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Abstract
Ruth St. Denis (1879–1968) had one of the first and longest careers as a professional modern dancer. At age 62, she embarked on a “comeback” that lasted nearly three decades, appearing on stage and screen in the dances that had made her an international star earlier in her career. This essay examines the relationship between her well-known “Orientalism,” her feminism, her spirituality, and her perspective on aging and ageism. In particular, it brings into relief her innovative efforts to redefine dance as a feminist project at the intersection of aging and modern dance history. St. Denis converted “oriental tradition” into a feminist dance praxis, thus, staking a claim for the aging dancer under the banner of feminist politics.
Notes
1. St. Denis, in Terry Citation1969, 158.
2. St. Denis Citation1925, 2.
3. St. Denis Citation1939, 273.
4. Ibid., 273.
5. “Religion: The Sport of God,” Time Magazine, 31 December 1934.
6. “Ruth St. Denis to Appear,” New York Times, 11 July 1941, 13.
7. Quoted in Terry Citation1969, 163.
8. Terry Citation1969, 196.
9. Terry called this phase of St. Denis’ career a “comeback” (1969, 163).
10. “Speaking of Pictures … Dancers Leave Funny Ones Behind,” Life Magazine, 1 August 1938, 2–3. Complete article and images available online at Google Books.
11. The Dance Archives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York formed the basis of the dance collection at the New York Public Library of Performing Arts.
12. Martin Citation1940, 27.
13. Kain Citation1940a, 19. A similar, though decidedly more negative, article by the same writer (“Dancer Says Lazy Women Deserve to Lose Out”) ran in The Atlanta Constitution (1940b, 38). In this version, Kain quotes St. Denis who blames married women for their husbands' infidelities: “It's a woman's fault when the children begin to regard her with faint contempt, or her husband begins to cast side glances at a slim, attractive stenographer, or when the boyfriend shows signs of cooling off. Usually she brings those things on herself.” And by that, St. Denis means that women forget to watch their “calories and counts.”
14. In the film, The Dancing Prophet (Penney and Marks Citation1999).
15. Martin Citation1941b, 8.
16. Martin Citation1941a, 16.
17. Ibid.
18. Martin Citation1941b, 8.
19. Martin Citation1941c, 28.
20. Ibid., 28.
21. “Will Dance for Charity,” Washington Post, 12 April 1906, A1.
22. Sobol Citation1943, 9.
23. St. Denis Citation1943.
24. “Virtuosos,” Time Magazine, 3 February 1947, 45.
25. Herein rests another parallel between Baribault and Shawn. In 1913, Shawn had concocted a similar plan to accidently run into his idol at a party.
26. Interview, Phillip Baribault with Suzanne Shelton Buckley, 11 July Citation1975 (Suzanne Shelton Buckley Collection). Baribault goes on to explain that he and St. Denis shared a risqué sense of humor. They also bonded over the fact that they both had prematurely white hair. St. Denis’ came naturally when she was 23. Baribault, however, was bitten by a black widow spider in 1935 and lost all his hair. He spent thousands of dollars trying to restore it, but only white hair grew back.
27. Jowitt Citation1988, 126.
28. Before and following St. Denis’ 1950 return to Carnegie Hall, Baribault filmed her in several other dances at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York, according to Shawn (Letter to John Dougherty, John Dougherty Collection, 10 July Citation1966). Among these films are the only surviving recordings of some of her works, including Tillers of the Soil, a duet that she first performed with Shawn in 1916 for a Denishawn performance at the open-air Greek Theater at the University of California, Berkeley.
29. Baribault also filmed St. Denis's live performances, including her revival at Carnegie Hall on 29 September 1950. Carnegie Hall management forbade Baribault from filming inside the theater so he took over a box in the mezzanine where he could clandestinely film the performance, using the fastest film available at the time, which was available only to the military. In the extant film, St. Denis appears as a blur of light, with a halo effect around her body.
30. In 1950, Baribault filmed St. Denis in A Day at Jacob's Pillow (1950), a montage of clips of performers and audiences at Jacob's Pillow, including a photo shoot with St. Denis and clips of her lounging in the grass, playing with a kitten. This was an extemporaneous film, preparing for St. Denis’ second biggest “comeback.”
31. Time Magazine, 24 July 24, 38.
32. Letter, Ted Shawn to Ruth St. Denis, 25 July 1950 (Ted Shawn Papers).
33. Martin Citation1950a, 26.
34. Martin Citation1950b, 86. During this time, St. Denis also appeared with Shawn in programs at the American Museum of Natural History organized by Hazel Lockwood Muller. On 8 February 1951, they re-created their Carnegie Hall reunion program at the museum's “Dance Reunion in New York” (Flyer, Ruth St. Denis Papers, Box 33).
35. In Shelton [1981] 1990, 261–2.
36. Ballet of Light program (Gerard Willem Van Loon Papers).
37. “A Visit with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn” (St. Denis Citation1955). On 30 September 1955, St. Denis was a featured guest on NBC-TV's “Home” show, for what must have been her largest audience ever. Following an interview, she presented her White Nautch, which the show's host Arlene Francis explained was the first time a dance appeared in color on network television. (On Ruth St. Denis (Motion Picture, 1955), Dance Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts).
38. “High Priestess Returns,” Time Magazine, 30 April 1945, 70.
39. Letter, Ted Shawn to Ruth St. Denis, 8 February 1958 (Ted Shawn Papers).
40. According to an interview with Karoun Tootikian, St. Denis did little teaching after 1945. In Escobar Citation1988, Questionnaire 2.
41. Karoun Tootikian was one exception. Tootikian appeared in films and stage performances with St. Denis between 1945–65. She also oversaw St. Denis’ studio in Los Angeles and attempted to preserve St. Denis’ legacy by performing her dances, often with her blessing. However, Tootikian fell out of St. Denis’ good graces several times over their relationship. An undated memorandum in the Ruth St. Denis Papers at UCLA (“History of Karoun Tootikian to the Ruth St. Denis Studio”) charged Tootikian with interfering with business dealings and accused her of being “artistically incompetent to represent the career of Ruth St. Denis in any manner” (Ruth St. Denis Papers, Box 88).
42. “Balanced Government,” press release from Ruth St. Denis, 3 March 1966 (John Dougherty Collection, Box 9, Folder 13).
43. Ibid.
44. “Speech on Balanced Government made by Ruth St. Denis,” 20 January 1966 (John Dougherty Collection, Box 9, Folder 13).
45. Ibid.
46. Simon Citation2009.
47. Eddy [1875] 1906, 508.
48. LaMothe Citation1998.
49. Ibid., 763.
50. Kristeva Citation1986, 174.
51. LaMothe Citation1998, 756.
52. Hickman Citation1954, 6.
53. St. Denis [1925] 1997, 175.
54. Ibid., 34.
55. Shelton [1981] 1990, 253.
56. Letter, Ted Shawn to William Skipper, 8 March 1967 (William Skipper Papers).