Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Nature and history of dance
History of traditional dance
Native american dance essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) Maria Tallchief was considered America's first major prima ballerina, and was the first Native American to hold the rank. Maria was a member of the Osage Nation, Tallchief’s full name is Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief, but she was also known as “Betty”. Her parents were Alexander Joseph Tallchief and Ruth Porter, of Scottish-Irish descent. Tallchief had five siblings, three were from her father’s first marriage. Tallchief’s mother Ruth had dreamed about becoming a performer, but her family could not afford dance lessons or music lessons. So she decided she was going to have Maria perform, Porter did not want her daughter to suffer the same fate. Almost from birth, Maria was involved with dancing, she started her first lesson at the age of three. Maria was enrolled in summer ballet classes in Colorado Springs. In 19930, Mrs. Sabin, a ballet teacher from Tulsa, visited Fairfox looking for students and took Maria and Marjorie. …show more content…
They moved to Los Angeles because they wanted to advance the careers of her and her younger sister, Marjoie. In search of a spot with a major ballet company, Maria moved to New York City at the age of 17. Tallchief spent the next five years with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she met her legendary choreographer, George Balanchie. Balanchie co-founded what would become the New York City Ballet in 1946, Maria became the company’s first star. Maria was just five years old when she started school, she was fair too young to start dancing on pointe without injury. At age 12, Tallchief began to work with Bronislava Nijinska, a renowned choreographer who had recently opened her own studio in Los Angeles, and David Lichine, a choreographer and former
Shoemaker, Nancy. “ Native-American Women in History.” OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 9, No. 4, Native Americans (Summer, 1995), pp. 10-14. 17 Nov. 2013
Lotta Crabtree was born in New York in 1847, where she spent her first few years living, before moving to Southern California. With her parents Mary Ann Crabtree a upholsterer, furniture industry, and John Ashworth Crabtree a bookseller. Her Family was attracted by the gold rush and they moved so that they could be closer to it. Her father was the first to leave in search for gold in 1851 and Lotta and her mother moved soon after. In 1852 Lotta and her mother moved to California San Francisco for the race for gold. They weren't the richest family so they moved in with their friends that had been living there.Marry encouraged her daughter Lotta to begin dancing right away and enrolled her in dance classes at a very young age. Lotta Crabtree loved acting and performing for people while she was only a 6 year old girl. The Gold rush attracted lots of people to San francisco and that gave her a chance to perform in front of a huge audience. She danced for them and they threw nuggets and coins at her for her amazing dancing. People were throwing money at her like it was nothing and she was only 6 years old. She earned about 400 dollars per show which is an astonishing amount. Her mother collected her earnings and stored them away.This was only the beginning of Lotta Crabtree’s dancing and theater career.
Her lasting career was not given to her easily, therefore, creating an inspiring story full of hardships and success. Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to become a successful and famous dancer. In New York City, when she was trying to fulfill her dream, she was unable to find a job in the theatre department. Instead of being discouraged, she decided to make something good come from it. She choreographed her own routines, created her own costumes, and organized solo recitals for audiences to enjoy. This event led her to the biggest adventure in her life that would later impact the world. She was invited to return back to London to pursue her education in the performing arts, so that she could further improve her talents that would make up her entire career.
Sara Salkahazi was born on the 11th of May 1899 in Kassa (an area now part of Slovakia) in Austria. Sara was a Hungarian Modernist Religious sister; she became a member of the Sisters of Social Service in 1929. She helped save thousands of Jewish lives during the final months of World War 2. She did this by opening the Working Girls Homes to provide a safe place for Jews. Sara died on the 27th of December in 1944. This is the anniversary of her martyrdom.
In 1879, on a small New Jersey farm, Ruth Dennis was born. She was the daughter of Ruth Emma Dennis, an extremely independent, determined, and educated woman. Her Mother was a highly trained physician. At a very early age, St. Denis was encouraged to study dance. Her training included social dance forms and skirt dancing, lessons from Maria Bonfante, and Delsarte technique.
