James Waring
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James Waring (November 1, 1922 - December 2, 1975) was a
dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
,
choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...
,
costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
,
theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
, and
visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
, based in New York City from 1949 until his death in 1975. He was a prolific choreographer and teacher. He has been called "one of the most influential figures in the New York
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
in the late fifties and early sixties", Vaughan, David. "James Waring: A Rememberence". ''Performing Arts Journal'' v.5 n.2 (1981
abstract
/ref> "one of dance's great eccentrics", "a focal point for dance experimentation before the existence of the
Judson Dance Theater Judson Dance Theater was a collective of dancers, composers, and visual artists who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. The artists involved were avant garde experimentalists ...
", and "the quintessential
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
choreographer in the late 1950s and 1960s".Chin (2010) Waring's collage style of building dance works influenced the development of the avant-garde
Happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
s which were staged in the late 1950s. According to Leslie Satin, although Waring was a seminal influence on modern and post-modern dance in New York City, his position in both the mainstream and the avant-garde was somewhat tentative, primarily because of the fluidity of Waring's style and the variety of his interests, which sometimes cut against the grain of both worlds. His use of "low" material from the popular arts also worked against his reputation in both contexts.


Life and career

Waring's training began in 1939 in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
and
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
at the age of 17. He was exposed to numerous kinds of dancing, including
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...
at the
San Francisco Ballet School San Francisco Ballet School was founded in 1933 as part of the San Francisco Operatic and Ballet School when Gaetano Merola, the founder of the San Francisco Opera, perceived a need for an institution where dancers could be trained to perform in ...
with Harold Christensen and his brother, the
Graham technique Graham technique is a modern dance movement style and pedagogy created by American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham (1894–1991). Graham technique has been called the "cornerstone" of American modern dance, and has been taught worldwi ...
with Gertrude Schurr, and the
interpretive dance Interpretive dance is a family of modern dance styles that began around 1900 with Isadora Duncan. It used classical concert music but marked a departure from traditional concert dance. It seeks to translate human emotions, conditions, situation ...
of Raoul Pausé.McDonagh (1971), p. 216Satin (2003), p.55 Later, after serving in the Army in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he studied in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
at the
School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...
, and with
Anna Halprin Anna Halprin (born Hannah Dorothy Schuman; July 13, 1920 – May 24, 2021) was an American choreographer and dancer. She helped redefine dance in postwar America and pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to hers ...
,
Louis Horst Louis Horst (born January 12, 1884, Kansas City, Missouri – died January 23, 1964, New York City) was a composer, and pianist. He helped to define the principles of modern dance choreographic technique, most notably the matching of choreography t ...
,
Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...
, and Anatole Vilzak, and also took some classes with
Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
. Waring was very attracted to ballet and intrigued by its complex history and sensibility, and dance historian David Vaughan suggests that Waring's extensive knowledge of dance history played an important role in his work; Waring's dances became more balletic over time. In 1946, Waring presented the first of the over 135 original works he would create over the course of his career, "Luther Burbank in Santa Rosa", at the Halprin-Lathrop Studio Theater. Other works he showed during this period were based on or influenced by Japanese Noh drama, the work of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
and primitive art, as well as the ballets of
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
and the dancing of
Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...
, taking from these sources what interested him and mixing them together. The style of his dances varied according to the time and his interests, and could be formal and abstract or theatrical and romantic, influenced not only by the choreography of the moment, but also by the theatricality of the past:
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
and the
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...
, ''
commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' and the
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
, and both
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...
and
silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
all played a part in Waring's work.In fact, Waring said "The only dance by
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 ...
I ever really liked was ''The Life of the Bee'', and I suspect the reason that I liked it was that it reminded me a little of
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...
." Satin (2003), p.51
The question then arises if Waring's choreographic collages were simply a ''
pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...
'' of their original sources, or if he had indeed created something new and different from the raw material they provided; was his work "
camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
", poetic, or postmodern? Even people who liked Waring's work – including dancers he had taught and influenced – disagreed with each other about whether his pieces were a "mishmash" or not. Waring was among a group of choreographers and dancers in New York who, in 1951, created Dance Associates, a co-operative which included Aileen Passloff,
Tanaquil Le Clercq Tanaquil Le Clercq ( ; October 2, 1929 – December 31, 2000) was an American ballet dancer, born in Paris, France, who became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet at the age of nineteen. Her dancing career ended abruptly when she ...
from the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...
