- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"Approximately 12,016 items in 1038 folders"}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"*MGZMC-Res. 32", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"19674", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"ca. 1914-1959", "type"=>"inclusive", "certainty"=>"approximate", "normal"=>"1914/1959"}
- date_inclusive_start
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1914
- date_inclusive_end
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1959
- keydate
-
1914
- unittitle
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{"value"=>"Ruth St. Denis letters"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts <span class=\"subarea\">Dance Collection</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, N.Y. 10023-7498</span></div>"}
- abstract
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{"value"=>"Series include personal and professional correspondence. The personal correspondence consists of four sections: letters from Ruth St. Denis to Ted Shawn, letters from Ted Shawn to Ruth St. Denis, family correspondence, and correspondence to Ruth St. Denis."}
- prefercite
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{"value"=>"Ruth St. Denis letters, *MGZMC-Res. 32. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Ruth Dennis was born in Newark, New Jersey, on January 20, 1879. <div class=\"note\"> <p>Ruth St. Denis claimed she was born in 1878; Ted Shawn claimed it was 1880; her brother claimed it was 1879. Recent evidence presented by biographer Suzanne Shelton supports the 1879 date.</p></div> She spent her childhood on a farm in Somerville, New Jersey, with her parents, Ruth Emma Hull Dennis, a physician, and Thomas L. Dennis, an inventor. She had a brother Buzz and a half-brother Tom Dennis.</p> <p>As a child, Ruth practiced exercises from the Delsarte system of expression which she learned from her mother. She also took dance classes in New Jersey and traveled to New York City to study ballet with Mme. Bonfanti. These classes did not last very long as, according to “Miss Ruth,” Mme. Bonfanti tossed her out of class after only three lessons. Thus, when Ruthie Dennis embarked upon her professional career, it was with little formal training. She began with minor roles in musical plays, appearing as a “skirt-dancer,” acrobat, high-kicker, model and actress. She even participated in a six-day bicycle race at Madison Square Garden.</p> <p>In 1904, while on a tour with David Belasco's <div class=\"note\"> <p>It was Belasco who first called her “Saint” Dennis because of her “prim deportment.”</p></div> production of <span class=\"emph\">Madame DuBarry,</span>Ruth St. Denis was inspired by a cigarette poster depicting the Egyptian goddess Isis to turn her career toward the exploration of dance as a serious art form. She began working on “Egypta,” an elaborate Egyptian ballet, but was unable to meet the estimated cost of production. Instead she created “Radha,” a Hindu ballet, which was presented on a program with two of her solos, “The Incense” and “The Cobras,” at the Hudson Theater in New York City on March 22, 1906. The concert was a tremendous success and prompted Miss Ruth to embark on a tour abroad. She spent three years dancing throughout Europe to wide acclaim. She added “The Nautch” and “The Yogi” to her program and in Germany was offered a five-year contract. Miss Ruth chose not to accept the offer and returned to the United States in 1909 to produce the long awaited “Egypta.” For the next few years Ruth St. Deniss toured throughout the United States and danced in Vaudeville.</p> <p>In 1914 she met Ted Shawn and hired him as her partner. They danced their first concert together on April 13, 1914, and were married on August 13th of the same year. Together they founded the Denishawn schools and company, which were to thrive until 1932. Their schools, which offered a well-rounded dance education program, were established across the country. Courses included Oriental and primitive dance, ballet, ethnic and creative dance, and the Delsarte System of Expression. Performing a repertory of spiritual, ethnic character, and music visualization dances, the Denishawn Company toured extensively in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Orient. Among the notable works were “Spirit of the Sea,” “Egyptian Suite,” “Soaring,” “Sonata Pathetique,” “The Peacock,” “White Jade,” “Liebestraum,” “Salome,” “East Indian Nautch,” “Street Nautch,” and “Dance of the Red and Gold Saree.”</p> <p>At the close of their 1931-1932 season, St. Denis and Shawn decided to pursue separate careers, and the era of Denishawn came to a close. It had greatly influenced the art of dance in America for seventeen years and produced such dancers as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman, who went on to develop their own dance styles and shape the course for modern dance in America.</p> <p>After the separation, Ted Shawn went on to found a company of men dancers and the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Ruth St. Denis continued to run Denishawn House in New York City for a short time but was forced to close for financial reasons. She then retired from theatrical dancing and spent the next few years staging religious dances for churches and her Society of Spiritual Arts. In 1935 Miss Ruth stated that the purpose of this organization was to “bring together like-minded people into an environment where ideas have opportunity to be expressed along lines of new horizons of spiritual and aesthetic value.”</p> <p>In 1941 Ruth St. Denis re-created the same concert that had launched her career in 1906 for a performance at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. It was very successful and reintroduced Miss Ruth to theatrical dancing. She performed her “historical” dances in New York and on tour for the next few seasons.</p> <p>During World War II Ruth St. Denis moved to California, where she lived with her brother, and contributed to the war effort by working at the Douglas Aircraft Factory and participating in benefits for allied causes. She established herself in a new studio on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, which served as her headquarters for the rest of her life.</p> <p>During the late 1940s and 1950s, Miss Ruth devoted most of her time to The Ruth St. Denis Foundation, “an organization designed to assemble, catalogue, and record material pertinent to her career, and to the establishment of a church in which dance and the related arts will be dedicated to religious service.” <div class=\"note\"> <p>Walter Terry, “St. Denis, Ruth,” <span class=\"emph\">The Dance Encyclopedia,</span>ed. by Anatole Chujoy (New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1949), p. 416.</p></div> She also performed frequently during the summers at Jacob's Pillow as a solo artist and with Ted Shawn.</p> <p>In 1964 Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary at Jacob's Pillow and performed together for the last time. They danced “Siddhas of the Upper Air,” a duet choreographed for the occasion to a poem by Miss Ruth with music by Jess Meeker. For the next four years Ruth St. Denis worked with William Skipper on a film illustrating her life through dance and continued to make occasional television appearances.</p> <p>She died of a stroke on July 21, 1968. In addition to many articles, Ruth St. Denis published <span class=\"emph\">An Unfinished Life,</span>her autobiography (1939), and <span class=\"emph\">Lotus Light,</span>a book of poems (1932).</p>"}
