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Francois Delsarte
French musician and teacher, interested in connecting the emotional intent to physical representation from the body. -
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Marie Louise Fuller
American modern dance pioneer, famous for her serpentine skirt dances which combined lighting and flowing silks to create interesting visual effects. -
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Emile Jaques-Dalcroze
Austrian musician, studied in Geneva and Vienna. Taught modern dancers including Hanya Holm, Rudolf Laban, and Mary Wigman. Wanted to improve music, dance, and education. -
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Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
At the age of 6 he began dancing on street corners, and beer gardens. He was a tap dancer who revolutionized tap by making it quicker as he transferred the weight into the balls of the feet. He first preformed in “The South Before the War”, and continued preforming in vaudeville shows. He starred in 14 movies, and preformed in 6 broadway shows. -
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Ruth St. Denis
Pioneer of American modern dance, found great influence in Hindu art and philosophy, along with other Asian dance styles. Founded the Denishawn School with Ted Shawn. -
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Rudolf Laban
Austrian dancer, creator of Laban dance notation. -
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Louis Horst
Musical director for the Denishawn Dance Company, romantically involved with Martha Graham, became her musical director following her New York City debut. -
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Mary Wigman
German dancer and choreographer who studied under Rudolph Laban, in 1920 opened a school in Dresden. -
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Vernon Castle
One hand of the ballroom dance duo of "The Castles". The Castles had great influence in America, popularizing ballroom dances such as the tango and the castle walk. Vernon died in World War I. -
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Ted Shawn
One of the fathers of modern dance. Opened the Denishawn School with his then-wife Ruth St. Denis. After their separation, Shawn opened an all-male company at his farm in Massachusetts which later became Jacobs Pillow. -
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Hanya Holm
German choreographer for modern dance and Broadway, had Hanya Holm school which was taken over fro Mary Wigman's (her mentor's) school. -
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Irene Castle
One half of the ballroom duo "The Castles". The Castles had great influences on ballroom dance, and Irene continued to be successful after Vernon's death, appearing on Broadway and film. -
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Doris Humphrey
American modern dance pioneer. Studied at the Denishawn School, created her own dance vocabulary based on the principles of fall and recovery. Founded the Humphrey-Weidman Company with Charles Weidman. -
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Florence Mills
Was brought into the world of performance at a young age, and at 8 began to tour with a group. She eventually started a group with her sisters called the “Mills Sisters”. Eventually her sisters decided to stop preforming while Mills stayed with it, going to join groups like the "Panama Four" the "Tennessee Ten" and later going onto Broadway. -
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Fred Astaire
Vaudeville dancer turned famous movie star, Fred (and his partner Ginger Rogers) danced in a style that was a mix of ballroom, tap, and ballet, and starred in many musical films. -
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Charles Weidman
Studied at the Denishawn School, created Humphrey-Weidman school and company with Doris Humphrey. His pieces were known for humor, and he also choreographed for Broadway musicals. -
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Langston Hughes
A Harlem Renaissance poet from Missouri who later moved to the “great dark city” of Harlem, after he attended Columbia University. He was connected to Alfred A. Knopf, who accepted a collection of Hughes’ works titled “The Weary Blues”. He received the Witter Bryant Undergraduate Poetry Award, started the magazine “Fire!!”, and published another volume of his works titled “Fine Clothes to the Jew”. -
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John William Sublett (Bubbles)
Known as the “Father of Rhythm Tap” Bubbles was a vaudeville preformed who was encouraged to join the world of the preforming arts at a young age. He would later meet Ford Lee Washington (Buck) and form the duo “Buck and Bubbles” in which Buck would play Piano, and Bubbles would sing. While tapping he wanted to hear more sounds, so he used his heels and doubled the 2/4 time. -
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George Snowden
Accredited to naming the "Lindy Hop”, George Snowden was one of the most popular dancers at the Savory Ballroom. Nicknamed “Shorty George” (which also went on to become the name of his signature move) he began a swing group named “Shorty Snowden Dancers” where he danced with “Big Bea” who was taller than he was. However they had fun with the difference and their dances were unique and comical at sometimes. -
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Earl "Snake Hips" Tucker
In the 1920’s Earl Tucker got the name “Snake Hips” after cresting a dance called “Snake Hips”which made him look like he didn’t have a proper skeleton, and moved fluidly like a snake. He became very well known in a few clubs where he faced, and would later go onto appear in a film called “Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life” in 1935. -
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Helen Tamiris
American modern dancer and choreographer, trained in classical ballet and under Isadora Duncan. Dealt with social issues, and choreographed for musical films. -
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Buddy Bradley
