Franziska Marie Boas (January 8, 1902 – December 22, 1988) was an American

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. She is best known for her works with percussion, pioneering

dance therapy Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in USA and Australia or dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in the UK is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. As a modality of the cre ...

, and using dance as social activism.

Biography

Boas was born in New York City. She was the daughter of

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...

and Marie Krackowizer, both

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

s. She was the youngest of six children and went to school in Englewood, New Jersey. In 1923, she graduated with a B.A. in zoology and chemistry from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

. While at Barnard, she incorporated dance into her studies by working with leaders such as Bird Larson and, through a summer program,

Mary Wigman Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and choreographer who pioneered expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. She is considered on ...

Career

Boas founded in 1933 the Boas School of Dance, an interracial school, where she taught “creative” and improvisational dance. There were many notable students who were taught at the school, including

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 ...

and

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 Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

. Her focus was not on creating technically perfect dancers; instead, she wanted to use dance as a method of exploring oneself and the body. She sought to break down social barriers, and believed this could be done by bringing people of all races together through dance. In 1944, Boas partnered with

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...

in the management of the school, but the relationship didn't last more than a year. The School closed in 1949. She volunteered at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

from 1939 to 1943 where she worked in collaboration with Dr.

Lauretta Bender Lauretta Bender (August 9, 1897 – January 4, 1987) was an American child Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychiatrist known for developing the Bender-Gestalt Test, a psychological test designed to evaluate Motor coordination, visual-motor Maturationism, ...

to pioneer

. There she used dance to observe the behaviors of schizophrenics and those with other serious mental health issues. Boas wrote The Function of Dance in Human Society which talked about how dance could facilitate mental therapy. Her career spanned from 1933 to 1965. Boas died on December 22, 1988, in

Sandisfield, Massachusetts Sandisfield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 989 at the 2020 census. History Sandisfield was first settled in 1750 as Housatonic Towns ...

, aged 86, having suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Bibliography

*Boas, Franziska. "Creative dance." ''Child Psychiatric Techniques''. (1978). Print. *Boas, Franziska. "Dance in the liberal arts college curriculum." Impulse (1953): 27–29. Print.
Boas, Franziska. "The Negro and the Dance as an Art." ''Phylon''. 10.1 (1949): 38- . Print.Boas, Franziska. The Function of Dance in Human Society. New York: Boas School, 1944. Print.Boas, Franziska. "Psychological Aspects in the Practice and Teaching of Creative Dance." ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism''. 2.7 (1942): 3- . Print.
*Boas, Franziska. "Teaching the Lay Dancer." The Progressive Physical Educator (1941): 24–26. Print. *Boas, Franziska. "Notes on percussion accompaniment for the dance." Dance Observer 5.5 (1938): 71–72. Print.

References

External links

Franziska Boas collection, 1920-1988
at the Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Boas, Franziska 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American musicians American people of German-Jewish descent Barnard College alumni Jewish American musicians Musicians from New York City Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Massachusetts 20th-century American Jews