Virginia Myers

Virginia Myers
Virginia Myers, 1927
Born (1906-10-21)October 21, 1906
New York, New York
Died January 4, 1975(1975-01-04) (aged 68)
New York, New York
Nationality American
Known for Dance

Virginia Myers (October 21, 1906 - January 4, 1975) was an American dancer who gained national recognition as a precocious talent during her childhood in New York in the 1910s and 20s. Her parents were the New York-based artists Jerome Myers and Ethel Myers.[1]

Virginia Myers was first introduced to the New York public at the age of four when she performed her own solo improvisational dance to the "Morning Mood" section of Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite." It formed the 4-minute Prologue to a full evening of music, dance and story for a charity Benefit staged at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan on April 4, 1911.[2][3]

In the 12 years to follow, Virginia made fifteen dance appearances at various New York theaters, each time filling an entire afternoon or evening program with her own original dance interpretations of a wide range of musical works.[3] Without formal dance training, professional choreography or staging, she become a famous dancer in America and around the world during that era.[2][1]

Additional critical exposure and publicity was generated from the decision by the Edison Film Company to star Myers, then only 5 years old, in their 1000th film release, as the first part of a split reeler. This 20-minute film, solely devoted to her original creative dancing, was titled "Dream Dances of Virginia Myers" produced by the Edison Film Company (production #1000) which was distributed all over America as well as overseas.[4]

A chronology of newspaper and other clippings

References

  1. 1 2 3 "At eight she's a dancing celebrity". Salt Lake Telegram. July 4, 1915. p. 16. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Child's Dancing Uncanny Girl, 5, Amazes St. Denis". New York American. 1912. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 "The Journey: Virginia Dances". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated (April 15, 1912). "Dream Dances performed by Virginia Myers". The Edison Kinetogram 6 (6): 2,6. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  5. Ruthrauff, Florence Barlow (1912). "Dimpling Genius". The Morning Telegraph Art Magazine. p. ix. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  6. Roberts, Mary Fanton (1912). "The Dance of the People". The craftsman 22 (2). pp. 195–199. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  7. Hapgood, Hutchins (1912). "In Memoriam". The New York Globe. Reprint from "The Globe," for "291" and "Camera work."
  8. "Again Virginia dances and again her audience wonders". 1913. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  9. "Five-year-old artist creates her own dances". New York Evening Sun. January 4, 1913. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  10. "When Virginia Dances". Vogue (Conde Nast). June 1, 1913. p. 33. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  11. "Child dancer gains strange inspiration from unknown source". The Washington Times. December 12, 1913. p. 12. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  12. "VIRGINIA MYERS— DANCER From a Recent Outdoor Photograph By Clarence White". Vanity Fair 3 (5): 30. 1915. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  13. Ten Broeck, Helen (May 1, 1915). "Child dancer captivates by skill and grace". New York Review. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  14. "At eight she's a dancing celebrity". The World Magazine. June 20, 1915. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  15. "Fourth Section Pictorial Magazine". The Sun. June 11, 1916. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  16. Shannon, Betty (September 17, 1916). "The tear behind the laugh wins in the cinema". The Sun. p. 4. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  17. "Virginia Myers Dances". New York Times. April 3, 1923. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

External links

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