A self taught dancer who was always interested with the current dances of the time. When his mother died he moved into a house full of entertainers who inspired him to dance. When he was 18 he made his debut in the Florence Mills Revue in New York, and was later hired to teach popular dances at Billy Pierce’s school. -
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Lester Horton
Dancer and choreographer credited with launching the modern dance movement in Los Angeles and for establishing the country’s first racially integrated dance company. His technique was influenced by Native American dance and includes isolations, motivation from the hips and hip circles, extended legs and arms, deep lunges, and full body movements across space such as leaps, jumps, and turns. It is a display of the power of the human body and the space surrounding it. -
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Josephine Baker
Originally preformed comical skits, she tried to become a chorus girl, but was “too skinny and too dark.” however she learned to part anyway, preformed as an understudy, and quickly rose to popularity. She was famous in Paris and stared in two films, and experimented with scandalous costumes, and would even act as a French spy in World War II. However the US didn’t like seeing a successful African American woman, so upon one of her returns she spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr. -
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Bessie Schonberg
Studied with Martha Graham for a short while before a knee injury prevented her from continuing her training. She then earned a BA from Bennington College in 1934. After graduation she began teaching, and began working at Sarah Lawrence College in 1938, where she helped to found the school's dance department, and was known for her dance composition classes. She retired in 1975 and taught as a guest at places such as Jacobs Pillow, Julliard, New York University, among others. -
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Edna Guy
Dreamed of being a dancer since she was little and wrote letters to her idol Ruth St. Denis. Due to her race, no one wanted to take her so St. Denis took her into the Denishawn where she would become a favorite student. After a falling out with St. Denis, she left and met Hemsley Winfield, who would co-direct “The first Negro Dance Recital in America”, and she would later go on to create “Negro Dance Evening” which featured Katherine Dunham. -
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Hemsley Winfield
A forgotten modern dance pioneer. He was a choreographer, dancer, actor, and director, who worked with Edna Guy, preformed with the National Ethiopian Art Theater, started the Sekondi Players, directed for The New Negro Art Theater, and preformed the role of Which Doctor in The Emperor Jones at the Metropolitan Opera House. -
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Ausdruckstanz
Translates to Expressionism, specifically related to dance. It established a radical shift in the focus of dance from classical study toward more expression and emotionally-based movement. -
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Frederick Hawkins
Trained at the School of American Ballet. Joined the Martha Graham company in 1939 where his roles included the leads in works like Appalachian Spring and Night Journey. Married Graham in 1948, and they divorced in 1954. In 1951 he left her company and formed his own, performing a mix of Graham's work and his own. His technique focused on contraction and release of the muscles, using only the effort required to perform the movement rather than clenching as tightly as possible. -
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Katherine Dunham
A dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist who was one of the first African American women to attend this school, and to earn a masters and doctoral degree in anthropology. She founded the Negro Dance Group, and spend years in the caribbean studying the many different styles and motivation behind dance. -
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Anna Sokolow
Trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse, joined the Martha Graham company in 1930. Her works were inspired by the human experience, with dramatic imagery depicting the different aspects. She incorporated drama, comedy, and lyricism into her works alongside their focus on humanity and social justice. She later joined the faculty at Juilliard and received awards such as a Fulbright Fellowship to Japan, the Dance Magazine Award, a National Endowment for the Arts’ Choreographic Fellowship. -
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Alwin Nikolais
Studied with Hanya Holm. Joined the Henry Street Settlement in 1948 and founded its school of modern dance; became artistic director of its playhouse in 1949. The Nikolais Dance Theater was formed in 1951. He's most known for his experiments in the "basic arts of the theater" (integration of motion, sound, shape, and color) and for advancing the idea of "decentralization," where the focal point can be anywhere on the dancer's body (or even outside the body). -
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Sophie Maslow
Joined Martha Graham's company in 1931, then formed the Sophie Maslow Dance Company in 1942. Maslow's choreography often reflected the issues of the time, including themes such as the Great Depression and the Jewish experience. She was also one of the founders of the American Dance Festival, teaching during its first summers. -
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Jack Cole
Trained at the Denishawn School, and under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. After a career as a dancer on Broadway, he moved into choreography and was a pioneer in what would later become modern jazz dance, choreographing musical theater for movies and Broadway, infusing ballroom-esque styles with Africanist energies. His work influenced artists such as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, and others. He also worked with movie stars like Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe. -
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Ginger Rogers
Famous ballroom dancer, often paired with Fred Astaire. Starred on Broadway and in many films, was at one time the highest paid actress in Hollywood. -
