Blog Assignment #5

I really admire Doris Humphrey and it’s been a pleasure being able to research her in depth. Not only was she a great dancer, but she was also very smart. She was able to codify her technique into words. She was able to write the first book about the art of choreography, with specific guidelines, exercises, and tips. She had a clear understanding of what she thought dance was and was able to clearly deliver it to the world. She changed American dance with her technique Fall and Recovery. The idea of working with gravity rather than trying to defeat it was revolutionary and has helped modern dance progress in many ways. This is one of the reasons I love to move so much. I like to feel my weight being taken by gravity and suspending against it. The Humphrey-Limon Technique is one of my favorites, and it is great to have a solid understanding on the background and fundamentals of the technique. Doris Humphrey was an amazing, inspiring dancer and choreographer. The public should definitely take note of Doris Humphrey because she changed and helped develop an art form that is prominent today.

Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman

Blog Assignment #4

As we all know, Doris Humphrey was a pioneer of modern dance and very influential in dance history. Doris was very significant in dance history because she moved away from the sentimentalism and romanticism of the modern dance world Denishawn created. Doris Humphrey’s creation of the Fall and Recovery technique was very new to the modern dance world in the 1930’s and is still used in studying movement today. During this era, we had ballet whose focus is to defy gravity. Doris, on the other hand, used her technique to move and work with gravity. She was interested in the apex of the continuum in the suspension of tension, unlike Graham who was more focused on the tension in moving. She was one of the first Americans to really analyze and notate Modern Dance’s movement. For example, she characterized movement patters as opposition, succession, and unison and movement characteristics as sharp accent, sustained flow, and rest. Not only did Doris teach these techniques but also codified them in her influential book, The Art of Making Dances. This book is a very large contribution to the art of dance. This was the first time in history that there was a notated, concrete, fully articulated choreographic method for modern dance makers. This book is still used read, and studied today by contemporary dancers.

Blog Assignment #3

During Doris Humphrey’s dance career, many things were changing and happening all over the world.

In 1918, when Doris joined the Denishawn faculty, WWI was coming to an end. She was choreographing and teaching through the final months of the war and finally on November 11, 1918 Germany and Allies signed the Armstice Agreement, which brought WWI to an end. Although there are not specific pieces or artistic connections related to the end of World War I and her work, I’m sure it had a major affect on her, along with ever other American, on the daily view of life.

On August 26^th 1920, the nineteenth amendment to the United States Constitution became a law and women finally got the right to vote.

In 1925, when Doris tours the orient for two years, New York was thriving and expanding. It was said that in the year, New York passed London on being one of the largest cities in the world. Shortly after Doris gets back from the orient, she left Denishawn to form the Humphrey-Weidman Company. The growing of New York City gave Doris the opportunity to make her footprint in Americas Modern Dance scene.

During this time, a period we call the Roaring Twenties was sweeping America as well as London, Berlin, and Paris. This was a time of great social, artistic, and cultural activity and progress. An artistic and design style called Art Deco began in France and spread throughout the world. Art Deco was linear and symmetrical and veered away from the predecessor, Art Nouveau, which used flowing, organic curves. This is when Doris was dancing with Denishawn and forming her philosophy and technique on modern dance. Her technique of fall and recovery connects to Art Nouveau in that it is more organic, but I can also see the influence of Art Deco. In Doris’ book, The Art of Making Dances, she describes and illustrates the correct way of making dances. She describes the linear and symmetrical (and asymmetrical) ways of using groups in choreography. There are even illustrations depicting the correct and incorrect way to arrange groups on stage.

In October 29^th, 1929, after the wealth and excess of the roaring twenties, the stock market in America crashed. This quickly spread and affected almost every other country. This historical time is known as the Great Depression. Personal income and tax revenue dropped; unemployment in the US increased to 25 percent; and international trade plunged more than 50 percent. Regardless of what area you were in, rural or urban, the Great Depression affected you. Despite the struggle of the United States at this time, the Humphrey-Weidman Company was successful. Throughout the depression, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman created many pieces and toured the United States. Like fellow modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham, their work at this time was based on current events and concerns. Unlike past dancers/choreographers such as: Isadora Duncan, who was inspired by ancient Grecian dance; or Ruth St. Denis, who was inspired from an Egyptian cigarette advertisement. Although the audience probably could not connect the pieces from Humphrey-Weidman’s Company to specific current events, the time that the two were living in definitely affected their choreography.

Quotes

The Dancer believes that his art has something to say which cannot be expressed in words or in any other way than by dancing.

There are movements which impinge upon the nerves with a strength that is incomparable, for movement has power to stir the senses and emotions, unique in itself.

Blog Assignment #2

Doris Humphrey studied at Denishawn with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. There, She met Charles Weidman. At Denishawn, Humphrey and Weidman discovered they have the same views and philosophies on the art of dance and decided to leave and form their own company. They called the company Humphrey-Weidman. They created their own technique, with the main principle being fall and recovery. They had many students come through our school, one of which was José Limón. He danced with them for many years and then formed his own company and developed a technique of his own. Later, Doris became the artistic director of his company.

Doris Humphrey also wrote the book, The Art of Making Dances. She believed the “germ” of the book existed when she was a child. As a child she was a lover of music. She has memories of her mother playing MacDowell’s, “Witches’ Dance” and Sinding’s, “Rustle of Spring.” She believes she was led to dance through her background in music. Although she was terrible at playing the keyboard, she said, “Still, I think I should have preferred to be a composer of music.”

Day On Earth

Water Study

Blog Assignment #1

Doris Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1895. She took ballet classes throughout her childhood and studied dance at Francis Parker School. Her teacher, Mary Wood Hinman, taught her first interpretive dance class which lead her to her first opportunity to really start exploring movement. Upon graduation, she toured her graduation piece around Santa Fe in church basements. Soon after, in 1918, Doris joins Denishawn. There she choreographs pieces such as, Valse Caprice, Soaring, and Scherzo Waltz. In 1925, she tours the orient with Denishawn. Shortly after her return, in 1928, she leaves Denishawn and forms The Humphrey-Weidman Company with Charles Weidman. Here, she creates her own way of moving that is very different from Denishawn. She focus’s on breath and working with gravity rather than against it. She plays with opposition, succession, unison, sharp action, sustained flow, and rest. She choreographs famous pieces, such as, Water Study and Life of the Bee. In 1932, she marries Charles Francais Woodford who inspires her by introducing her to different philosophies and philosophers. In 1933, she choreographs School for Husbands. In 1934, she spends her first summer teaching at Bennington alongside with Charles Weidman, Hayna Holm, and Martha Graham. After this, The Humphrey-Weidman Company continually got stronger. In 1935, Humphrey-Weidman had their first national tour where they premiered a dance trilogy and in 1940, the Humphrey-Weidman Theatre opens in New York City. In 1944, Doris made her final debut on stage dancing in her piece, Inquest. She could no longer dance due to a hip injury. This is also when Humphrey-Weidman Company came to an end. Shortly after, in 1946, Doris Humphrey became the Artistic Director of the José Limón Company. Here, she choreographed works such as, Day on Earth and Lament for Ignacio Sanchaz Mejias. In 1951, she joins the faculty at Juilliard. Also around this time, 1953, she directs a new dance company for children called “The Merry Go-Rounder’s.” In 1954, she receives the Capezio Award for outstanding contributions on Modern Dance. One of her contributions was the book she wrote entitled, The Art of Making Dances. Shortly after finishing her book in 1958 she dies leaving her legacy for many other modern dancers to follow.