- scopecontent
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{"value"=>"<p>The Ruth St. Denis Letters comprise the personal and professional correspondence of Miss St. Denis from the years 1914 to 1958. The letters document Miss Ruth's long association with her husband and partner Ted Shawn; the Denishawn era; Miss Ruth's career after Denishawn; and Miss Ruth's relationships with members of her family and life-long friends.</p> <p>The collection was received as a gift from Ruth St. Denis along with The Ruth St. Denis Papers [*MGZMD 6], which consist of Miss Ruth's journal and writings; choreographic notes; music scores; information pertaining to the Ruth St. Denis Foundation and the Society of Spiritual Acts; financial records; and other miscellaneous material. Portions of the Ted Shawn Collection [*MGZMC-Res. 31] are closely related to the St. Denis Letters and Papers, and the three should be used in conjunction with one another.</p> <p>The Personal Correspondence of the Ruth St. Denis Letters is divided into three sections: Correspondence between Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn; Family Correspondence; and Correspondence to Ruth St. Denis. The St. Denis-Shawn correspondence consists of approximately 1,553 items, which date from 1914 to 1958. They include intimate letters from Miss Ruth and Ted Shawn's early years of marriage; letters from the time of their separation in the early 1930s; and letters from later years that reveal the great love, respect, and admiration they had for each other.</p> <p>The Family Correspondence contains approximately 1,244 items from the years 1916 to 1957. Correspondents include Miss Ruth's mother, Emma Hull Dennis; her mother's nurse, Mary Calkins; her father, Thomas L. Dennis; her brother and his wife, Buzz and Emily Dennis; her half-brother Tom Dennis; and her nephews, Donald and George Dennis.</p> <p>The correspondence to Ruth St. Denis constitutes the bulk of this collection, with approximately 5,826 items dating from 1917 to 1958. Contained in this section are letters from some of Ruth St. Denis' close friends, including <span class=\"persname\">Charles Allais</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Fred Beckman</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Ada De Lachau</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Ruth Harwood</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Anne Sherman Hoyt</span>, <span class=\"persname\">June Hamilton Rhodes</span>, and <span class=\"persname\">Pearl Wheeler</span>. There are also letters from such important dance figures as <span class=\"persname\">Jack Cole</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Martha Graham</span>, <span class=\"persname\">Doris Humphrey</span>, <span class=\"persname\">La Meri</span>, and <span class=\"persname\">Charles Weidman</span>.</p> <p>All letters in the Personal Correspondence section are arranged alphabetically within each year by the correspondent's last name. In the event that Ruth St. Denis is the correspondent, the letter is filed under the last name of the person who received the letter. For example,</p> <p>“Ruth St. Denis/Ada DeLachau” indicates a letter written to Ada DeLachau from Ruth St. Denis. Letters that were written to Ted Shawn or other people (but not from Ruth St. Denis) are listed at the end of each year.</p> <p>The Professional Correspondence, spanning the years 1918-1960, consists of approximately 3,393 items arranged chronologically. Included in this section are letters regarding arrangements for concerts and lecture dates; Denishawn school business; publication efforts; filmmaking efforts; and general finances.</p> <ul> <li> <span class=\"abbr\">TS</span> <span class=\"expan\">Ted Shawn</span></li> <li> <span class=\"abbr\">misc</span> <span class=\"expan\">Miscellaneous</span></li> <li> <span class=\"abbr\">n.d.</span> <span class=\"expan\">No date</span></li></ul> <p>When noting the correspondents, the name of the individual or individuals writing the letter is listed first followed by a slash (/). Following the slash is the name of the individual or individuals to whom the letter is written.</p> <p>Example: Ruth St. Denis/TS indicates a letter written by Ruth St. Denis to Ted Shawn.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Ruth St. Denis letters are arranged in two series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19674#c346232'>Personal Correspondence</a></div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19674#c349582'>Professional Correspondence</a></div>\n</li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Ruth St. Denis, <date>1966</date></p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968", "type"=>"persname"}
- note
-
{"value"=>"<p>Series include personal and professional correspondence. The personal correspondence consists of four sections: letters from Ruth St. Denis to Ted Shawn, letters from Ted Shawn to Ruth St. Denis, family correspondence, and correspondence to Ruth St. Denis</p>", "encodinganalog"=>"500"}
{"value"=>"<p>Correspondents include notable people from the dance world, such as Jack Cole, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, La Meri, and Charles Weidman; and personal friends of Ruth St. Denis, including Charles Allais, Fred Beckman, Ada DeLachau, Anne Sherman Hoyt, June Hamilton Rhodes, and Pearl Wheeler</p>", "encodinganalog"=>"500"}
{"value"=>"<p>The professional correspondence includes letters regarding arrangements for concerts and lectures, Denishawn School business, publication efforts, film-making efforts, and general finances</p>", "encodinganalog"=>"500"}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Wendy Laakso Hammond; machine readable finding aid created by APEX data services and revised by Chatham Ewing.</p>"}
- date_start
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1914
- date_end
-
1959