Hadassah: SHUVI NAFSHI (1917) (Return Oh My Soul Unto Thee)

'For thou has delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from lears, and my feet from stumbling'... ‘Even in my anguish, my faith was steadfast. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.’ Psalm 116 

Choreography: Hadassah 

Music: Cantorial 

Singer: Leible Waldman 

Costume: Hadassah, executed by: Eileen Ilolding 

Dancer: Ellen Kogan 

Reconstruction: Ellen Koyan with Donald Mckayle

HADASSAH, (1909-1992), (SHUVI NAFSHI, 1917 (Return Oh My Soul Unto Thee)) was a pioneer of Israeli and Indian (Hindu) dancing in America. A choreographer of rare taste and artistic integrity, Hadassah was also a faculty member, board member and chairwoman of the ethnic division at the New Dance Group Studio. In 1938, she made her professional debut with Japanese dancer Kenji Hinoke and in 1945, she made her solo debut in a program shared with Josephine Premice and Pearl Primus. Hadassah and Company debuted at the YM/YWHA on June 4, 1950. During the 1950s and 1960s, Hadassah performed many times at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. Her best-known work was Shuvi Hafshi (Return My Soul) (1947), which was based on a verse in Psalm 116. On November 18, 1992, Hadassah died of cancer in Manhattan at the age of 83.

Jane Dudley: TIME IS MONEY (1934) and HARMONICA BREAKDOWN (1934)

TIME IS MONEY (1934) 

Choreography: Jane Dudley 

Music: Sonny Terry

Dancer: Tom Warfield 

Speaker: Margaret Klenek

(This dance was made possible in part by a Space Grant from the New Dance Group Arts Center) 

HARMONICA BREAKDOWN (1934) 

Choreography: Jane Dudley 

Music: Sonny Terry 

Dancer: Sheron Wray* 

*(courtesy of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre)

JANE DUDLEY, (1912-2001), (Harmonica Breakdown, 1934; Time Is Money, 1934) was educated at the Walden School and the University of North Carolina. Her dance training was with Hanya Holm at the Mary Wigman School from 1930-1935. By 1934, Jane had joined the New Dance Group, which performed in union halls and factories; her aim was to make dance accessible to a non-dance audience, and to offer material with a political orientation. Jane soon became president of the Group; was director from 1950-56; and remained president until 1966. Jane Dudley was a member of the Martha Graham Company from 1937- 44, assisting Graham at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School and teaching at her studio. She collaborated with choreographer/dancers Doris Humphrey, José Limón and composer Louis Horst. Her later work was characterized by a focus on social issues, such as the 1946 ballet The Lonely Ones, rather than the overtly political. The red scare of the early postwar years affected the wider artistic community, and Dudley’s former husband, filmmaker Leo Hurwitz, was blacklisted. In the 1960s, she taught at Bennington College in Vermont, and was artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company 1968-69. After 1970, Jane based herself in London – a city she made home for the rest of her life. As a co-founder of the Director of Contemporary Dance Studies at the London Contemporary Dance School, her influence on British modern dance is immense. She also created work for Extemporary, Spiral and Phoenix Dance Companies during this period. Harmonica Breakdown was revived by London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1988 to celebrate 50 years of Dudley’s dance-making. In Britain, Harmonica Breakdown has been performed by artists including Siobhan Davies and Kate Coyne, but has been most associated with Sheron Wray, whom Jane made custodian of the work following her death.

Irving Burton: SIGN DANCE FOR SARAH (1979)

Choreographed and danced by: Irving Burton 

Music: Donald Ashwander

IRVING BURTON, (1923-2019), (Sign Dance for Sarah, 1979) was a dancer, choreographer, teacher and actor. Irving studied with Martha Graham, and performed with the New Dance Group, Charles Weidman, Pearl Lang, his niece Rosalind Newman, Claire Porter / PORTABLES and Susan Thomasson Works. He taught Dance at The New Dance Group, Bennington College and The Irving Burton School of Dance. He performed on Broadway, off Broadway and was a 25 year featured member of The Paper Bag Players, a nationally and internationally known pioneers of children’s theatre, performing with them throughout the United States and internationally. Irving was seen on numerous television shows as well as in movies. He was Dance Audition Winner, 92nd St Y 1953 and won various fellowships for his productions. He was a beloved guest artist at the Center for Modern Dance Education(CMDE) where he taught, choreographed , performed and inspired dancers of all ages and abilities including people with disabilities. He continued to create andperform into his 90’s. Irving Burton passed away in March, 2019 at the age of 95.

Donald McKayle: Suite from RAINBOW ‘ROUND MY SHOULDER (1959)

Choreography: Donald McKayle 

Music: Traditional, arranged by Robert DeCormier and Milton Okun 

Costumes: Domingo A. Rodriguez 

Dancers: Solo I: Cecil Slaughter

Solo 2: C. Norris Young

Sweetheart, Mother, Wife: Sheri Williams*

(*courtesy Dayton Contemporary Dance Company)

For more information on Donald McKayle works, acquisition rights, and legacy please contact:

DONALD McKAYLE, (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018), (Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, 1959), began his career with a scholarship at the New Dance Group and went on to choreograph, direct, write, teach and perform in dance, theater, film, recordings and television, receiving multiple awards in all areas, including Capezio Award 1963, and Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Achievement Award in 1992. He has been named by the Dance Heritage Coalition “One of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100.” His choreographic master- works, considered modern dance classics, GAMES, RAINBOW ‘ROUND MY SHOULDER, DISTRICT STORYVILLE, and SONGS OF THE DISINHERITED are performed around the world. He has choreographed over a hundred works for dance companies in the United States, Canada, Israel, Europe, and South America. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Cleveland Ballet, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, the Dayton Con-temporary Dance Company, and the Lula Washington Dance Theatre serve as repositories for his works. He is Artistic Mentor for the José Limón Dance Company. Ten retrospectives have honored his choreography. In April 2005, Donald McKayle was honored at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and presented with a medal as a Master of African American Choreography. Donald McKayle has created over 250 concert works and Television, Film and theater works throughout the world. He held the position of Professor of Dance at University of California, Irvine for 36 years. UPROOTED: PERO REPLANTADO in 2015 is testament of his ever-increasing innovation in the art of dance. In 2016 he created BITTERSWEET FAREWELL to the memory of the many friends he has lost and, in 2017, with his latest work CROSSING THE RUBICON: Passing the Point of No Return, McKayle digs deeply in the suffering and tragedy of millions of people around the world who must migrate from their homes. Professor McKayle served at UCI as Professor/Choreographer/Teacher and Mentor to his most beloved students until his death on April 6, 2018.

www.donaldmckayle.com

www.theatreventuresintl.com

More performances to come.