Doris Humphrey

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Doris Batcheller Humphrey (October 17, 1895 – December 29, 1958) was a dancer of the early twentieth century. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois; she was a descendant of Pilgrim William Brewster and Simon James Humphrey.

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[edit] Early life

In Chicago, she both studied and taught dance, opening her own dance school in 1913 at the age of 18.

In 1917, she moved to California and entered the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, where she studied, performed, taught classes, and learned choreography. Her creations from this era, "Valse Caprice" ("Scarf Dance"), "Soaring", and "Scherzo Waltz" ("Hoop Dance") are all still performed today. Humphrey toured the Orient for two years, followed by a successful career in American vaudeville theaters.

[edit] Dancing Through The Great Depression

In 1928, she and fellow dancer Charles Weidman separated from the Denishawn School and moved to New York City, to become key figures in the modern dance movement. Her choreography explored the nuances of the human body's responses to gravity, embodied in her principle of fall and recovery. Her choreography from these early years includes "Water Study," "Life of the Bee," "Two Ecstatic Themes," and "The Shakers."

The Humphrey-Weidman Company was successful even in the darkness of the Great Depression, touring America and developing new styles and new works based not on old tales, but on current events and concerns. In the mid-1930s, Humphrey created the "New Dance Trilogy", a triptych comprising "With My Red Fires," "New Dance," and the now-lost "Theater Piece."

One of her last pieces, "Dawn in New York," featured the strengths she demonstrated throughout her career -- her mastery of the intricacies of large groups, and her emphasis on sculptural shapes.

Humphrey was on the original faculties of both The Bennington School of the Dance (1934) and The Juilliard School (1951), both directed by Martha Hill.

[edit] After Retirement

Humphrey retired from performing in 1945, conceding to the ravages of arthritis. She then took up the position of artistic director for the José Limón Dance Company and continued to successfully choreograph with works such as "Day on Earth," "Night Spell," and "Ruins and Visions."

[edit] Legacy

Shortly after her death in 1958, Humphrey's book The Art of Making Dances (ISBN 0-87127-158-3), in which she shared her observations and theories on dance and composition, was posthumously published. In the introduction, she observed that in the 20th century, the demure and airy ballet had changed radically. "Suddenly the dance," she said, "the Sleeping Beauty, so long reclining in her dainty bed, had risen up with a devouring desire."

Many of her works have been revived since the early 1980s by Mino Nicolas with the aid of original dancers. His collaborations with these key individuals (foremost Eleanor King, a principal dancer with the Humphrey-Weidman Company from 1928-1935, along with Lucas Hoving, Letitia Ide, Cleo Atheneos, Lee Sherman, Helen Savery and others) brought a vanished era to life with remarkable clarity and conviction. As a performer, he received praise for his own performances in such Humphrey masterworks as "Duo-Drama" (1935); "Rudepoema" (1934); "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias"(1946) and in the solo "Two Ecstatic Themes" (1931). In 1990 he was granted the right to complete Humphrey's projected 1993 work, "The Libation Bearers" which received its posthumous premiere in 1990 in New York at the Annual Doris Humphrey Dance Festival. His company, The Doris Humphrey Repertory Dance Company, toured internationally during Humphrey's Centennial (1995) to critical acclaim. Nicolas currently serves as the executive director of the Doris Humphrey Institute, an organization whose mission is to re-energize the Humphrey works through education, training and analysis of each work. He still maintains rights to all of Humphrey's works and co-owner of eleven dances.

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