, Marian Sarach, Paul Taylor, David Vaughn, dance writer Edward Denby, actor Alix Rubin and others. Although Dance Associates garnered a significant amount of work, its annual concerts at the Amato Opera House were not critically successful, and did not draw a significant audience, even though they were free. In 1954, Waring began presenting works with his own company in annual concerts, continuing to do so until 1969. He also choreographed for other companies and performers, including Manhattan Festival Ballet – which he was instrumental in founding, the Netherlands Dance Theater, the
Pennsylvania Ballet The Philadelphia Ballet, formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until rebranding in 2021, is Philadelphia's largest ballet company. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic favorites, as well as new works, including the Ph ...
, as well as Toby Armour's New England Dinosaur, the companies of Raymond Johnson, Ze'eva Cohen, and
Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in t ...
, and the 5 x 2 Company of Bruce Becker and Jane Kosminsky. He disbanded his company in 1975, shortly before his death, but, in 1974, his male dancers formed Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a travesty dance ensemble in which the men perform as
ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
s. Notable among Waring's works were ''Phrases'' (1955), ''Dances before the Wall'' (1958), ''Dromenon'' (1961), ''Variations on a Landscape'', ''Sinfonia semplice'', and ''Amoretti''.Satin (2003), pp.67-72 The critic Don McDonagh called Waring's ''At the Café Fleurette'' (1968), which was performed in the style of the turn of the 20th century, a "small masterpiece", and pointed out that Waring was fond of absurd titles such as ''Pumpernickle and Circumstance'' and ''Tomato Exposé''. Other titles included ''Burlesca'' (1953), ''Little Kootch Piece'' (1955), and ''The Cobra Ballet'' (1970). Waring's ''Imperceptible Elongation No. 1'', which he referred to as a "
Happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
", was five seconds long, but his ''At the Hallelujah Gardens'' (1963) was a spectacle which included "a white balloon tree, live geese, and potatoes, and intermittent dance sequences and events: a piece that 'overran its bounds in all directions'." It was set to any music that was "big, classical, and perversely overwhelming." Numerous dancers who went on to prominence danced in Waring's company, including Toby Armour, Joan Baker, Richard Colton,
Arlene Rothlein Arlene Rothlein was a postmodern dancer/choreographer and actress. Life and career Rothlein was born in 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Jewish parents Alex and Fanny Rothlein. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and was one of ...
, and Ruth Sobotka. Later dancers who would go on to found the
Judson Dance Theater Judson Dance Theater was a collective of dancers, composers, and visual artists who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. The artists involved were avant garde experimentalists ...
and create postmodern dance studied with Waring or danced in his company, including
Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer/choreographer and actress. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movem ...
, David Gordon, Sally Gross,
Deborah Hay Deborah Hay (born 1941 in Brooklyn, New York) is a choreographer, dancer, dance theorist, and author working in the field of experimental postmodern dance. She is one of the original founders of the Judson Dance Theater. Hay's signature slow and ...
,
Fred Herko Frederick Charles "Freddie" Herko (February 23, 1936 – October 27, 1964) was an American artist, musician, actor, dancer, choreographer and teacher. Early life Born in New York City, Herko's father was a diner manager and his mother was a ...
, Gretchen MacLane, Michael Mao, Meredith Monk,
Yvonne Rainer Yvonne Rainer (born November 24, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker, whose work in these disciplines is regarded as challenging and experimental.
, and
Valda Setterfield __NOTOC__ Valda Setterfield (born September 17, 1934) is an American postmodern dancer and actress born in England. She is noted for her work as a soloist with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and for her performances in works by her husband, ...
.Satin (2003), p.52 Aside from the dancers who passed through his pieces and classes in New York City, others were influenced by Waring during the 10 years he spent teaching at Indian Hill, which was a summer arts camp in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is ...
. In 1959 and 1960, Waring organized performances at the
Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...
