Sophie Maslow (March 22, 1911 – June 25, 2006) was an American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher, and founding member of New Dance Group. She was a first cousin of the American sculptor

Leonard Baskin Leonard Baskin (August 15, 1922 – June 3, 2000) was an American sculptor, draughtsman and graphic artist, as well as founder of the Gehenna Press (1942–2000). One of America's first fine arts presses, it went on to become "one of the most imp ...

. Born in New York City in 1911 by

Russian American Russian Americans are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to those that settled in the 19th-century Russian possessions in what is now Alaska. Russi ...

parents, Sophie Maslow began her dance training with Blanche Talmud at the Neighborhood Playhouse School. Her teachers there included

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

and Louis Horst. She became a member of Martha Graham's Company in 1931, performing many solo roles, until 1943. She created her own dance troupe, The Sophie Maslow Dance Company and, with Jane Dudley and William Bales, established the Dudley-Maslow-Bales Trio in 1942. Ms. Maslow helped to define and establish New Dance Group as a performance entity dedicated to using dance to make social and political statements. In 1948, she performed and was a faculty member at the first

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 ...

held at Connecticut College. Maslow's choreography includes: "Dust Bowl Ballads" which depicted the Depression of the 1930s and the people of the Southwest's endurance during these droughts, "Folksay" based on Carl Sandburg's poem of the same name, "Poem," with music by Duke Ellington and words by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and the off-Broadway musical "The Big Winner" about a poor tailor and his winning lottery ticket. In 1951, she choreographed for the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

(The Dybbuk). In 1952, 1955, 1956, and 1960–62, Maslow choreographed the Hannukkah Festivals held at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. Her dances have been reconstructed and performed by CityDance Ensemble, The Harkness Ballet, The Batsheva Dance Company, and The Bat-Dor Company. Sophie Maslow's voice and altruism remain an inspiration for New Dance Group Arts Center. Maslow was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. She died on June 25, 2006, in Manhattan at age 95.Choreographer, Sophie Maslow, Dies at 95'',The New York Times'', June 26, 2006.

Selected choreographic works

*Themes from a Slavic People (1934) music:

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

*Two Songs About Lenin (1934) *May Day March (1936) *Runaway Rag (1938) *Silicosis Blues (1939) *Dust Bowl Ballads (1941) music:

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

*Sarabande (1941) *Melancholia (1941) *Exhortation (1941) *Gigue (1941) *Bourée (1941) *Folksay (1942) music: Woody Guthrie, spoken text: ''The People, Yes'' by

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...

*Llanto (1944) *Champion (1948) music: Samuel Matlowsky *The Village I Knew (1950) *Four Sonnets (1951) *Snow Queen (1952) *Suite:Manhattan Transfer (1953) *Israel in Dance and Song (1953) *Celebration (1954) *The Gentleman from Cracow (1955) *Anniversary (1956) *Prologue (1959) *Poem (1963) music: Duke Ellington, poem by

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and ...

*The Dybbuk (1964) *In the Beginning (1965) *Innovacation of David (1966) *Ladino Suite (1969) *Country Music (1971) *Touch the Earth (1973) *Decathlon Etude (1976) *Voices (1980) music:

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

*Woody Sez (1980) music: Woody Guthrie *From Louis' Book (1985) usic-bach

References

* Anderson, Jack: ''The American Dance Festival''. Duke University Press, Durham 1987.() *Chujoy, Anatole. ''The Dance Encyclopedia''. (Simon and Schuster, 1967) *McDonagh, Don ''The Complete Guide to Modern Dance''.( Doubleday and Company, 1976) *''Choreographer, Sophie Maslow, Dies at 95'', ''The New York Times'', June 26, 200
Link

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maslow, Sophie 1911 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American Jews American choreographers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American modern dancers 21st-century American Jews