Dian Blomquist collection on Louise Roberts and Klarna Pinska

1937-1988

Klarna Pinska (1904-1994) was born in Ukraine and relocated with her family to San Francisco via Canada in 1919. Soon after, Pinska began her dance studies at the Denishawn School in both Los Angeles and New York City, later becoming the School's head teacher in the 1930s. She went on to choreograph her own dances including The Synchoric and Rondo, as well as assisting Ruth St. Denis, Harry Losee, and Lenore Shaffer. In addition to teaching, she also was a student of Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Louis Horst, and studied the Graham Method under Jane Dudley and Sophie Maslow.

Pinska returned to California in 1941, where she began teaching dance therapy to both children and adults. She worked with doctors at the University of California Medical School to explore how dance could help patients recover. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she continued to work as a dance therapist and taught at the Walter Beggerstaff Studio from 1960 to 1964. In the 1970s, she was the assistant to Ruth St. Denis for three years, and she taught and performed Denishawn techniques. She also choreographed and directed The Spirit of Denishawn in 1977. Pinska continued to teach and choreograph until she died in San Francisco in 1994.

Louise Roberts (1912-1997) was a dancer, producer, and administrator best known for her sixteen-year tenure as director of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan. Born in Boston and a graduate of Hunter College, she was instrumental in shaping the careers of many modern dance artists, including Kei Takei, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Bill T. Jones. Her contributions were recognized with a Bessie Award in 1986 and a Capezio Award in 1991. Roberts died in Manhattan at the age of eighty-five in 1997.

Dian Blomquist was a close personal friend of Pinska and Roberts.