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Cholly Atkins
Chilly Atkins, an American Vaudeville performer in the 1930’s, began dancing as a child when his mom taught him how to dance. He later sang as a street performer and tapped in a chorus in multiple clubs. His name rose to fame and when a reporter shortened his name as “Cholly” he was then known as Cholly Atkins. He drummed in the Military durring WW2, and after returned to his life of performing. He and Honi Coles would go on to perform in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and went on to be with Motown. -
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Frankie Manning
Fell in love with dancing at a “rent party” where people would come for music and dancing in exchange for money. he joined the Savory Ballroom and developed his own style inspired by Lindy Hoppers. -
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The Denishawn School
Founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, offering classes ranging from ballet to yoga to ballroom to modern. Had multiple locations, with the main one located in Los Angeles. -
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Bella Lewitzky
Lewitzky joined Lester Horton's company after studying ballet as a teenager, eventually becoming the company's lead, and was crucial in developing Horton's technique. In 1946, Lewitzky and Horton created the Dance Theatre of Los Angeles, unique for being both a dance school and theater under one roof. In 1958 Lewitzky became the founding chair of the dance department at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Art, where she taught until 1972, and created the "Lewtizky Dance Company" in 1968. -
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Janet Collins
A ballet dancer who achieved her dreams of becoming a professional dancer in the late 1920’s. She was trained by Carmelita Maracci, Lester Horton, and Adolph Bolm. She auditioned for The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and caught the eye of Leonide Massine, but refused his offer to join the company because of racist demands. She was the first African American Prima Ballerina for the Metropolitan Opera and won the Donaldson Award for best dancer on Broadway. -
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Talley Beatty
Encouraged to dance, and taught by Katherine Dunham, Talley Beatty was a freelance dancer in New York City who preformed in "Stormy Weather”, choreographed "Southern Landscape”, “Come and Get the Beauty of it Hot”, and “The Stack Up”, and also began his own dance troupe named Tropicana. -
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Merce Cunningham
A leader of the American avant-garde. Joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1939, and formed Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953. His choreography was focused on the dance, often choreographing the movement first and then setting music to it later. Frequently collaborated with life partner and composer John Cage, exploring the relationship of dance and music (could be independent of each other), and creating chance procedures (abandoning conventional elements of dance composition). -
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Pearl Primus
Enrolled in dance and received a scholarship for a company called the New Dance Group, which she debuted in. She created her first significant work, "African Ceremonial” in 1943, and traveled around the Caribbean and Africa to learn different dance styles, which she brought to the US. Later she started a touring dance troupe, and a dance school in Harlem. She had a degree in biology, pre-medicine, and dance education. -
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Norma Miller
At the age of 12, Miller began dancing and got a job at the Apollo Theater after being approached by Twist Mouth George. She became a Lindy Hopper, and joined the Savoy as a Whitney’s Lindy Hopper in 1934, and after began her own company. -
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Anna Halprin
Halprin trained at New Trier High School, and University of Wisconsin in her early years and was taught by Margaret H’Doubler. Afterwords she Moved to New York City and took classes from Hanya Holm and Martha Graham and joined Doris Humphrey/Charles Weidman Dance Company. in 1948 she opened an experimental dance studio and in 1955 after going to an American Season of Dance she decided she wanted to find more reasoning for dance over theater and music, thus becoming a post modern choreographer. -
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Bertram Ross
American dancer, danced with Martha Graham's Dance Company for 20 years and was her dance partner for a long time. Many of her male roles from the '50s and '60s were choreographed for him. Ross became co-director of the company in 1966, and formed his own touring company called the Bertram Ross Dance Company. -
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The Nicholas Brothers
The greatest tap dancing duo of all time. They developed their own style of tap which incorporated acrobatics. They had their first debut in Vaudeville in 1928, and were featured in several movies. -
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Dorothy Dandridge
A preforming artist who got her start with her sister by singing, dancing, doing acrobatics, and reading poetry until the great depression hit. She later started her solo career, and married Harold Nicholas, divorcing him in 1949. However she continued to preform, and was the first African American to preform in the Empire Room in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, as well as getting a Golden Globe Award nomination for best actress in “Porgy and Bess”. -
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Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, a poet, civil rights activist, and memoirist had a hard childhood when her parents divorced, her dad moved her and her brothers across the country, had economic trouble, moved her back to her mom, and went onto be sexually abused by her mom’s boyfriend. In the early 1950’s she would enter an interracial relationship which at the time was frowned upon. She started dancing when she met Alvin Ailey, and would go on to sing and dance to calypso music. -
