Ruth St. Denis January 20, β July 21, was an early modern dance pioneer. Her exotic, oriental-inspired dance interpretations opened new possibilities for dancers and stimulated a wave of creative experimentation in modern dance.
She and her husband, Ted Shawn , founded the influential dance school and company, Denishawn, in One of her most famous pupils was Martha Graham. Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman also studied at Denishawn. Graham, Humphrey, Weidman, and the future silent film star Louise Brooks all performed as dancers with the Denishawn company.
Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in New York State in , which is credited as one of the first dance departments in an American university. It has since become a cornerstone of Adelphi's Department of Performing Arts. Denis was the first American dancer to incorporate the traditions and practices of the vaudeville stage into the world of serious concert dance.
Her solo "translations" were unique combinations of dramatic mise en scene and contemporary dance steps that successfully combined theatrical and concert dance traditions. Eastern religion also heavily influenced her choreographic style. For many years, Denis taught dance at a studio in Hollywood, California, just north of the Hollywood Bowl. Her later years were largely devoted to exploring the relationship between spirituality and dance. Denis was the daughter of a strong-willed and highly educated woman.
Her mother, Ruth Emma Dennis, was a physician by training. Ruth was encouraged to study dance from an early age. Her early training included Delsarte technique, ballet lessons with the Italian ballerina Maria Bonfante, and popular social dance forms. Ruth began her professional career in New York City, in , where she worked in a dime museum and in vaudeville houses as a "skirt dancer," a female dancer whose legs were visible under her short skirt.
