Sybil Shearer

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Sybil Shearer
Born 1912
Toronto Canada
Died 2005
Evanston Illinois USA
Occupation Modern Dancer, writer, choreographer
Nationality Canadian
Literary movement Modern Dance
Influences

Sybil Shearer, born in Toronto in 1912, was hailed as a "maverick" or "mystic" of modern dance. She studied at Skidmore College, graduating in 1934, and then pursued modern dance at Bennington College's summer workshops in Vermont, with Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham and Hanya Holm.

Shearer's first solo concert in New York, in 1941, at Carnegie Hall, caused a sensation. And yet, shortly after her New York triumph, she walked away from the fame that was opening for her, settling instead in the American Midwest in the mid-1940s. There, she continued to perform in the Chicago area, and inspired numerous students of dance. She made her last appearance, at age 93, at the Art Institute of Chicago, in one of her solos called Flame. She died in Evanston, Illinois in 2005.

Although Shearer had mastered virtuoso technique, she preferred to dance in the uninhibited style she called "liquid acting." With her remarkable stage presence and extraordinary agility, free of make-up with flowing auburn hair hanging loose, Shearer would sometimes move in mighty waves as if chosen by the wind, or stand stock-still in pantomimes of nature or fantasy.

Dance historian Margaret Lloyd, in The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance, described Sybil Shearer as "a perfectionist who likes to believe that perfection is humanly attainable." Her dances were often spiritually-based, reflecting her closeness to nature and to the uncluttered spaces of the American Midwest. She made extensive tours of the United States, sometimes re-appearing in New York where her iconoclastic departures from the conventions of modern dance were greeted with mixed reactions.

She was among the first modern performers to tackle spiritual and social justice issues, such as the plight of factory workers, a theme of one of her pieces. She drew ideas and inspiration from a variety of artistic influences, including lengthy correspondence with Agnes de Mille and Virginia Woolf.

Many of Sybil Shearer's productions were in collaboration with Helen Morrison, a photographer and filmmaker who documented Shearer's career. The Morrison-Shearer Foundation maintains the Shearer and Morrison archives. The first volume of Sybil Shearer's three-part autobiography, Without Wings the Way Is Steep (a title taken from one of her dances), was released in 2008.

Persondata
NAME Shearer, Sybil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Modern dancer
DATE OF BIRTH 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH 2005
PLACE OF DEATH Evanston, Illinois, United States

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