– in whose building he held his composition class – in which his students presented their works; these were a precursor to the
Judson Church The Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street, near Gould Plaza, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhatta ...
performances, Banes, Sally (1980) ''Terpsichore in Sneakers: Post-Modern Dance'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p.8 although Waring, who was 10 years older than the Judson dancers, was never a "member". Still, several of his pieces were presented at Judson concerts. Waring was supportive of the Judson Church dance movement, although he was critical of the church as a venue – seeing it more as a place for experimentation rather than a formal performance space – and critical also of some of the work presented there which, according to Yvonne Rainer, he found "dry and boring."Satin (2003), p.62 Waring's own aesthetic was more inclined to be romantic, rather than formally objective, as much of the work by the Judson dancers was. Experimental composers that Waring worked with included John Herbert McDowell – who himself choreographed a piece in honor of Waring at one of the Judson Dance Theater concerts –
Philip Corner Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist. Biography After The High School of Music & Ar ...
,
Malcolm Goldstein Malcolm Goldstein (born March 27, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York) is an Americans, American-Canadians, Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. ...
, Hy Gubernick,
Terry Jennings Terry Jennings (19 July 1940 – 11 December 1981) was an American minimalist composer and performer. Early life in California Terry Jennings was born in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, in 1940. Coming from a background in jazz, he pla ...
,
Richard Maxfield Richard Vance Maxfield (February 2, 1927 – June 27, 1969) was a composer of instrumental, electro-acoustic, and electronic music. Born in Seattle, Maxfield studied at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley (with Roger Sessions ...
, and
Marga Richter Florence Marga Richter (October 21, 1926 – June 25, 2020) was an American composer of classical music, and pianist. Biography Marga Richter was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, the daughter of the American soprano Inez Chandler (1885–1956) and ...
.Satin (2003), p.59 He also collaborated with visual artists who created sets or costumes for his pieces – although he often did the costumes himself. In fact he designed and made many costumes for his colleagues as well, including
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...
,
Remy Charlip Remy or Rémy may refer to: Places * Remy River, a tributary of rivière du Gouffre in Saint-Urbain, Quebec, Canada * Rémy, a French commune in Pas-de-Calais * Remy, Oise, northern France * Remy, Oklahoma, USA * 14683 Remy, an asteroid * Po ...
, and Aileen Passloff. Waring worked at various times with
Julian Beck Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher i ...
,
George Brecht George Brecht (August 27, 1926 – December 5, 2008), born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer, as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson ...
,
Red Grooms Red Grooms (born Charles Rogers Grooms on June 7, 1937) is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop art, pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life. Grooms was given the nickname "Red" by Dominic ...
,
Al Hansen Alfred Earl "Al" Hansen (5 October 1927 – 20 June 1995) was an American artist. He was a member of Fluxus, a movement that originated on an artists' collective around George Maciunas. He was the father of Andy Warhol protégé Bibbe Hans ...
,
Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. His iconic image LOVE was first created in 1964 in the form of a card which he sent to several friends and acq ...
,
Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...
,
Larry Poons Lawrence M. "Larry" Poons (born October 1, 1937) is an American abstract painter. Poons was born in Tokyo, Japan, and studied from 1955 to 1957 at the New England Conservatory of Music, with the intent of becoming a professional musician. After ...
,
Robert Watts Robert Watts (born 23 May 1938)Adam Pirani, ''Robert Watts: Secrets of "The Temple of Doom"'', Starlog #94, April 1985, pp 23–26,62. is a British retired film producer who is best known for his involvement with the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana ...
, Robert Whitman, and
John Wulp John Wulp (May 31, 1928 – November 27, 2018) was an American scenic designer, producer, director, and artist. Theatrical career Wulp's first play, ''The Saintliness of Margery Kempe'', won a Rockefeller Grant and was produced at the Poets' ...
