Title

Mutual Inspiration: Choreographers and Composers at the Bennington School of the Dance

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Journal / Book Title

Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings

Abstract

Visual artists, designers, composers, photographers, poets, and choreographers were vital participants in the Bennington School of the Dance, which ran on the Bennington College campus in Bennington, Vermont, from 1934–1942 with one year, 1939, spent at Mills College in California. Collaborations were an integral component of the school, occurring between faculty and staff members as well as between students and faculty/staff. Of particular importance were the collaborations between musicians (including Louis Horst, Gregory Tucker, Norman Lloyd, and Alex North) and choreographers (including Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman). These collaborations influenced the direction of American modern dance, which was establishing itself with new breath as a form that could express American life and traditions without necessarily drawing upon European composers to do so.

DOI

10.1017/cor.2012.14

Published Citation

McPherson, E. (2012). Mutual Inspiration: Choreographers and Composers at the Bennington School of the Dance. Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings, 2012, 108-117. doi:10.1017/cor.2012.14

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