The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Inspired by
Hellenic Ideals
Isadora Duncan dancing at
the
Parthenon, 1904. – Jerome
Robbins
Dance Division,
NYPL
Postcard of the Greek
Theatre,
ca. 1917. – Billy RoseTheatre
Collection,
NYPL
The Lewisohn Stadium in
New
York City. – Billy Rose Theatre
Collection, NYPL
Lillah McCarthy as Iphigenia
in Tauris, ca. 1915. – Billy Rose
Theatre Collection,
NYPL
At the turn of the last century, “Greek revivalism” inspired
many arts and designs, including architecture, fashion, and dance. All three
were focused on aspects of balance and symmetry, as found in Hellenic statuary
and vase painting. People attempted to live within these Hellenic ideals
in their daily lives, and to promote them in performance. Isadora Duncan
and her family were among those attached to the Greek revivalism movement
popular in the San Francisco area. Images of her dancing reveal her continuing
interest in balance and the poses from Hellenic art. Photographs of students
at the various Duncan schools in Europe reveal the commitment to Greek revivalism.
Rare examples of textiles created by Raymond Duncan illustrate his attachment
to classical and archaic Hellenic culture.
Theatres that reproduced the settings of the Athenian festivals were built
on both coasts of the United States. The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California,
and the Lewisohn Stadium in New York City were erected as public monuments
on university campuses. Many of the performers associated with those theatres
were also inspired by Hellenic ideals.
The exhibit focuses on touring companies that presented Greek plays and
Hellenic-inspired dance performances in these arenas. Rival productions by
Lillah McCarthy, with director Granville Barker, and Margaret Anglin, with
composer/conductor Walter Damrosch, drew huge audiences for the tragedies
in 1915 – 1921.
Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn were concert dancers whose students Doris Humphrey,
Martha Graham and Charles Weidman, developed American modern dance. Their
joint company Denishawn staged pageants and dance works inspired by Hellenic
and other ancient deities and myths. Shawn’s later all-male company
presented similar themes in more abstract choreography and design.
Ted Shawn's Mystère
Dionysiaques,
ca. 1920.
Denishawn Collection, – Jerome
Robbins
Dance Division, NYPL
Playwright George Cram
Cook
in Delphi. – Billy RoseTheatre
Collection, NYPL
