Editing Ted Shawn

{{Short description|American dancer (1891–1972)}}
{{Infobox dancer
| name          = Ted Shawn
| image         = Arthur F. Kales (American - Ted Shawn - Google Art Project.jpg
| alt           = Ted Shawn, c. 1918, photographed by Arthur F. Kales
| caption       = Shawn in c. 1918
| full_name     =
| birth_name    = Edwin Meyers Shawn
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1891|10|21}}
| birth_place   = [[Kansas City, Missouri]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1972|01|09|1891|10|21}}
| death_place   =
| spouse        = [[Ruth St. Denis]] (1914–1968)
| occupation    = Dancer
| years_active  =
| current_group =
| former_groups =
| dances        =
| website       = <!-- {{URL|website}} -->
}}
'''Ted Shawn''' (born '''Edwin Myers Shawn'''; October 21, 1891 – January 9, 1972) was an American dancer and choreographer. Considered a pioneer of American [[modern dance]], he created the [[Denishawn School]] together with his wife [[Ruth St. Denis]]. After their separation he created the all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. With his innovative ideas of masculine movement, he was one of the most influential choreographers and dancers of his day. He was also the founder and creator of [[Jacob's Pillow]] Dance Festival in Massachusetts.

== 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.

== Style and technique ==
Together, Shawn and Ruth St. Denis established an eclectic grouping of dance techniques including ballet (done without shoes) and movement that focused less on rigidity and more on the freeing of the upper body. To add to St. Denis's mainly eastern influence, Shawn introduced elements of North African, Spanish, American and Amerindian dance, ushering in a new era of modern American dance. Breaking with European traditions, their choreography connected the physical and spiritual, often drawing from ancient, indigenous, and international sources.

== 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.

== Writings ==
Ted Shawn wrote and published nine books that provided a foundation for Modern Dance:<ref>{{cite book|first=Gayle|last=Kassing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqgDr0qxozUC|title=History of dance: an interactive arts approach|year=2007|pages=187–9|publisher=Human Kinetics |isbn=9780736060356}}</ref>
* 1920 – ''Ruth St. Denis: Pioneer and Prophet''
* 1926 – ''The American Ballet''
* 1929 – ''Gods Who Dance''
* 1935 – ''Fundamentals of a Dance Education''
* 1940 – ''Dance We Must''
* 1944 – ''How Beautiful Upon the Mountain''
* 1954 – ''Every Little Movement: a Book About Francois Delsarte''
* 1959 – ''Thirty-three Years of American Dance''
* 1960 – ''One Thousand and One Night Stands'' (autobiography, with Gray Poole)

== Legacy ==
In the 1940s, Shawn bestowed his works to the [[Museum of Modern Art]]. The museum subsequently deaccessed these works, giving them to [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]] and [[Jacob's Pillow Dance#The archives|Jacob's Pillow archive]], while Shawn was still alive. Dancer [[Adam Weinert]] saw this as a violation of MoMA's policy not to sell or give away works by living artists, and created ''The Reaccession of Ted Shawn'', digital, [[augmented reality]] performances of Shawn's works to be displayed in MoMA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thereaccessionoftedshawn.com/|title=The Reaccession of Ted Shawn|last=Weinert|first=Adam|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8da81556-278d-11e4-ae44-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8da81556-278d-11e4-ae44-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=2022-12-11 |url-access=subscription|date=August 19, 2014|title=Downtown Dance Festival, Wagner Park, Lower Manhattan, New York|first=Apollinaire|last=Scherr|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of dancers]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|first1=Katherine S.|last1=Dreier|first2=Ralph|last2=Hawkins|date=1933|title=Shawn the Dancer|publisher=Drei Masken Verlag|location=Berlin}}
* {{cite book|first=Walter|last=Terry|date=1976|title=Ted Shawn: The Father of Modern Dance|location=New York|publisher=Dial Press|isbn=0-8037-8557-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tedshawnfatherof00terr}}
* {{cite book|last=Shelton|first=Suzanne|title=Divine Dancer: A Biography of Ruth St. Denis|location=New York|publisher=Doubleday|date=1981}}
* {{cite journal|first=Stephanie|last=Jordan|date=1984|title=Ted Shawn's Music Visualizations|journal=Dance Chronicle|volume=7|issue=1}}
* {{cite book|first=Leonetta|last=Bentivoglio|date=1985|title=Danza Contemporanea|location=Milan|publisher=Longanesi}}
* {{cite book|first=Glynis|last=Benbow-Niemer|date=1998|chapter=Shawn, Ted|title=International Dictionary of Modern Dance|editor-first=Taryn|editor-last=Benbow-Pfalzgraf|location=Detroit|publisher=St. James Press}}
* {{cite book|first=Julia L.|last=Foulkes|date=2002|title=Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism From Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey|location=Chapel Hill, NC|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press}}
* {{cite book|first=Christena L.|last=Schlundt|chapter=Shawn, Ted|title=International Encyclopedia of Dance|volume=5|editor-first=Selma J.|editor-last=Cohen|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1998}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Ted Shawn |sopt=t}}
* {{IMDb name|0790084|Ted Shawn}}
* [https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadID=01150 John Willis Collection of Ted Shawn] at the [[Harry Ransom Center]]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.stowitts.org/ted_shawn_bio.htm|title=Shawn the Dancer|website=The Stowitts Museum & Library|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719153025/http://www.stowitts.org/ted_shawn_bio.htm|archive-date=2011-07-19}}
* [http://archives.nypl.org/dan/19807 Ted Shawn papers], Jerome Robbins Dance Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]].
* [http://archives.nypl.org/dan/23066#descriptive_identity Ted Shawn papers, Additions], Jerome Robbins Dance Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]].
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyaqnZt4DwEC|title=Chaque petit mouvement: à propos de François Delsarte|issn=1761-1695|first=Ted|last=Shawn|publisher=Editions Complexe|date=2005|isbn=280480030X}}
* [http://www.thereaccessionoftedshawn.com/ The Reaccession of Ted Shawn] danced by Adam Weinert

=== Media ===
;Archive footage
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ted-shawns-men-dancers/finale-from-the-new-world/ Ted Shawn's Men Dancers performing in ''Finale from The New World'' in 1936 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival]
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ted-shawn/nobody-knows-the-trouble-ive-seen/ Ted Shawn performing ''Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen'' from Four Dances Based on American Folk Music in 1938 at Jacob's Pillow]
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ted-shawns-men-dancers/kinetic-molpai/ Ted Shawn's Men Dancers performing Kinetic Molpai in 1937 at Jacob's Pillow]
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/jacobs-pillows-men-dancers/ted-shawn-centennial-tribute/ Jacob's Pillow Men Dancers rehearsing Kinetic Molpai with Barton Mumaw in 1992 at Jacob's Pillow]
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ted-shawns-men-dancers/sixth-prelude-well-tempered-clavicord/ Ted Shawn's Men Dancers performing in ''Sixth Prelude from The Well Tempered Clavichord'' in 1933 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival]
* [https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/ted-shawn/o-brother-sun-sister-moon/ Barton Mumaw performing Ted Shawn's ''O Brother Sun and Sister Moon (A Study of St. Francis)'' in 1981 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival]
;Photographs
* [http://www.jwcollinge.com/nudes.htm Photograph of Ted Shawn by James Walter Collinge] (10th picture in gallery)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shawn, Ted}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:American modern dancers]]
[[Category:Martha Graham]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:University of Denver alumni]]
[[Category:American choreographers]]
[[Category:American male dancers]]
[[Category:Artists from Kansas City, Missouri]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ dancers]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Missouri]]
[[Category:20th-century American dancers]]