below.




From the Bstudiodanza website: "La compañía Bstudiodanza estrena su último espectáculo, Sono Silente de la directora Dolores Mayán que nos acerca una reflexión teórica sobre el sistema sexo-género. Y lo hace a través de dos filmes de Louise Brooks, la actriz norteamericana e icono del cine mudo de los años 30. La pieza evidencia el devenir preformativo de la feminidad y ‘la mascarada’ teorizada por Joan Riviere en un trabajo de gran carga simbólica y poética.

Tomando como referente dos de sus filmes más conocidos, ‘The Canary Murder Case’ y ‘Pandora’s Box’, Sono Silente trata de analizar los estereotipos que rodean a la feminidad en el discurso cinematográfico de la época, para describir y clasificar los roles asignados en función del género.

La relación entre el concepto y la coreografía conforma una plataforma a partir de la cual los cuerpos se apropian del movimiento de una forma reflexiva, recontextualizando los patrones establecidos y abriendo campos de búsqueda.

Con este espectáculo al igual que con los dos anteriores, ‘De Meu’ y ‘Corpos Reflexivos’, BStudiodanza pretende contar historias cercanas que despierten la curiosidad del público y la reflexión dentro de una plástica más sensorial que racional. La historia adquiere importancia, al igual que el guión y el trabajo de las bailarinas Emilia Pardo, Natalia Iglesias, Vanesa Otero y Celia Mayer.
"

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Dance on tape

Over the course of the last week, I watched three Denishawn tapes I borrowed from the library. Normally, I am not very keen on modern dance, or ballet. That's why I was surprised at how much I liked these videos.

Denishawn: The Birth of Modern Dance (1988) and Denishawn Dances On (2002) were largely composed of short documentary passages (narration over photographs along with brief film clips) interspersed with contemporary recreations of Denishawn dance routines. Louise Brooks, I believe, could be spotted in group photographs in each film.

Apparently, there is very little vintage film of Denishawn - or at least none available to those who put together these two titles. Most interesting for me, then, among the contemporary recreations, were those dances performed by Denishawn while Brooks was a member of the company. I have a hard time visualizing dance (especially when it is described in a book), that's why it was good to see a couple of the Brooks-era dances recreated. I also really, really, really enjoyed a Ted Shawn dance, "Gnosienne," done to music by Erik Satie. Wow, that was amazing!

The third tape I watched, The Men Who Danced: The Story of Ted Shawn's Male Dancers, 1933 - 1940  (1986), though it had nothing to do with Denishawn, was also quite interesting and enjoyable. It featured interviews with some of Shawn's original dancers. And once again, I believe, Brooks could be seen in a group photograph in the film.

[ Note to the world: someone needs to put together an PBS-style "American Masters" program on Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. It would be revelatory.]
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