Jean Erdman
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- For the 18th century French general, see Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau.
Background
She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the Punahou School and Miss Hall's School from which she graduated in 1934. She then studied dance at Sarah Lawrence College. Each summer during this time she studied under Martha Graham at the Bennington College Summer School of Dance. It was also during this time that she studied with mythologist Joseph Campbell. They were married in 1938, after she had graduated from Sarah Lawrence. After Campbell retired from Sarah Lawrence in 1972, he and Erdman settled in Honolulu, Hawaii.Career
Shortly after her marriage, Erdman joined the Martha Graham Dance Company. In 1944, she formed her own company, the Jean Erdman Dance Group.In 1949, Edrman starred in the unfinished Maya Deren film Medusa [link]. Over the course of her career, many contemporary composers (including John Cage and Alan Hovhaness) wrote dance scores for her. She also collaborated with other important American composers, including Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison.
Erdman taught at a number of colleges, finally becoming head of the modern dance division of Teachers' College, Columbia University. She founded New York University's dance program and taught there from 1966-1972.
The Coach with the Six Insides
In 1962, Erdman's award-winning musical play, The Coach with the Six Insides, opened Off-Broadway. It ran for 114 performances, closing in 1963 [link]. The play is based upon James Joyce's last novel Finnegans Wake. The title is a line from the text, found in episode II.3.359 [link]. It starred Leonard Frey and had a musical score by Teiji Ito. The play, "is a combination of dance, mime, and Joycean stream-of-consciousness language. Like Joyce's work itself it addresses the question 'what is the past, and what is its meaning?' " [link].Documentary
- [Dance and Myth - The World of Jean Erdman: Part 1. The Early Dances]
- [Dance and Myth - The World of Jean Erdman: Part 2. The Group Dances]
- [Dance and Myth - The World of Jean Erdman: Part 3. The Later Solos]
Awards
Winner:- 1972: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - Two Gentlemen of Verona [link]
- 1962-1963: Obie Award - Special Citations, Jean Erdman - The Coach with the Six Insides [link]
- Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Off-Broadway Theatre - The Coach with the Six Insides
- 1972: Tony Award for Best Choreography - Two Gentlemen of Verona [link]
References
- The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work. Edited and with an Introduction by Phil Cousineau. Forward by Stuart L. Brown, Executive Editor. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.
- Larsen, Stephen and Robin Larsen. Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2002.
External links
- [Modern Innovator Erdman Honored]
- [The Grande dame of dance]
- [Dance: A Survey of Jean Erdman Choreography Since '42] - New York Times
- [Dance: Jean Erdman's Works at the Open Eye] - New York Times
- [Sarah Lawrence College Alumni Magazine]
- [Jean Erdman] at the Internet Broadway Database
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