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New Dance
Doris Humphrey began studying dance and movement in 1916 with the Denishawn Company. In 1918 sh joined with Charles Weidman to form the Humphrey Wiedman Company. Soon she was working out on her choreography not only innovative ideas of body movement, but also her philiosophy of the individual relationship to society.
In 1935, at Bennington, she premiered New Dance. Highly ambitious, New Dance was a work of acclamation, a portrait of a world as she thought it should be. In it, a group of women, and another of men are gradually led to accept a unifying way of life, at ultimately to fonction harmoniously in Society.
But these are the litteral ideas behind it. It can be viewed as well as a classic celebration of pure movement.
New Dance represents a world where each person has a clear and harmonious relationship to his fellow beings. To achieve this the leaders (originally Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman) mold and unify the group in a series of stages or “themes”. The triumphant and joyous ending, Variations and Conclusion, depicts an ideal society that allows for individual expression within group unity. Performed at the American Dance Festival with Linda Tarnay and Peter Woodin in the roles of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman.
Source: Dance Works of Doris Humphrey Part 1