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Paul Taylor
Began professional career in Martha Graham's company. While there, he formed the Paul Taylor Dance Company and began choreographing. Taylor's style was influenced by people such as Cunningham, Graham, and Balanchine, and incorporated pedestrian movements into dance. His works are known for their versatility, being able to be dark, light, and/or humorous. His awards include an Emmy Award, the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton, three Guggenheim fellowships, to name a few.. -
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Yvonne Rainer
Yvonne Rainer originally wanted to pursue acting, but had a change of heart when she moved to New York. She studied dance at the Martha Graham School while taking ballet classes at Ballet Arts. She then took class with Cunningham and took a workshop by Ann Halprin. In 1962 she became a founding member of the Judson Dance theater. The Grand Union was a product of her company and she would also go on to incorporate film with dance. -
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Simone Forti
Simone Forti grew up in the US after fleeing Italy during WW2, and went to school in Oregon where she met Robert Morris. They both dropped out and moved to California where she began her artist career, and eventually started dancing with Anna Halprin. Forti began to study the body through improvisation and later moved to New York which marked the beginning of "Dance Constructions”. Along with making her own version of improv, she went on to write and publish articles for dance magazines. -
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David Gordon
Gordon studied under James Waring and Merce Cunningham, and combined their teachings, with his humor and imagination. Gordon was a member of the Judson Dance Theater and was in the original 1962 workshop. After that group ended he continued to work with Yvonne Rainer, her company, and eventually the Grand Union. He loved pedestrian movements, playful gestures, and repetition, making his work known for a positive and comical spirit. -
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Carolee Schneemann
As a child, Schneemann loved art and saw herself as an artist when she grew up. She attended Bard College on a full scholarship and went on to get an MFA from University of Illinois. She became part of the dance world when she joined a group of artists who introduced her to the Judson Dance Theater. As a feminist artist, body artist, and performance artist in the 60’s she would go on to make many works, however she’s most known for her piece “Meat Joy". -
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Lucinda Childs
Lucinda Childs, an actress, choreographer, and dancer, began dancing at the age of 6, and loved it although she secretly wanted to act. Throughout her dance training and career, she trained with Hanya Holm and went on to join the Judson theater on Yvonne Rainer’s encouragement. She loved to choreograph and found unique ways to arrange simple movements into complex choreography. She collaborated with Philip Glass, and has choreographed for many big names in the dance world. -
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Pina Basuch
Growing up in Germany during WWII, Bausch observed the people around her and their fundamental drive, and incorporated these ideas into her work. She trained at the Folkwang School with Kurt Jooss, and then at Julliard under Antony Tudor, José Limón, and dancers from the Graham company, later working with Paul Taylor at the Metropolitan Opera. Bausch was a pioneer of the dance-theater movement, incorporating dramatic elements such as speaking, singing, laughing and crying to her choreography. -
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Deborah Hay
Deborah Hay was first introduced to dance by her mom, who taught her up until her teenaged years when she began training with Merce Cunningham, and Mia Slavenska. Eventually she went on to dance with Cunningham’s company on a 6 month tour whilst working with Judson Dance Theater. In the 70’s she began choreographed 10 Circle Dances and wrote her first book. She began experimenting with “playing awake” or being on many levels of consciousness at once. -
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Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp trained at Barnard College under mentors such as Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and Richard Thomas, and in 1963 she joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Tharp started her own company in 1965, combining modern dance, ballet, and jazz into her choreography.one hundred sixty works: one hundred twenty-nine dances, twelve television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows -
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Margaret Jenkins
Born in San Fransisco, the same city where she began dancing, Margaret Jenkins moved to New York to study at Juilliard where she would be taught by Jose Limone, Louis Horst, and Martha Graham. Later she danced at UCLA under Merce Cunningham, and Gus Solomons jr. She would go on to dance in many companies, and later opened her own along with a studio preforming place, and a school. She choreographed many works and she received lots of praise for them. -
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Aretha Franklin
At a young age, she had an interest in music and taught herself piano. when she was 14 her dad became her manager and got her a recording deal with J.V.B Records. Within her life she was awarded 18 Grammies, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was the first woman to be put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. -
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Douglas Dunn
Douglas Dunn began dancing at the Princeton Ballet Society at Princeton University in 1963. Originally a ballet dancer trained by many prestigious names, he had a change of heart when exposed to modern dance at Jacobs Pillow. After he graduated from Princeton he trained at the Martha Graham School, Joffrey Ballet School, the American Ballet Center, and the Merce Cunningham School. He was a founding member of the Grand Union and started his own professional company, Douglas Dunn and Dancers. -
