Creation of Jacob's Pillow

With this new company came the creation of Jacob's Pillow, a dance school, retreat, and theater. Shawn and his men used this space as a place to hold teas as well as a place to perform. These teas soon transformed into the festival that is so widely known to this day, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Shawn also used this new space to develop his choreography and teach. Jacob’s Pillow has since become one of the largest and most respected dance festivals, with performances and guests from some of the most prominent companies in the world. Having a place where anybody could come and show their work without restrictions or bias is something that Shawn fought for and gladly wanted to share with others. The creation of Jacob’s Pillow has allowed this to happen . Along with Jacob's Pillow came the opening of The School of Dance for Men which is when he met his accomplishment of having male dancing making its way into colleges nationwide. Being able to have his work and stylized male choreography be respected so much to where it was then introduced to universities was a huge step for Shawn. Shawn made his last appearance on stage in the Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob’s Pillow in his performance of Siddhas of the Upper Air where he reunited with St. Denis. Shawn and St. Denis danced on their 50th anniversary at the Casino in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers

Although Denishawn came to an end in 1929 due to tough circumstances both in Shawn’s and St. Denis’ marriage as well as the economy, Shawn’s second dance group Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers were soon to follow in his dancing career. The new all male company was based out of Massachusetts near his then home of Lee. In creating this company Shawn was hoping to make America become more aware, and accept the importance and dedication of the male dancer along with his role in the arts. It was with this new company that Shawn produced some of his most controversial and highly skilled choreography to date. With works such as Ponca Indian Dance, Sinhalse Devil Dance, Maori War Haka, Hopi Indian Eagle Dance, and Dyak Spear Dances he was able to showcase performances that all stressed the male body movement. His love for the relationships created by the men in his dances soon translated into love between himself and one of his company members Barton Mumaw which lasted from 1931- 1948. He also had another partner following Mumaw, John Christian whom he was with from 1949 until his death in 1972.

Historical Context

In the 1920's and early 1930's, dance clubs were at their highest peak. Dance clubs across the nation were sponsoring dance contests where professionals would come and invent, try, and compete with new moves. Also during this time, they had just came out with talking films so tap dance and musicals were a big deal. While all of this was going on, Ted Shawn kept modern dance alive and continued to put audiences in awe.

Ted Shawn and the creation of Denishawn

Ted Shawn, originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 21, 1891. Originally intending to become a minister of religion, he attended the University of Denver. There he caught diphtheria, which led him to take up dance in 1910 to regain his muscle strength. Shawn's dancing was discouraged by the University, which still had a Methodist affiliation, and was the cause of his expulsion the following year.

Shawn did not realize his true potential as an artist until marrying Ruth St. Denis in 1914. St. Denis served not only as partner but an extremely valuable creative outlet to Shawn. Soon after their marriage the couple opened the first Denishawn School in Los Angeles, California, where they were able to choreograph and stage many of their famous vaudeville pieces. A very famous piece of advice that Shawn used to give to his dancers was "When in doubt, twirl."

The following year Shawn launched a cross-country tour with his dance partner, Norma Gould, and their Interpretive Dancers. Notable performances choreographed by him during Denishawn’s 17-year run include Julnar of the Sea, Xochitl and Les Mysteres Dionysiaques. The school and company went on to produce such influential dancers as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman.

Together, Shawn and Ruth St. Denis established the principle of Music Visualization in modern dance —- a concept that called for movement equivalents to the timbres, dynamics, and structural shapes of music in addition to its rhythmic base.

Personal Opinion

The reason I decided to research and blog about Ted Shawn is because I am intrigued by his style of dance and his idea to have an all male company.  He has all the males in his company bare-chested and doing very strong, muscular movement.  I enjoy seeing men actually dancing and especially in that time period because before that point, men were hardly moving and just being used for partnering girls.  If I were to live in the time frame that Ted Shawn's male company were traveling around, I would want to be in the company because his style is close to the same style that I use in dance.

Review

Review/Dance; Ted Shawn's Legacy: Men Tough and Tender

Ted Shawn, who would have been 100 years old on Monday, made remarkable contributions to American dance. Not the least of them was the way he campaigned to have dance accepted as a respectable career for men.

His efforts were honored at the Joyce Theater on Tuesday night when the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival presented "Men Dancers: The Ted Shawn Legacy," a program of old and new dances for men directed by Robby Barnett, with Norton Owen as artistic adviser. They proved well worth seeing for their historical interest and contemporary relevance.

Two were major works by Shawn himself. He created "Kinetic Molpai" in 1935 for his Men Dancers, the all-male troupe he directed from 1933 to 1940. A celebration of struggle, death and rebirth inspired by ancient Greek ceremonials, "Kinetic Molpai" retained considerable power in this slightly abridged version in which Clay Taliaferro led an ensemble that included Jim Blanc, Felix Blaska, Paul Dennis, Yoav Kaddar, Peter Kope, Rick Merrill, Peter Pucci and Gordon F. White.

With its scenes of conflict followed by triumphant surges, "Kinetic Molpai" was bold in outline. Although some sequences were almost self-consciously strenuous, the choreography's pictorial effects were impressive because of the way Shawn divided the cast into contrapuntal groups to express opposition and harmony.

Barton Mumaw, a member of the original cast, helped coach the revival and was in the audience. Jess Meeker's score for two pianos -- music as assertive as the choreography -- was played by John Sauer and Mr. Meeker, the musical director for Shawn's Men Dancers and one of America's most respected dance accompanists.

Mr. Meeker also played the Respighi music for "O Brother Sun and Sister Moon," a portrait of St. Francis that Shawn choreographed for himself in 1931. As interpreted by Stuart Hodes, a former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, this was a quiet solo. Looking ascetic in a monk's robe, Mr. Hodes bowed low to earth, reached toward heaven and, without histrionics, displayed his palms and, by implication, the saint's stigmata.

Shawn was lyrical in "O Brother Sun," forceful in "Kinetic Molpai." Since the 30's, the program's offerings suggested, male choreography has emphasized forcefulness, rather than lyricism. Heroic steps dominated "The Unsung," Jose Limon's elegy for American Indian leaders. Mr. Kaddar and Mr. Pucci were boisterous rivals in "Brothers," choreographed by Daniel Ezralow and David Parsons.