Virginia Tanner (April 25, 1915 – May 20, 1979) was an American dance instructor and founder of the University of Utah Children's Dance Theatre. Born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, she began her formal dance training at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. She studied 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 ...

in New York City before returning to Salt Lake City in the early 1940s to establish her school for creative dance for children.

Biography

Virginia Tanner began teaching children at the McCune School of Music and Art in

in 1941, where she was director of the dance program. She went on to establish her own school within the

's continuing education program, which survives today under the direction of Mary Ann Lee as an auxiliary of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah.Tanner Dance website
Retrieved 2015-09-21. In 1943, she formed the Modern Dance Theatre, a company that she co-directed with local dancer Barry Lynn. In 1949, she formed the Children's Dance Theatre. In 1953, the Children's Dance Theatre performed at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Theatre in

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, the American Dance Festival in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's summer camp in upstate New York to critical acclaim. Following the 1953 performances, the Children's Dance Theatre performed throughout the United States, including the

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, in 1975. Tanner and her students were featured in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' and ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Point ...

'' and on national television. In 1960, Tanner was instrumental in gaining a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to bring great choreographers to Salt Lake City to set work on dancers at the University of Utah. In 1966, through her efforts, a larger grant from the Foundation was awarded to the University to establish the Utah Repertory Dance Theatre. Tanner taught extensively throughout the United States through the

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 ...

’ Artist-in-the-School program. She was a contributing author to the ''Self-Expression and Conduct – The Humanities'' book series, published by

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...

in the 1970s. Celebrated dancer and choreographer

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

said of Tanner in 1978, "Salt Lake City is the most blessed city in the world to have the world's master children's dance teacher. There isn’t any place, and I include New York, London, Paris, Moscow, that has anyone who can touch her genius for teaching children the exciting purity of the dancing arts." John Kerr, NEA Director of Education, called Tanner the nation's "outstanding children's dance teacher," noting that "she combines the techniques and training of the professional dancer with a marvelous and rare understanding of how to teach and inspire children."Virginia Tanner biography at Utah History to Go
Retrieved 2015-09-21. Tanner is the recipient of numerous awards, including an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and a Plaudit award for inspired teaching from the National Dance Association. Virginia Tanner died on May 20, 1979. The creative dance program she founded in 1949 continues to thrive and expand, sharing the methods of dance instruction that she pioneered.

Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program

The Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program, also known simply as Tanner Dance, was founded and directed by Virginia Tanner until her death in 1979. It has since continued to grow as an auxiliary of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah under the direction of Mary Ann Lee. In addition to the Children's Dance Theatre, its constituent programs now include a Fine Arts Preschool, an Arts in Education program providing weekly dance classes at elementary schools along the

Wasatch Front The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the nort ...

, classes for dancers with disabilities, and professional development programs that train educators in the integration of arts in the classroom. In 2014, Tanner Dance relocated to new headquarters in the 110,000-square-foot Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex on the University of Utah campus. The program now serves about 5,000 students every week, including 4,000 students in site-based programs at elementary schools and another 1,000 dance students at the new complex.

University of Utah Children's Dance Theatre

Children's Dance Theatre (CDT), the performing arm of Tanner Dance, was founded by Virginia Tanner in 1949 and remains an integral component of the University of Utah's Creative Dance Program. It is the second-oldest performing arts organization in Utah.Tanner Dance website - Children's Dance Theatre Program
Retrieved 2015-09-21. CDT's first formal concert, held in May 1949 at

Kingsbury Hall Kingsbury Hall is a center for the performing arts located on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah. History Kingsbury Hall was designed by Edward O. Anderson and Lorenzo Snow Young and built in 1930. It was named after Joseph ...

, was attended by

, whose reaction was effusive: "Your children have left an indelible impression with me of true creative dance... Your children offer a wonderful proof of the power of the young artist, guided wisely, untarnished by dogma or routine, unstereotyped, and lovely. This source of fresh ideas in dance–art is a treasure house to which you have found the key." Humphrey worked to help secure invitations for CDT to perform in the eastern US; CDT's subsequent performances at

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for a Summer dance festival. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive archives a ...

in Massachusetts, the

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

in Connecticut, and the 1962 Seattle World's Fair received national media coverage and wide acclaim. Today the company of 280 young dancers, ages 8 through 18, performs for more than 30,000 Utahns annually. Every spring, CDT showcases an original work at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City with matinees for school-age children and special populations. Major performances of Children's Dance Theatre: *1952 ''Christmas in the Air'' *1953

*1960 Jacob's Pillow; American Theatre Conference, New York City *1960 Tour to

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

School of Dance,

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

*1961 ''Cranberry Corners'' *1961 ''My Favorite Things'' *1962

Seattle World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States.Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

*1964 ''Scrooge: The Stingiest Man in the World'' *1964 ''Snow Queen'' *1964 ''Ceremony of Carols'' *1968 Tour to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

