Eleanor Campbell King (1906–1991) was an American
modern dancer,
choreographer
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
, 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 either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...
in the pioneering
modern dance
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes 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 ...
movement in New York City, then moving on to choreography and founding her own dance company in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
. She was a
professor emerita
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
, where she taught from 1952 to 1971, before retiring to
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, to start a new course of study into classical
Japanese 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
White House Millennium Council's "
Save America's Treasures" 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 and
Charles Weidman. Humphrey and Weidman had been involved with the pioneering
Denishawn School in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, 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
Leonide Massine'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
Petrarch
Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists.
Petrarch's redis ...
to
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
.
In 1942, she formed the Eleanor King Dance Repertory Company in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, followed by the Eleanor King Dance Studio in 1945. In 1955, she studied
mime
A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
with
Étienne Decroux. In the late 1950s, she began studying Japanese
Noh dances. Her first performance of these was in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1958. She created the Theatre of the Imagination program at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...
, 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
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, 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 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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, 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
Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
.
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
*
Daniel Lewis, Dean of
New World School of the Arts, Dance Division
* Nicole Plett, Dance Critic, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Archives
In 2000, King's archived collection of work was recognized by President Clinton's
White House Millennium Council, under the
Save America's Treasures project. The materials, including 60 years of manuscript material, correspondence, personal papers, drawings, photographs, slides, costumes, books, articles, and reviews are being preserved by
Cross-Cultural Dance Resources
Cross-Cultural Dance Resources (CCDR) is a non-profit dance research organization in the United States, formed in 1981 and based in Tempe, Arizona. It maintains a non-lending library devoted to the study of dance, with over 15,000 shelved items pl ...
, a non-profit dance research organization in
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831.
Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...
. In 2008, it was announced that the collection was going to be moved to the
Herberger College of the Arts at
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
in
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...
, for permanent curation. 49 boxes of the King Collection are also available at the
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...
.
The Music Division at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
holds the Cherie Jorgenson Collection on Jane Grossenbacher and Eleanor King
Awards
*
Jane Cowl
Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...
''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' Essay Contest, gold medal, 1923
* Bennington School of the Dance, fellowship, 1938
* "Woman of the Year", Seattle, 1948
*
Fulbright
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
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 feder ...
Fellowship, 1988
References
Sources
*''International Dictionary of Modern Dance'', St. James Press (Detroit, Michigan), 1998
*Jowitt, Deborah,''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
'', March 13, 1991 (obituary)
*Cass, Joan, ''Dancing through History,'' Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1993
*
*
*''
Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...
'', 2007
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Eleanor
1906 births
1991 deaths
American female dancers
Dancers from New York (state)
American choreographers
Dance in New York City
American 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
Educators from New Jersey
20th-century American women educators
20th-century American educators