Eleanor Campbell King (1906–1991) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, and educator. She was a member of the original Humphrey-Weidman company, where she was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

in the pioneering

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

movement in New York City, then moving on to choreography and founding her own dance company in

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. She was a

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at the

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, where she taught from 1952 to 1971, before retiring to Santa Fe, New Mexico to start a new course of study into classical

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and Korean dance. She choreographed over 120 dance works, and wrote extensively for a variety of dance publications. In 1948, she was named Woman of the Year in Seattle, and in 1986 was listed as a "Santa Fe Living Treasure", also receiving the New Mexico Governor's Artist Award. In 2000, her archive was recognized by the

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's "

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" program.

Biography

King was born on February 8, 1906 in Middletown, Pennsylvania to George Ilgenfritz and Emma Kate Campbell King. She was the third of six children: Marion, George, Eleanor, Lucile, Robert and John. She attended Clare Tree Major School of the Theatre in 1925, and Theatre Guild School in 1926, studying dance with

Doris Humphrey Doris Batcheller Humphrey (October 17, 1895 – December 29, 1958) was an American dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Along with her contemporaries Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, Humphrey was one of the second gen ...

and

Charles Weidman Charles Weidman (July 22, 1901 – July 15, 1975) was a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of modern dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance f ...

. Humphrey and Weidman had been involved with the pioneering Denishawn School in

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, and then split off to form their own Humphrey-Weidman dance company. King began taking classes from them, and was then invited to be a part of the new dance company. She made her 1928 debut in ''Color Harmony'', considered the first American abstract ballet. In 1930, she appeared in

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's ''Sacre du Printemps'' at the Metropolitan Opera House. She stayed with the company until 1935, when she began soloing and choreographing. In 1937 she was a co-founder of the Theater Dance Company, and her first major work, ''Icaro'', was produced in 1938. She became known for choreography based on works of literature, from

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. In 1942, she formed the Eleanor King Dance Repertory Company in

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, followed by the Eleanor King Dance Studio in 1945. In 1955, she studied

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with

Étienne Decroux Étienne Decroux (19 July 1898 in Paris, France – 12 March 1991 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France) was a French actor who studied at Jacques Copeau's École du Vieux-Colombier, where he saw the beginnings of what was to become his life's obse ...

. In the late 1950s, she began studying Japanese

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

dances. Her first performance of these was in

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in 1958. She created the Theatre of the Imagination program at the

, where she taught for much of her career, from 1952 to 1971. She was an assistant professor from 1952 to 1967, associate professor from 1967 to 1971, and was awarded professor emerita status in 1971. In her retirement, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at age 70 began studying classic Korean dance. In the 1980s revivals of her work were staged by Annabelle Gamson in 1987 and 1988 in New York. The solos were praised in ''

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'' for their "eloquence and for Miss King's careful shaping of ideas and feelings".

Death

King was a member of the

Congress on Research in Dance Congress on Research in Dance was a professional organization for dance historians in the United States and worldwide that was founded in 1964 and then merged in 2017 with the Society of Dance History Scholars to form the Dance Studies Association ...

, and director of Mino Nicolas' American Dance Repertory Theater, a position she held until her death on February 27, 1991, aged 85, in Englewood, New Jersey.

Writing

* ''Transformations: The Humphrey-Weidman Era'' (Memoir), Dance Horizons (Brooklyn, NY), 1978 * King, Eleanor. ''The Way of Japanese Dance: an Illustrated Journal'', 1982 (unpublished) * (started) ''Transformations II: To The West''

Eleanor King Trust

The Eleanor King Trust was founded by Andrea Mantell-Seidel, dancer/educator, who was King's primary protégé for 18 years. The Trust was formed to preserve and promote the work of Eleanor King. Trustees include: * Dr. Joann Kealiinohomoku, Executive Director, Cross-Cultural Dance Resources *

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, Dean of

New World School of the Arts New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...

, Dance Division * Nicole Plett, Dance Critic, ''

Awards

Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor. Biography Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston, Mas ...

'' Romeo and Juliet'' Essay Contest, gold medal, 1923 * Bennington School of the Dance, fellowship, 1938 * "Woman of the Year", Seattle, 1948 * Fulbright research grants, 1967, 1976, 1977 * American Association of Dance Companies, honoree, 1975 * Vogelstein Foundation grant, 1976 * Santa Fe Dance Umbrella, 1980 * Santa Fe Living Treasure, 1986 * New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, 1987 *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Fellowship, 1988

References

Sources

*''International Dictionary of Modern Dance'', St. James Press (Detroit, Michigan), 1998 *Jowitt, Deborah,''

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'', March 13, 1991 (obituary) *Cass, Joan, ''Dancing through History,'' Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1993 * * *''

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'', 2007 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Eleanor 1906 births 1991 deaths American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) American choreographers Dance in New York City Modern dancers People from Haddonfield, New Jersey People from Middletown, Pennsylvania Artists from Seattle Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Educators from Seattle 20th-century American dancers Educators from Pennsylvania American women educators Educators from New Jersey 20th-century American women