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Brenda Dixon Gottschild
Was a member of the Mary Anthony Dance Theater from 1964-1966, afterward becoming an independent dancer, teacher, and choreographer, working as a guest artist internationally, working in Stockholm, Helsinki, London, and New York City. In 1981 she earned her Ph.D. from New York University. She combined her loves of literature, dance, and activism, and now performs lectures which include her teachings of her publishing’s in the way of the moving body. -
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Judith Jamison
A dancer, choreographer, and Artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. She was discovered by Agnes de Mille and made a debut with ABT. She preformed in “Conga Tango Palace” with Alvin Ailey, earning praise from critics, and 6 years later, a 15 minute solo Choreographed by Ailey. -
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Susanne Linke
Began dancing at age 20 after taking classes from Mary Wigman in Berlin. She then moved to Essen to continue training at the Folkwang Academy. In 1970, under the direction of Pina Bausch, Linke was chosen to be a part of the school’s affiliated dance company, Folkwang Tanzstudio, where she remained until 1985, at which point she was given the position of the head of the Tanzstudio. She is currently the artistic director of the Theatre Trier Tanz. -
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Gregory Hines
An actor, musician, and dancer from New York. His father was a musician, his grandmother danced in the Cotton Club, and his brother and him began tapping in 1949. He and his brother saw Honi Coles, Bunny Briggs, Teddy Hale, and the Nicholas Brothers preform, which was a big inspiration to him, especially Teddy Hale. -
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Kenneth King
For most of his youth Kenneth King wanted to be an actor. It wasn’t until he attended a lecture by Ruth St. Dennis in college that he decided he wanted to dance. He transitioned between the two by combining dancing with speaking with props, and after he went on to dance with The New Dance Group, Ballet Arts, and the Martha Graham School, and went on to work with Merce Cunningham and Carolyn Brown. King’s Movement was theatrical and not technique based, stressing expressionism. -
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Arnie Zane
Arnie Zane didn’t begin dancing until he went to Binghamton University where he met Bill T. Jones. It wasn’t until a contact improvisation class taught by Lois Welk that they both discovered their interest in dance. The Three of them went on to make American Dance Asylum, however they were also fascinated by Yvonne Rainer’s work so Zane and Jones went on to make the Bill T. Jones-Arnie Zane company which they ran together until Zane contracted AIDS and passed away in 1988. -
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Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen is a performer who was born in Texas in the early 1950’s. At age she started dancing 3 and decided that she wanted to pursue dance at the age of 5. She auditioned for the Huston Ballet School, was denied because of race, but was admitted one year later when a Huston Ballet teacher saw her perform. She went on to Audition for UNCSA, was denied again, but went onto graduate from Howard University with a degree in Drama. Later she debuted in West Side Story and many other shows. -
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Bebe Miller
She began dancing at the Henry Street Settlement in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and later went to Earlham College in Richmond Indiana, and then to Ohio State where she’s currently teaching. Her career dance began in 1976 with Nina Weiner where she developed her signature dynamic, virtuous, humanistic style. When her own company began she focused on a human quality which gave her work a sense of story. She would go on to earn 4 Bessie's and other awards. -
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Bill T Jones
One of the founders of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, who grew up during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. In college he discovered his sexual orientation, and began to fall for the arts; taking West African and African-Caribbean dance classes. He met his partner Arnie Zane, and they created the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Zane was later diagnosed with AIDS and passed away, leaving Jones to choreograph about political, racial, and social issues. -
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Mark Morris
After seeing a flamenco dance when he was young, Mark morris took an interest to dance, and by the time he was 11 years old he was a professional dancer. At 13 he joined Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble, and at 14 began choreographing. He moved to Spain but Moved back to the US in 1974 because he felt unwelcome. However after moving back he gained a lot of fame after working with various dance groups. He started his own post-modern company called the Mark Morris Dance Group and still choreographs. -
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The Judson Dance Theater Group
The Judson dance theater was a group of dancers, visual artists, and composer who worked and performed at Judson Memorial Church like Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, and other notable choreographers. It started a composition class for experimental dancers, but it became something much bigger. It would be here that Post-modern dance would be created along with some of its forms like improvisation, contact improvisation, and film. -
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Grand Union
Also known as “Rio Grand Union” the Grand Union was a New York improvisational dance group. Started from the Yvonne Rainer dance company, this group also involved Trisha Brown, Douglass Dunn, Nancy Lewis, Steve Paxton, and David Gordon. The main reason of this group came to be was for exploration of movement/ the creation of movement, and it's relation to each other. Every show had 2 - 9 dancers and everyone’s stage time varied between each run.