Editing Ted Shawn (section)

== Ted Shawn and His Male Dancers ==
{{Reduced pull quote|right|I believe that dance communicates man's deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written.|attributed to Ted Shawn|<br />in ''Outback and Beyond''<ref>{{cite book|last=Nolan|first=Cynthia|title=Outback and Beyond|publisher=Angus & Robertson|location=Sydney|date=1994|pages=50, 51}}</ref>}}
Due to Shawn's marital problems and financial difficulties, Denishawn closed in the early 1930s. Subsequently, Shawn formed an all-male dance company of athletes he taught at [[Springfield College]], with the mission to fight for acceptance of the American male dancer and to bring awareness of the art form from a male perspective.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The International Encyclopedia of Dance|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-517369-7|location=oxfordreference.com|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/internationalenc0000unse_q4s8}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

The all-male company was based out of a farm that Shawn purchased near [[Lee, Massachusetts]]. On July 14, 1933, Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers had their premier performance at Shawn's farm, which would later be known as [[Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival]]. Shawn produced some of his most innovate and controversial choreography to date with this company such as "Ponca Indian Dance", "Sinhalese Devil Dance", "Maori War Haka", "Hopi Indian Eagle Dance", "Dyak Spear Dances", and "Kinetic Molpai". Through these creative works Shawn showcased athletic and masculine movement that soon would gain popularity. The company performed in the United States and Canada, touring more than 750 cities, in addition to international success in London and Havana. Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers concluded at Jacob's Pillow on August 31, 1940, with a homecoming performance.

Shawn had a romantic relationship with one of his dancers, [[Barton Mumaw]], from 1931 to 1948. One of the leading stars of the company, Barton Mumaw would emerge onto the dance industry and be considered "the American Nijinsky". While with Shawn, Mumaw began a relationship with John Christian, a stage manager for the company. Mumaw introduced Shawn to Christian. Later, Shawn formed a partnership with Christian, with whom he stayed from 1949 until his death in 1972.<ref>{{harvnb|Foulkes|2002|pages=85–86}}</ref>

===Jacob's Pillow===
[[File:Shawn on Pillow Rock.jpg|thumb|250px|Ted Shawn resting on the Jacob's Pillow Rock]]With this new company came the creation of [[Jacob's Pillow]]: a dance school, retreat, and theater. The facilities also hosted teas, which, over time, became the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.<ref>{{harvnb|Foulkes|2002|pages=84–85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Barbara N.|last=Cohen-Stratyner|title=Biographical Dictionary of Dance|location=New York|publisher=Schirmer Books|date=1982|page=811}}</ref> Shawn also created The School of Dance for Men around this time, which helped promote male dance in colleges nationwide.

Shawn taught classes at Jacob's Pillow just months before his death at the age of 80.<ref>{{harvnb|Benbow-Niemer|1998|page=716}}</ref> In 1965, Shawn was a Heritage Award recipient of the [[national dance association|National Dance Association]]. Shawn's final appearance on stage in the Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob's Pillow was in ''Siddhas of the Upper Air'', where he reunited with St. Denis for their fiftieth anniversary.

Saratoga Springs is now the home of the [[National Museum of Dance]], the United States' only museum dedicated to professional dance. Shawn was inducted into the museum's [[National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame|Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame]] in 1987.