*1970

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

Conference on Children, Washington, D.C. *1975

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, Washington, D.C. *1978 Dance and the Child Conference,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, Canada *1978 ''Stonecutter'' *1978 Tribute to Virginia Tanner, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City *1980 ''Rainbow Goblins'', Capitol Theatre *1981 ''Pierrot'' *1981–83 ''Children's Dance Theatre in Concert'', Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City *1984 ''Desert Landscapes'', Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City *1985 ''I Am Magic'', Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City *1985 International Children's Festival, Wolf Trap Farm Park, Washington, D.C. *1986 Stanford University, Stanford, California *1986 International Children's Festival, Wolf Trap Farm Park, Washington, D.C. *1986 ''The Dancing Man'', Capitol Theatre *1987 ''The Dancing Man'', Capitol Theatre *1988 ''Anna & The Echo Catcher'', Capitol Theatre *1988 Dance and the Child International Conference,

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

*1989 40th Anniversary Concert, Capitol Theatre *1989 ''Together'' *1990 ''Anna & The Echo Catcher'', Capitol Theatre *1991 Dance and the Child International Conference, Salt Lake City *1991 ''Young She & Grandmother Tree'', Capitol Theatre *1992 ''100 Years of Dance'', American Dance Festival West, Salt Lake City *1992 ''Tales'', Capitol Theatre *1993 ''Dance & Sing'', featuring Pete Seeger, Capitol Theatre *1993 ''Shout'', Abravanel Hall, Governor's Awards in the Arts, Salt Lake City *1994 TARI International Conference and Dance Festival,

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*1994 ''Visions of Children'' featuring

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, Capitol Theatre 45th Anniversary Concert *1995 ''The Rag Coat'', Capitol Theatre *1996 ''Waking the West'', Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City *1997 Dance and the Child International Conference, Kuopio, Finland *1997 ''Salt'', Capitol Theatre *1998 ''The Joy Keeper'', Ogden Egyptian Theatre, Ogden, Utah *1998 ''The Joy Keeper'', Capitol Theatre *1998 Wales Dance Exchange, Cardiff, Wales *1999 ''... and We Began to Dance'', Salt Lake City 50th Anniversary Concert *1999 SLOC

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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Unveiling *2000 ''The Quiltmaker's Gift'', Capitol Theatre *2001 ''Crumb and the Pirates'', Capitol Theatre *2002 ''RePETE'', Capitol Theatre *2003 ''Sense Pass King'', Capitol Theatre *2004 ''The Three Questions'', Capitol Theatre *2005 ''Pockets'', Capitol Theatre *2006 ''A Blue So Blue'', Capitol Theatre *2007 ''The Dream Stealer'', Capitol Theatre *2008 ''Scientia'', Capitol Theatre *2009 ''Coming Home'', Capitol Theatre 60th Anniversary Concert *2010 ''True North'', Capitol Theatre *2011 ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'', Capitol Theatre *2012 ''The Apple-Pip Princess'', Capitol Theatre *2013 ''The Snow Queen'', Capitol Theatre *2014 ''The Three Questions 2014'', Capitol Theatre *2015 ''Crumb and the Pirates 2015'', Capitol Theatre *2016 ''Gwinna'', Capitol Theatre *2017 ''Elfwyn's Saga'', Capitol Theatre *2018 ''The Magic Lake'', Capitol Theatre *2019 ''The Dancing Man'', Capitol Theatre Notable dancers and choreographers from Children's Dance Theatre have included: Cynthia Pepper (Bay Area choreographer and filmmaker), Jacque Bell (choreographer, Alexander Technique instructor, movement instructor in the Department of Theatre at the

), Linda Smith (artistic director of Utah Repertory Dance Theatre), Lisa Warenski (philosopher, former dancer and choreographer), Lola Huth (danced with

company), Mimi Silverstein (former Repertory Dance Theatre member), Tina Misaka (former Repertory Dance Theatre member), and Chara Huckins (former Repertory Dance Theatre member).

Repertory Dance Theatre

Utah Repertory Dance Theatre, founded in 1966 with Virginia Tanner's help, is still in existence and is one of the oldest and most successful modern dance companies of its kind. Notable alumni of Repertory Dance Theatre include: Linda Smith (current artistic director), Bill Evans, Douglas Boulivar, Gregg Lizenbery, Joan Moon, Rick Rowsell, Karen Steele (danced with

Lar Lubovitch Lar Lubovitch (born April 9, 1943) is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 cou ...

after RDT), Kathleen McClintock, Kay Clark (artistic director of RDT with Linda Smith 1977–1983), Lynne Wimmer, Manzell Senters, Martin Kravitz (danced with Batsheva Dance Company after RDT), Ron Rubey, Tim Wengerd (principal dancer with Martha Graham until his death in 1986), and Joel Kirby (vocalist and film actor).Joel Kirby at IMDB
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References

External links

Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program, University of UtahSchool of Dance, University of UtahChildren's Dance Theatre, University of UtahVirginia Tanner Creative Dance Fine Arts Preschool, University of UtahUtah Repertory Dance TheatreRepertory Dance Theatre, ''Dance Magazine'', February 2006Mary Ann Lee, director of the Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program and Children's Dance Theatre in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah
at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Virginia Dance education in the United States Dance teachers American contemporary dancers University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty 1979 deaths 1915 births American female dancers Artists from Salt Lake City 20th-century American women American women academics