. Some of these artists were involved in the creation of "
Happenings A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
", which were free-form inter-disciplinary multi-media events, each one unique, and Waring encouraged this new form; he aided Allen Kaprow in putting on one of his first ones.Satin (2003), p.60 Waring also organized events such as the ''Pocket Follies'' benefit in 1963 at the Pocket Theater, which featured many dancers associated with Waring as well as George Brecht,
Jill Johnston Jill Johnston (May 17, 1929 – September 18, 2010) was a British-born American feminist author and cultural critic who wrote '' Lesbian Nation'' in 1973 and was a longtime writer for ''The Village Voice''. She was also a leader of the lesbian ...
, and
Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
, and two months of weekly "Events and Entertainments" at the same venue in 1964. Waring was a writer as well. He wrote poetry, plays, essays and dance criticism, and was one of the founders in 1961 of the
New York Poets Theatre The New York Poets Theatre was an influential theatre company active in New York, New York in the 1960s. It was founded in October 1961 by James Waring, LeRoi Jones, Alan Marlowe, Fred Herko and Diane di Prima. It staged only one-act plays by po ...
, also known as the American Theater for Poets; his plays were also presented there and at the Judson Poets Theater. Waring also directed plays by other writers at the
Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...
and at the Judson. As a theatre director,
Al Carmines Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines, Jr. (July 25, 1936 – August 9, 2005) was a key figure in the expansion of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s. Carmines was born in Hampton, Virginia. Although his musical talent appeared early, he d ...
thought he was
... quisite ... om was found for the small gesture he loved so much.Dancer
Valda Setterfield __NOTOC__ Valda Setterfield (born September 17, 1934) is an American postmodern dancer and actress born in England. She is noted for her work as a soloist with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and for her performances in works by her husband, ...
spoke of Waring's quarter-inch (0.635 cm)
plié Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde," it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can also ...
s. Satin (2003), p.68
The poetry of hewords found its perfect counterpart in Jimmy's direction and clarification. The characters posed on a sea of words, and they were serene or compassionate as the text calls for.
Waring worked with
Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...
,
Maria Irene Fornes Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
,
Diane Di Prima Diane di Prima (August 6, 1934October 25, 2020) was an American poet, known for her association with the Beat movement. She was also an artist, prose writer, and teacher. Her magnum opus is widely considered to be ''Loba'', a collection of poem ...
, Robert Duncan,
Paul Goodman Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decen ...
, Alan Marlowe and
Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch ( ; 27 February 1925 – 6 July 2002) was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77. He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry. This was a loose group of poets includ ...
, among other poets and writers.Satin (2003), p.57 During this period, he and other dancers worked on the literary newsletter ''The Floating Bear'',Satin (2003), p.58 edited by di Prima and LeRoi Jones, and Waring's "laughter poem for ray johnson" (1960) was published in
LaMonte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kno ...
's ''An Anthology''. Waring makes a brief appearance in
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
's 1963 film ''Haircut No. 1'', shot in a huge warehouse with a single spotlight, for which of film were exposed, six rolls, each showing the haircutting from a different angle.


Death

Waring died from a malignant
tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
in Mount Sinai Hospital in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
on December 2, 1975, at the age of 53. At the time he was on the faculty of the
University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...
. Fittingly, his memorial service was held at the
Judson Memorial Church The Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street, near Gould Plaza, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It ...
.McDonagh, Don (December 4, 1975
"James Waring, Choreographer Of Modern Dance, Dead at 53"
''
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''


Style and process

Waring did not want his dancers to act or emote, as this was conventionally understood. Although he favored "florid and dramatic gestures" in his pieces, the emotional or dramatic value was to come from clear and precise performance of the choreography, which included gestures, vocalizations and facial expressions. The performer was not to expand these aspects of the dance from their own internal interpretations and analysis. On the other hand, according to David Vaughan,
Valda Setterfield __NOTOC__ Valda Setterfield (born September 17, 1934) is an American postmodern dancer and actress born in England. She is noted for her work as a soloist with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and for her performances in works by her husband, ...
and others, Waring trusted his performers to put across the movement as clearly as possible and with conviction, thus making the material real to the audience. In ''Terpsichore in Sneakers'',
Sally Banes Sally Rachel Banes (October 9, 1950 – June 14, 2020) was a notable dance historian, writer, and critic. Life, education, and performance career Born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., Banes studied dance, and ...
describes Waring's work:
aring'sdances sometimes looked like
erce Erce may refer to: * Ercé, a commune in southwestern France *Æcerbot, an Anglo-Saxon metrical charm meant to magically heal dormant fields *Erce Kardeşler Erce Kardeşler (born 14 March 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for ...
Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C * Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player *Abe Cunningham, American drummer * Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...
's – with their decentralized use of space, collage formats, disconnected structures but balletic carriage – but his method was based on intuition rather than chance. Waring abandoned narrative and dramatic structure in the mid-1950s, creating atmospheres (often nostalgic) referring lovingly and archly to variety dancing and ballet, and mixing musical as well as dancing styles (including ordinary and idiosyncratic gestures). Waring was a gentle humorist, sometimes parodying other dance genres, often close to
camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
.
Choreographer David Gordon, who first danced professionally in Waring's company, describes Waring's process:
Jimmy
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was an education for me, as he was for most people who came in contact with him. ... etaught me about art and developed my taste ... Jimmy's approach was ... whimsical. His way of working led you – or led me at any rate – to accept any idea as valid simply because I'd thought of it. I thought of it and I kept it, and what came next was what I thought of next. I don't believe Jimmy meant to absolve me of all responsibility for my work, but I got the impression that wild intuitive guessing was all I had to do to make art. I never threw anything away. I remember distinctly Jimmy's saying, "If you don't like it now, you can get to like it. If you can't get to like it, who says you have to like it?" The point of it was to demystify art and free the artist from the limitations of his own taste. There was a great sense of liberation that stemmed from
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
's championing of this philosophy, and Jimmy, among others, was establishing alternatives to the kind of teaching that had dominated modern-dance composition up until then.
In her ''Work 1961–73'', Yvonne Rainer wrote about Waring:
Jimmy had an amazing gift which – because I was put off by the mixture of camp and balleticism in his work – I didn't appreciate until much later. His company was always full of misfits – they were too short or too fat or too uncoordinated or too mannered or too inexperienced by any other standards. He had this gift of choosing people who 'couldn't do too much' in conventional terms but who – under his subtle directorial manipulations – revealed spectacular stage personalities. He could pull the silk purse out of the sow's ear. At its worst, dancing with Jimmy could feel like a sow imitating a swan, but I got a lot out of it. He used what I had and demanded more than I thought I had, and his instincts were usually right. In some ways he fathomed my potential more accurately than I could at the time. Although I have often disagreed with him on matters of taste and style, I can't dispute that he is something of a genius.
Leslie Satin writes:
In making dance, in teaching technique and composition, in writing and conversation, James Waring asked many questions. Some were shared by the dancers of the Judson Dance Theater in their choreographic explorations; others were integral to his singular sensibility. Some questions he had asked for many years before the advent of the Judson; others were formulated in the years that followed, as he continued to make dances and observe the art of his colleagues. Always, his resolution called forth an exchange of ideas, and a belief in the reciprocity of the one who makes art and the one who actively returns the favor. In his words: "Do we make dancing spectacular ourselves, in the way that we watch? Does our pleasure depend on our generosity? Is pleasure a meeting of generosities? Who's counting the moments?Satin (2003), p.75, quoting Waring, James (1972) "'Who's Counting"' Or 'Over the Rainbow'" ''
Ballet Review ''Ballet Review'' was a print publication which covered all aspects of dance. It was published by the non-profit Dance Research Foundation, Inc. While its name says "ballet," it also covered modern dance, contemporary dance, other choreography, an ...
'' 4. no.2


References

Informational notes Citations Bibliography *Chin, Daryl (2010
"Mistaken Identities: Part II"
on ''MAP: Media, Archive, Performance'' *McDonagh, Don (1971) ''The Rise and Fall and Rise of Modern Dance''. New York: New American Library. pp. 215–230. *Satin, Leslie (2003
"James Waring and the Judson Dance Theater: Influences, Intersections, and Divergences"
in Banes, Sally (ed.) ''Reinventing Dance in the 1960s: Everything Was Possible'' University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 51–80 {{DEFAULTSORT:Waring, James American male dancers American choreographers American theatre directors 1922 births 1975 deaths Modern dancers 20th-century American dancers