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Creator
Humphrey-Weidman Company
Call number
*MGZEB 21-0031
Physical description
1.08 linear feet (3 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Humphrey-Weidman photographs, *MGZEB 21-0031. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
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The Humphrey-Weidman Company was founded by the choreographers, dancers, and teachers Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. The Humphrey-Weidman photographs contain prints of performances by both the company and the founders, as well as images of dancers and other individuals affiliated with Humphrey and Weidman.

Biographical/historical information

Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) and Charles Weidman (1901-1975) were choreographers, dancers, and teachers. They met in the 1920s at the Denishawn School, when Humphrey was Weidman's dance teacher. Both dancers toured internationally with the Denishawn company before forming their own school and the Humphrey-Weidman Company in New York City in 1928. The company performed such works as Chorale Prelude, Day on Earth, Flickers, Life of a Bee, Inquest, Opus 51, The Shakers, and With My Red Fires throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The Humphrey-Weidman Company disbanded in 1945, after Humphrey retired from dancing due to arthritis.

Humphrey went on to work as artistic director for the José Limón Dance Company, and began teaching at the Juilliard School in 1951. She also wrote a book on choreography entitled, The Art of Making Dances, which she completed just prior to her death in New York City in 1958.

After the dissolution of the Humphrey-Weidman Company, Weidman went on to choreograph Fables of Our Time in 1947. He formed the Expression of Two Arts Dance Theatre with the sculptor, Mikhail Santaro, in 1960, which was later renamed The Charles Weidman School of Modern Dance, Inc., and then the Charles Weidman Foundation. Weidman died in 1975, but the foundation remains operational today.

Scope and arrangement

The Humphrey-Weidman photographs date from the 1900s to 1950s, and contain prints of the Humphrey-Weidman Company, the company's performances, individuals affiliated with the company, and personal photographs of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. There is a small selection of unlabeled and unidentified images, and the rest of the collection is arranged into photographs of Performances and photographs of People.

The photographs of Performances are arranged alphabetically by performance name and contains images of performances by the Humphrey-Weidman Company, as well as some dance productions Weidman worked on after the dissolution of the company, including Fables For Our Time. The Humphrey Weidman performances include Chorale Preludes, Flickers, Inquest, Life of the Bee, Opus 51, Shakers, Theatre Piece, To the Dance, and Red Fists. Also of note is an image from a 1923 Denishawn production of Siamese Ballet featuring Lenore Scheffer, Ted Shawn, Charles Weidman, and George Steares.

The photographs of People are arranged alphabetically by name, and includes images of individuals affiliated with the Humphrey-Weidman Company, as well as a large selection of photographs of both Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Others depicted include Pauline Lawrence, José Limón, Edith Orcutt, Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, and Virginia Tanner.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Source of acquisition is unknown.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember in 2021.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor