ANNA SOKOLOW Choreography and Dance Studies a Series of Books Edited by Robert P
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ANNA SOKOLOW Choreography and Dance Studies A series of books edited by Robert P. Cohan, C.B.E. Volume 1 The Life and Times of Ellen von Frankenberg Karen Bell-Kanner Volume 2 Dooplé The Eternal Law of African Dance Alphonse Tiérou Volume 3 Elements of Performance A Guide for Performers in Dance, Theatre and Opera Pauline Koner Volume 4 Upward Panic The Autobiography of Eva Palmer-Sikelianos Edited by John P. Anton Volume 5 Modern Dance in Germany and the United States Crosscurrents and Influences Isa Partsch-Bergsohn Volume 6 Antonio de Triana and the Spanish Dance A Personal Recollection Rita Vega de Triana Volume 7 The Dance of Death Kurt Jooss and the Weimar Years Suzanne K. Walther Volume 8 Dance Words Compiled by Valerie Preston-Dunlop Volume 9 East Meets West in Dance: Voices in the Cross-Cultural Dialogue Edited by Ruth Solomon and John Solomon Please see the back of this book for other titles in the Choreography and Dance Studies series ANNA SOKOLOW THE REBELLIOUS SPIRIT Larry Warren ROUTLEDG Routledge E Taylor & Francis Group NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright © 1998 OPA (Overseas Publishers Association) Amsterdam B.V. Published in Routledge Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any infor mation storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the pub lisher. Published by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Warren, Larry Anna Sokolow: the rebellious spirit. - 2nd ed. - (Choreography and dance studies; v. 14) 1. Sokolow, Anna 2. Choreographers - Biography I. Title 792.8’2’092 ISBN 90-5702-184-6 Cover photo: Anna Sokolow. Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent. For my wife, Anne, who has always been there with me CONTENTS Introduction to the Series ix List of Plates xi An Appreciation by Jerome Robbins xiii Preface xv Acknowledgments xix 1 Bread and Roses 1 2 Neighborhood Playhouse Kid 11 3 Dance as a Weapon 23 4 Radical Theater/Radical Dance 31 5 Anna in the Promised Land: Russia 39 6 Landmarks 47 7 Mexico 63 8 Finding a Fuller Expression 75 9 The Ups and Downs of Broadway 83 10 The Actors Studio 89 11 The Early Fifties 95 vii viii Contents 12 Anna in the Promised Land: Israel 103 13 Building a Repertoire 111 14 Working the Media 123 15 The Juilliard Connection 133 16 A New Era 139 17 Lyric Theatre (Israel) 147 18 Other Ventures 155 19 The Spirit of Rebellion 163 20 Theater Danced and Danced Theater 177 21 The Seventies 187 22 Resurgence 197 23 PS 207 Appendixes Acrostical Sonnet 212 Four Memories, a Poem, and a Critical Analysis 213 Testimonials 222 Honors, Awards, and Grants 234 Professional Associations 236 Chronology of Premieres of Sokolow Choreography 239 Film and Video Recordings 312 Labanotatation Scores 324 Notes 325 Bibliography 343 Index 351 INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES Choreography and Dance Studies is a book series of special interest to dancers, dance teachers and choreographers. Focusing on dance composition, its techniques and training, the series will also cover the relationship of choreography to other com ponents of dance performance such as music, lighting and the training of dancers. In addition, Choreography and Dance Studies will seek to publish new works and provide translations of works not previously published in English, as well as to publish reprints of currently unavailable books of outstanding value to the dance community. Robert P. Cohan ix LIST OF PLATES Following page xx Anna Sokolow, 1958 Between pages 46 and 47 Sarah Sokolow, Samuel Sokolow, circa 1903 Anna, Sarah, and Rose Sokolow, circa 1922 Anna Sokolow, 1926 Gertie, Anna, and Rose Sokolow, circa 1925 Anna Sokolow, Elsa Pohl and unknown dancer as Beauty, Reason and Folly at the Emanuel Sisterhood, 1922 Anna Sokolow, 1927 Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow and others in “Hymn to the Virgin” section of Primitive Mysteries, 1931 Flyer for International Labor Defense program, December 15,1935 Florence Schneider, Celia Dembroe, Marie Marchowsky, Rose Levy, and Eleanor Lazurus, the Dance Unit, Anti-War Trilogy, 1934 Anna Sokolow with Alex North, Triuna Island, Lake George, 1939 Ignacio (“Nacho”) Aguirre, 1939 Anna Sokolow, pen and ink drawing by Ignacio Aguirre, New York, 1944 Anna Sokolow, “The beast is in the garden ...” section of The Exile, 1939 Paloma Azul class, Mexico City, 1940 Raquel Gutierrez, Rosa Reyna, and Anna Sokolow in Paloma Azul class, Mexico City, 1940 Anna Sokolow, in unkown choreography of the late 1940s Anna Sokolow in Kaddish, 1945 Johnny White, 1952 Anna Sokolow, Margalit Oved, Inbal class, Tel Aviv, circa 1955 Jane Lowe and Richard Caceres, Juilliard Dance Ensemble, “Largo Desolato” from Lyric Suite, 1972 Anna Sokolow Dance Company, “Desire” section from Rooms, 1966 Netherlands Dance Theater, Rooms rehearsal, Amsterdam, 1967 Jeff Duncan, “Panic” section from Rooms, 1967 xi xii List of Plates Between pages 146 and 147 Anna Sokolow at the airport, circa 1961 Beatrice Seckler, Sandra Pine, Jeff Duncan, and Alvin Ailey, Anna Sokolow Dance Company, Poem, 1956 Jürgen Otte, Netherlands Dance Theater, Dreams, Amsterdam, 1966 Ofra Ben Zvi, Avraham Montzour, Gideon Avrahami, Yinon Ne’eman, Liora Hachmi, Rina Shaham, Johanna Peled, and Avraham Tzuri, Lyric Theatre, Tel Aviv, Odes, 1964 Rex Bickmore, The Joffrey Ballet, Opus ‘65,1966 Ballet Rambert, Opus ‘65 Chester Wolenski, Julie Arenal, Jack Moore, Linda Tarnay, and Jac Venza on Par Rockaway set, 1965 Clyde Morgan, David Krohn, Trina Parks, John Parks, Ze’eva Cohen, and Martha Clarke, Anna Sokolow Dance Company, And the Disciples Departed, 1967 Anna Sokolow conducting rehearsal at Clark Center, New York City, circa 1967 Raúl Flores Canelo, Ballet Independiente, Deserts, 1968 David Krohn, Kathy Posin, Ray Cook, and Ze’eva Cohen, Anna Sokolow Dance Company, Deserts, 1967 Rex Bickmore, Lyric Theatre, Act Without Words, 1970 Cynthia Morales and Michael Simon, Juilliard Dance Ensemble, “Two Lovers” from Magritte, Magritte, 1980 Randall Faxon, Laura Glenn, Victor Vargas, Ko Yukihiro, Contemporary Dance System, Moods, 1975 Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Ellis Island, 1976 Ze’eva Cohen, “Escape” section from Rooms, 1980 Gregory Dejean and Rodney McGuire, Juilliard Dance Ensemble, “La Noche de los Mayas,” from Así es la Vida en Mexico, 1979 Lorry May, Jim May, The Evolution of Tiger Rag, Players’ Project Jim May in Ballade, circa 1986 John Passafiume, Stuart Smith, Lorry May, Jim May, and Susan Thomasson, Players’ Project, Steps of Silence, 1986 Anna conducts rehearsal of Limón Company at Clark Center, New York City, 1974 Anna Sokolow, 1986 AN APPRECIATION Whenever I think of Anna, I have an immediate clear picture in my head. I see her standing in space. Even if there is a crowd around her there is something separate, apart, whole and attractively arresting about her presence. She stands simply, her hands folded in front of her. She is composed, relaxed, or rather, ready. Her body exudes its uprightness, her spine straight, her head sitting proudly on a beautiful neck, poised, erect, calm, attentive. Most of all, I can see her wide, wonderful, observant eyes looking out, taking in, waiting, noting, see ing everything but not judging. She radiates warmth, strength, directness, inter est, trust. And I think how like her work all of that is. The body of her work is about the human experience. It unfolds with composure, strength, intuitiveness, and compassion. The spine of her work is un compromising; the great intelligence of her work is infused with dignity, pride, deep humanity — it is about what she sees, through her choreography with ten derness and strength. What a gift she is, and what a gift she gives us. Jerome Robbins xiii PREFACE I once looked up Anna Sokolow in a few reference books and found that she was born in three different years and that her parents were from Poland except when they were from Russia. Her great work Rooms, I read, was premiered on Broad way in 1954, but I attended that premiere in 1955 and had saved the program. The year she first went to Mexico City varies almost as often as the government rank of the man who invited Anna and her company to dance there. And that was just the beginning. Everyone who knows Anna Sokolow knows their own Anna, and in the nearly one hundred interviews I conducted for this book I seldom heard a signifi cant incident described the same way twice. Even if several tellers of the tale had been present when the incident occurred, it made little difference. In the process of writing this book I have often been reminded of the key message of Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon: An important happening may be perceived differ ently by each person who is there. Ultimately, we must draw our own conclusions after listening to the many sides. I have given considerable effort to creating chronological narrative but the difficult yet delightful challenge of following Anna's trail has led me to feel that strict adherence to that format would be a futile attempt to domesticate a life that has defied convention and a career that has been largely nomadic. This book is, therefore, an episodic assessment of the life and work of Anna Sokolow. For many decades Anna has been split three ways — between Mexico, where she is known as the “founder of Mexican modern dance"; Israel, where she founded the first profes sional modern dance company; and New York, where her contributions have been numerous.