#modern choreography

[class-m-planet]

a sneak peek of our performance tomorrow. Love my partners⚡️

[soundsofmaria]

[intothebeautifulnew]

Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers.  mid-1930's.  Ted Shawn, a former marriage and dance partner of choreographer Ruth St. Denis, eventually broke away and formed his own troupe, the Company of Male Dancers.  His goal was to celebrate the male form & the male's right to dance, and the company performed until the end of the 30s.  The troupe also advertised its athletic strength in an attempt to remove any notions that dance is effeminate. Some sources assert that Shawn was gay and in a relationship with Barton Mumaw, a former Denishawn Dancer, and later with his male business manager, and that his troupe was a kind of liberation and celebration of his sexuality.  Shawn apparently went to some lengths to keep the relationships private, though.  In any case, the troupe went a good ways toward legitimizing male dance on the American stage.  (On the blog, click the picture edge to see additional photo.)