La Meri
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La Meri (1899 – 1988) was an American ethnic dancer, choreographer, teacher, poet, and scholar. She was born Russell Meriwether Hughes and began her dance training in Texas, studying ballet, Spanish, and Mexican dance forms. She continued her training in Hawaii, where she studied Hawaiian dance, and then New York, where she studied modern and ballet.
In 1928, La Meri began performing professionally. Throughout the following decades she toured and studied in areas such as Central and South America, Europe, North Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, India, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Japan, Ceylan, and Hawaii. As she traveled, La Meri learned the native dances of the different areas she visited, studying with local dance masters. She went on to create her own dance works based on the steps and movement vocabularies she learned.[1]
In 1940, La Meri co-founded the School of Natya with prominent choreographer Ruth St. Denis. Through the school, La Meri formed The Five Natyas, her first performing company. In 1945 she founded the Ethnologic Dance Center and the Ethnologic Dance Theater. She also performed at the Museum of Natural History and presented concert programs of young ethnic-dancers from across the globe.
La Meri taught regularly at Jacob’s Pillow, gave lecture-demonstrations, and published a number of magazine articles and books, including The Gesture Language of Hindu Dance and Spanish Dancing. The latter book is considered to be a definitive text on the subject of Spanish dance. Overall, La Meri’s extensive work in ethnic-dance earned her the reputation of being one of the foremost experts in the ethnic-dance field.[2]
References
- ^ Judy Farrar Burns, "Meri, La," The International Encyclopedia of Dance, Selma Jean Cohen and Dance perspectives foundation, © 1998, 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc..
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/21/obituaries/la-meri-89-a-dancer-teacher-and-specialist-in-ethnic-repertory.html