Directing the Dance Legacy of Doris Humphrey: The Creative Impulse of Reconstruction

204 Pages·2012·1.149 MB·English

by  Lesley Main

Directing the Dance Legacy
of Doris Humphrey
SOCIETY OF DANCE HISTORY SCHOLARS
The Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS) advances the fi eld of dance studies
through research, publication, performance, and outreach to audiences across the arts,
humanities, and social sciences. As a constituent member of the American Council of
Learned Societies, SDHS holds wide-r anging annual conferences, publishes new schol-
arship through its book series and proceedings, collaborates regularly with peer insti-
tutions in the United States and abroad, and presents yearly awards for exemplary
scholarship.
www.sdhs.org
SDHS President: Thomas DeFrantz, Duke University
SDHS Ed i to rial Board
Chair: Ann Cooper Albright, Oberlin College
Sarah Davies Cordova, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Sherril Dodds, Temple University
Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt, York University
Ellen Graff, The New School
Darcey Callison, York University
Vida Midgelow, University of Northampton
Gay Morris, New York, New York
Yutian Wong, San Francisco State University
Rebecca Rosen, University of Texas at Austin
Directing the Dance Legacy
of Doris Humphrey
The Creative Impulse of Reconstruction
Lesley Main
The University of Wisconsin Press
Publication of this volume has been made possible,
in part, through support from the Anonymous Fund
of the College of Letters and Science at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor
Madison, Wisconsin 53711- 2059
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Copyright © 2012
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, re-
cording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without written permission of the
University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles
and reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Main, Lesley
Directing the dance legacy of Doris Humphrey : the creative
impulse of reconstruction / Lesley Main.
p. cm. (Studies in dance history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 299- 28584- 5 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978- 0- 299- 28583- 8 (e- book)
1. Humphrey, Doris, 1895–1958—Criticism and interpretation.
2. Modern dance—Production and direction.
I. Title. I. Series: Studies in dance history.
GV1783.M28 2012
792.028092—dc22
[B]
2011015990
This book is dedicated to
Penny, Gabriel, and Celie,
who share my dance through life,
and to the memory of
Doris Humphrey and
Ernestine Stodelle,
without whom that dance
would be so much less.
When we move we stand revealed for what we are.
—Doris Humphrey
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
Prologue: Negotiating a Living Past 3
Part One
Chasing the Ephemeral 15
Reconstruction, Re-creation, Reinvention 21
History in the Making 24
Theatrical Parallels 29
Battling Beckett 37
Part Two
Exploring the Creative Impulse 49
Water Study 52
Performance History 54
Identifying and Exploring the Evidence 61
Interpreting from the Present 63
Catching the Undertow: The Dancing of Water Study 73
Passacaglia 79
Performance History 82
A Musical Exploration of Choreographic Structure 87
Centennial Celebrations and Beyond 99
vii
viii Contents
With My Red Fires 106
Performance History 108
Contemporary Perspectives 109
Evidence from the Source 113
Reshaping the Matriarch 121
Creative Possibility 123
The Shakers 129
Performance History 131
Transmission Strategies 136
Crossing the Line 144
Navigating Narrative 149
Epilogue: Dancing the Past Tomorrow 155
NOTES 159
BIBLIOGRAPHY 169
INDEX 183
Illustrations
Water Study
Figure 1. Opening, Water Study, Silo Concert Dancers, 1986 53
Figure 2. “15 Rocking Waves,” Water Study, Silo Concert Dancers, 1986 53
Figure 3. Score structures for Water Study 59
Figure 4. Symbol comparison 60
Figure 5. “The First Wave,” Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2007 66
Figure 6. “The Second Wave,” Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2007 66
Figure 7. “The Third Wave,” Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2007 68
Figure 8. The “Breakers” fall, Middlesex University, 1989 69
Figure 9. “Splash/Whirlpool,” fl oor plan 71
Passacaglia
Figure 10. Passacaglia 3 and Fugue 1, Momenta, 2007 81
Figure 11. Phrase structure and choreographic action 90
Figure 12. The “Bell Theme” trio, Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2006 91
Figure 13. The “Bell Theme” duet, Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2006 92
Figure 14. Fugue 11, Momenta, 2007 96
Figure 15. The “Chicken” variation, Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2006 98
Figure 16. Fugue 10, Momenta, 2007 101
Figure 17. The “Jump” variation, Momenta, 2007 103
Figure 18. Soloists, Arkè Compagnia d’Arte, 2006 104
With My Red Fires
Figure 19. Doris Humphrey as the Matriarch 119
Figure 20. Extract from Humphrey’s notebook 120
ix