Doris Humphrey

Doris Batcheller Humphrey (born October 17, 1895 in Oak Park , Illinois , † December 29, 1958 ) was an American dancer and choreographer . She was one of the leading figures in modern dance .

Life

Her father was a journalist and previously worked as a hotel manager, her mother a pianist. One of her ancestors, Elder William Brewster , was one of the Pilgrim Fathers who came from England on the Mayflower . Doris Humphrey grew up in Chicago, where she learned to dance with Mary Wood Hinman at the Francis Parker School . When the Santa Fe Railroad organized a performance for its workers, it made its first appearance at the age of 18. With her mother as support and pianist, she was allowed to travel to the West. Since her father didn't do good business, she didn't just have to make money for herself. So she opened her own dance school in Oak Park in 1913, with her mother as manager and pianist.

At the suggestion of her former teacher, Mary Wood Hinman, she went to Los Angeles in 1917 to attend a summer course. There she began studying at Denishawn School in 1918 . Her talent was recognized and, in addition to solo roles in performances, she also got the opportunity to give lessons herself, which gave her more financial freedom.

Her choreographies from this time are: “Valse Caprice” (“Scarf Dance”), “Soaring” and “Scherzo Waltz”. In 1928 she successfully completed her training to found the dance company "The Humphrey-Weidman Group" with Charles Weidman . In 1928 she performed “Water study” and from 1929 “Life of the bee” on. In 1930 she went to the Dance Repertory Theater , where she performed "Drama of motion" and from 1931 "Two ecstatic Themes" and "the Shakers".

Despite the Great Depression that ruled America at that time, the company and its choreographer were successful. She developed a new style of dance. In 1932 she married Charles Francis Woodford and had their first son, Charles Humphrey Woodford, in 1933.

In 1935 she made a national tour with “New Dance Trilogy” and danced a triptych of “With my red Fires”, “New Dance”, and the lost “Theater piece”, New Dance, With My Red Fires, and Passacaglia. In 1938 she appeared in “Passacaglia an Fugue in C-Minor”. In 1940 she opened the Humphrey-Weidman Studio Theater in New York. One of her last pieces was "Dawn in New York". She left the stage in 1945 due to arthritis and in 1946 became artistic director of the José Limón Dance Company . In addition, she continued to choreograph, resulting in "Day on Earth", "Night Spell", "Ruins and Visions" and in 1949 "Guggenheim Fellowship".

Humphrey was one of the founders of the dance department at the Juilliard School in 1951 . In 1953 she heads the Dance Company for Children "The Merry-go-rounders". In 1954 she choreographed the piece "Capezio Award for Outstanding Contributions to Modern Dance". Then the Juilliard Dance Theater was founded by her. In 1958 she finished her book "The Art of Making Dances" and began an autobiography. After her death on December 29, 1958, her piece "The Brandenburg Concerts" was performed posthumously in 1959.

Literature / works

• Ernestine Stodelle: Doris Humphrey and her dance technique. A work book. Drawings by Teri Loren. From the American by Ebba D. Drolshagen and Ursula Mühlberger. Fricke, Frankfurt 1986, ISBN 3-88184-080-X .
• Doris Humphrey: The Art of Doing Dances. On the choreography of modern dance . (Original: The art of making dances. ) From the American by Karin Vial. Noetzel, Heinrichshofen-Bücher, Wilhelmshaven 1989, ISBN 3-7959-0415-3 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Doris Humphrey in the catalog of the German National Library
• dorishumphrey.org (English)