Ruth St. Denis
Early Life
Ruth St. Denis was born on January 20, 1879, in Newark, New Jersey, to Ruth Emma Dennis, an amateur actress, and Thomas Laban Denis, a machinist and inventor. Her parents were not particularly well off, but they encouraged her interest in the performing arts from a young age. St. Denis was particularly drawn to dance, and she began her training in New York City under the tutelage of David Belasco, a prominent theatrical producer and director of the time.
Career
St. Denis's career began in earnest when she was hired as a skirt dancer for Belasco's production of "Madame DuBarry". Her performance caught the attention of several influential figures in the dance world, and she was soon offered a position with the Augustin Daly Musical Company. This marked the beginning of her rise to prominence in the world of dance.
In 1904, St. Denis saw a poster advertising Egyptian Deities cigarettes. The image of the Egyptian goddess Isis portrayed on the poster inspired her to explore non-Western ideas of dance and spirituality. This led to the creation of her first major work, "Radha", a solo dance based on Hindu themes and Indian art.
St. Denis's exploration of non-Western dance forms and her incorporation of these forms into her performances was groundbreaking. She was one of the first Western dancers to incorporate Eastern dance and spiritual practices into her work, a practice that would later become known as "orientalism". Her performances were not only aesthetically pleasing but also served as a form of spiritual expression.
In 1915, St. Denis founded the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts in Los Angeles with her husband, Ted Shawn. The school was one of the first institutions in the United States to offer a comprehensive dance education that included non-Western dance forms, improvisation, music, and visual arts. Many of the school's students, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman, went on to become influential figures in modern dance.
Later Life and Legacy
St. Denis continued to perform and teach well into her old age. She and Shawn divorced in 1931, but she kept the Denishawn School running until 1938. After the school's closure, she founded the Church of the Divine Dance, where she continued to explore the spiritual aspects of dance.
St. Denis died on July 21, 1968, at the age of 89. Her legacy lives on in the many dancers she influenced and the contributions she made to the field of dance. She is remembered as a pioneer of modern dance and a trailblazer in the incorporation of non-Western dance forms into Western performance.