Ted Shawn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ted Shawn
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Ted Shawn, c. 1918,
photographed by Arthur F. Kales |
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| Born |
Edwin Myers Shawn
October 21, 1891 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
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| Died | January 9, 1972 (aged 80) |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth St. Denis |
Ted Shawn (born Edwin Myers Shawn; October 21, 1891 – January 9, 1972) was a very important American dancer. He helped create modern dance in the United States. Ted Shawn started the Denishawn School with his wife, Ruth St. Denis. He also formed a famous dance group called Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. This group was special because it was made up only of male dancers. Shawn had new ideas about how men could move in dance. He was a very influential choreographer and dancer. He also founded the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. The King of Denmark even honored him for his work with the Royal Danish Ballet.
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Ted Shawn and the Denishawn School
Ted Shawn was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 21, 1891. He first planned to become a minister. He went to the University of Denver. When he was 19, he got sick with diphtheria. This illness made him unable to move his legs for a while. During his recovery, he started taking dance lessons. This was in 1910, and his teacher was Hazel Wallack. She used to be a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera. In 1912, Shawn moved to Los Angeles. There, he joined a ballroom dance group. His dance partner was Norma Gould.
Shawn moved to New York in 1914. There, he met Ruth St. Denis. He soon realized his talent as an artist. They got married on August 13, 1914, just two months after meeting. St. Denis was a great partner for Shawn. They both believed that dance could be a part of everyday life. Shawn was also good at business. Their shared artistic vision and his business skills led them to open the first Denishawn School. This school opened in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Their goal was to connect dance with the body, mind, and spirit.
Shawn choreographed many important dances for Denishawn. These include "Invocation to the Thunderbird" (1917). He also created "Danse Americaine" (1923), performed by Charles Weidman. Other works were "Julnar of the Sea" and "Xochitl" (1920), performed by Martha Graham. "Les Mysteres Dionysiaques" was another notable piece. The Denishawn school helped start the careers of famous dancers. These included Charles Weidman, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey.
Dance Style and Techniques
Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis created many different dance techniques. They used ballet, but dancers performed without shoes. Their movements focused on freeing the upper body, not being stiff. Ruth St. Denis was inspired by Eastern cultures. Shawn added influences from North Africa, Spain, America, and Native American traditions.
The Denishawn Company started in 1914. It brought a new style of modern American dance. They moved away from traditional European dance. Their dances often connected the physical and spiritual. They used ideas from ancient cultures and different countries.
Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers
I believe that dance communicates man's deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written.
The Denishawn school closed in the early 1930s. After that, Shawn formed a new dance company. This company was made up only of men. He taught these athletes at Springfield College in Massachusetts. Shawn wanted to show that American male dancers were important. He wanted to bring attention to dance from a male point of view.
This all-male company was based at a farm. Shawn bought the farm near his hometown of Lee, Massachusetts. On July 14, 1933, Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers performed for the first time at this farm. This farm later became known as the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Shawn created some of his most new and exciting dances with this company. Some of these were "Ponca Indian Dance" and "Hopi Indian Eagle Dance." He also created "Kinetic Molpai." These dances showed strong and athletic movements. They soon became very popular.
The company toured across the United States and Canada. They visited over 750 cities. They also performed in London and Havana. Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers gave their last performance at Jacob's Pillow on August 31, 1940.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
With his new company, Shawn created Jacob's Pillow. This place became a dance school, a retreat, and a theater. They also held special events there. Over time, these events grew into the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Shawn also started The School of Dance for Men. This school helped promote male dance in colleges across the country.
Ted Shawn taught classes at Jacob's Pillow until just months before he passed away at age 80. In 1965, he received the Heritage Award from the National Dance Association. Shawn's last performance on stage was at the Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob's Pillow. He performed in "Siddhas of the Upper Air." For this show, he reunited with Ruth St. Denis for their fiftieth anniversary.
Today, Saratoga Springs is home to the National Museum of Dance. This is the only museum in the United States dedicated to professional dance. Ted Shawn was added to the museum's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in 1987.
Books by Ted Shawn
Ted Shawn wrote and published nine books. These books helped build the foundation for Modern Dance:
- 1920 – Ruth St. Denis: Pioneer and Prophet
- 1926 – The American Ballet
- 1929 – Gods Who Dance
- 1935 – Fundamentals of a Dance Education
- 1940 – Dance We Must
- 1944 – How Beautiful Upon the Mountain
- 1954 – Every Little Movement: a Book About Francois Delsarte
- 1959 – Thirty-three Years of American Dance
- 1960 – One Thousand and One Night Stands (his life story, with Gray Poole)
Ted Shawn's Legacy
In the 1940s, Shawn gave his dance works to the Museum of Modern Art. Later, the museum moved these works. They went to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Jacob's Pillow archive. This happened while Shawn was still alive. A dancer named Adam Weinert felt this was not right. He created "The Reaccession of Ted Shawn." These were digital performances of Shawn's works. They were shown using augmented reality at MoMA.
See also
In Spanish: Ted Shawn para niños
