Editing Ted Shawn (section)

== Ted Shawn and the creation of Denishawn ==
[[File: Ruth St Denis - Ted Shawn out-of-doors photo.jpg|thumb|Ted Shawn with dancer and wife [[Ruth St. Denis]] in 1916.]]
[[File: Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in Egyptian Ballet..jpg|thumb|upright|Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis in Egyptian Ballet]]
Ted Shawn was born in [[Kansas City, Missouri]] on October 21, 1891.<ref name=" birth data">[http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Shawn%2C_Ted Birth data: Astrodatabank]</ref> Originally intending to become a minister of religion, he attended the [[University of Denver]] where he caught diphtheria at the age of 19, causing him temporary paralysis from the waist down. It was during his physical therapy for the disease that Shawn was introduced to dance in 1910, studying with Hazel Wallack, a former dancer with the Metropolitan Opera. In 1912, Shawn relocated to Los Angeles where he became part of an exhibition ballroom dance troupe with [[Norma Gould]] as his partner.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Scolieri|first=Paul A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRa_DwAAQBAJ&dq=Norma+Gould+Ted+Shawn&pg=PA77|title=Ted Shawn: His Life, Writings, and Dances|date=2019-11-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-933108-6|pages=59–63, 77|language=en}}</ref>

After moving to New York in 1914, Shawn married [[Ruth St. Denis]] on August 13, two months after their meeting.<ref>{{harvnb|Schlundt|1998|page=583}}</ref> St. Denis served not only as a partner but an extremely valuable creative outlet to Shawn. Both artists believed strongly in the potential for dance as an art form becoming integrated into everyday life. The combination of their mutual artistic vision and Shawn's business knowledge led to the couple opening the first [[Denishawn School]] in [[Los Angeles, California]] in 1915, with the goal of melding dance with body, mind and spirit.

Notable performances choreographed by him during Denishawn's 17-year run include ''Invocation to the Thunderbird'' (1917), the solo ''Danse Americaine'', performed by [[Charles Weidman]] (1923), ''Julnar of the Sea'', ''Xochitl'' performed by [[Martha Graham]] (1920) and ''Les Mystères Dionysiaques''.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvnb|Schlundt|1998|page=585}}</ref> In addition to spawning the careers of Weidman and Graham, the Denishawn school also housed [[Louise Brooks]] and [[Doris Humphrey]] as students.