Dancers, Workers and Bees in the Choreography of Doris Humphrey

Doris Humphrey's deep humanistic concerns, as stated in dances such as New Dance and Passacaglia , and her dedication to the group as the most essential element of choreography might have allied her with those enthusiastic and vociferous dancers in the 1930s who were dedicated to effecting social change through movement. But although her image of a perfect society would seem to echo the visions of social equality promised by the new Soviet Union, visions which deeply influenced the work of many artists on the political left, she was not readily welcomed by the leftist contingent in dance. In part this was the result of Humphrey's ambivalence about the creative role of the group and her understanding of the singular nature of the artistic process. In part it was the result of her interest in abstraction and her disinterest in more concrete depictions of reality. Humphrey's approach, while visionary, was not essentially political because it did not deal with the “real” world. Writing about New Dance she described an idealized world, “where each person has a clear and harmonious relationship to his fellow beings” (1). The community in New Dance was an imagined community, perfect because it was not real, perfect precisely because it was removed from the passions and imperfections of 1930s America. This article explores the role of the group in articulating Humphrey's social vision and places it alongside experiments in group choreography by leftist dancers during this period

Art · Art history · Choreography · Dance · Doris (gastropod) · Visual arts · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Theatre and Performance Studies

• Ecstasy and the Demon

  Karl Toepfer, Susan M Manning et al.•TDR/The Drama Review•1994

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