Anna Ramirez is a mother of two sons and is divorced. She is the youngest out of seven siblings and only her and two others are alive today. Both her parents passed away from natural diseases. Anna left home young, graduated high school early and has a degree in accounting. Her hobbies include, reading, cleaning, garden work, listening to music, smoking and drinking with friends. Music is a big part of her life, it's how she copes with the day’s issues. There was never a day that music did not play in her house. From MC Magic to Miley Cyrus, she loved it all. Anna has three tattoos, one being a cross symbolizing her divorce and the other two are her son's names. Only being 5’1, you would think she is weak but Anna is stronger than most and
Anna Sokolow was a brave young jewish woman born in Hartford, Connecticut on February 9, 1910 to Russian immigrant parents named Sara and Samuel Sokolowski. In 1912 they made the decision to move to New York to pursue better jobs to better support their young daughter. Sokolow started out training with Elsa Pohl who taught a very Isadora Duncan style dance which lead to her joining Martha Graham’s company sometime in the late 1920’s, when she would have been about twenty. According to her foundation's website she began taking choreographic lessons from Louis Hort just a year or two later, once she got adjusted to her new style of living and company life. When she started taking these classes she realized her interest in the general population
Martha Graham was born in Allegheny City, May 11th 1984. Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer who is referred to as a modern dance pioneer. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years and she had a great influence on modern dance history. In the mid 1910’s Graham began studying dance at Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, and she stayed there until 1923. At Denishawn she spent more than eight years as both a dancer and teacher/instructor. In 1926, shortly after leaving Denishawn, Graham established her own dance company which focused on teaching her techniques. Graham’s success, both through personal achievements and choreographic influence revolutionized the dance world.
In 1916 Martha arrived in Los Angeles, California to begin her training at the Denishawn School. When Martha first arrived at Denishawn she studied under Ted Shawn. Ted Shawn nor his wife Ruth St. Denis believed Martha would ever be a dancer they thought she was good enough to teach lessons at the school but they did not allow her to perform. It wasn’t until Martha stepped in for the lead dancer in a solo choreographed by Ted Shawn entitled Serenata Morisca that Martha was allowed to perform. The lead dancer had fallen ill and Ted was trying to decide which dancer would replace her for the tour, Martha stood up and said she could do it Ted replied “really Martha? You’ve never danced” Martha got up and performed the entire solo and when she
This story is all about the Tallchief and Betty Maria,two amazing women who loved to dance.Not only Dance but did ballet.This talks about where they where she was born,how they were criticized because of race,and there amazing performances.Some even called Tallchief,The Woman of Two Worlds!The people criticized her race because teasing her did not lessen her pride in being a Osage Indian.
Martha Graham, a standout amongst the most praised trend-setters of modern dance, is less known for her unique commitment to modern interpretation of Greek Myth and Greek Tragedy. Martha was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on May 11, 1894. Her father was a doctor that specialized in nervous disorders, he utilized physical development to improve or even cure this disorder, which influenced Graham as a child and brought an interest of dance at a very young age. Graham’s family decided to move to California where she pursued her studies. From the beginning her parents didn’t feel comfortable with Martha making dance her career, but after seeing Ruth Denis’s dance performance, they realized the passion she had for dance. She had tried convincing
She got to work with Ted Shawn, which was where she improved her dance techniques and also where she began dancing as a professional. Ted Shawn produced “Xochitl” which was a dance he came up with for Graham (“Martha Graham Bio”).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Tiffany Mogenson was a passionate dancer and teacher who loved her students and wanted nothing more than to help them fulfill their dreams through dance. She appears to have been a loving, kind individual who cared for each student who came into her studio. Through her studio, she wanted to help every child enjoy the love and passion for dance that she had. The Tiffany Mogenson Memorial Fund was created to carry on her legacy and the work that she started, and it continues to do just that through awarding scholarships to dance students throughout the US. Tiffany’s work and your continuation of her dream have inspired me in so many ways. Last April I was gifted with a generous scholarship from the Tiffany Mogenson Fund, which enabled me
Twyla Tharp, an American dancer and choreographer, was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Oregon. When Twyla was a child her and her parents moved to Southern California and the family opened a drive-in movie theater the Twyla worked at from the age of eight. Twyla began taking piano lessons at the age of two and dance lessons at the age of four. Twyla’s mother wanted her daughter to be accomplished in many fields so she enrolled her daughter in various arts and other classes such as French, German, and shorthand. Soon after beginning her dance lessons Twyla developed a deep interest in all the types of dance available to her. Twyla attended Pacific High School in San Bernardino, California and studied at the Vera Lynn school of Dance. After High school Twyla left home to attend Pomona College and later transferred to Bernard College in New York City where she studied art history. Twyla later found she had an intense passion in dance so she took dance classes off campus and began to study at the American Ballet Theater School where she studied with many great dancers and...
Often called the “Pioneer of Modern Dance”, Ruth St. Denis was one of the first modern dancers in American History. Ruth St. Denis along with Ted Shawn, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey formed and molded modern dance in America. As a child, she was never thought of dance being a career for her. All that changed when she went to her first recital of Genevieve Stebbins; she was astonished by the true beauty of dance. This was the breakthrough that started her career. St. Denis was the first to choreograph a piece with no music whatsoever. Throughout her long life, of 90 years, she made many contributions to the modern dance we have today.