Benefit for the Documentary Film:
‘A New Dance for America:
The Teachings, Choreography and Legacy of Doris Humphrey’
SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 5:30-7P.M.
*Introduction: Ina Hahn
*Humphrey and Her Dances: Joseph Gifford
*Performance of ‘DAY ON EARTH’ (1947) by members of the Windhover Dance Company
*Showing of 30-minute segment of the completed film by Phil Hopkins, Ina Hahn
Tickets: $25
Includes hors d’oeuvres and beverages
For Reservations call 978-546-3611; e-mail windhover@verizon.net
Doris Humphrey 1895-1958
‘Doris Humphrey was one of the half dozen women who created what was incontestably the first American art form in our American history.’ John Martin, New York Times, 1972
‘As great as she (Doris Humphrey) was as a dancer, she is even greater as a choreographer, ranking her as perhaps the very best that America has.’ Walter Terry, The Herald Tribune 1945
‘As a choreographer, she is first of all.’ Margaret Lloyd, Christian Science Monitor
Ina Hahn, Executive Director, Windhover Foundation
Manager: WW Film Co.,LLC
After graduating from Wellesley College as an English major, Ina Hahn moved to New York to dance with Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey.
As a member of the Doris Humphrey Company, she danced in several revivals of Humphrey’s works including ‘New Dance’, and ‘Passacaglia’. At an audition for the road company of ‘Call Me Madam’ she was spotted by choreographer Jerome Robbins who asked her to join the Broadway cast of ‘The King and I’. Thus began a long love affair with the American musical theater. She performed in the Broadway productions of ‘Can Can’, where she understudied Gwen Verdon, in ‘Carousel’, and as lead dancer in several regional musical theaters, including the North Shore Music Theater.
She has taught, choreographed and performed at colleges throughout the Northeast, including Smith, Hampshire, Radcliffe, Harvard, Boston Conservatory, and M.I.T., and received the 1980 award for ‘Best Modern Dance Classes’ by Boston Magazine.
For the past 40 years she has directed Windhover Performing Arts Center, sponsoring classes and workshops in dance, training hundreds of young people, and producing original dance and theater works.
Carol Burnham (Director)
Carol has studied Modern Dance since age ten, when she began classes in the Humphrey-Limon technique with Ina Hahn at Windhover. She has also studied at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in NY, the Cunningham Studio in New York, and with Bella Lewitzky in Los Angeles, and has a BFA in Dance from SUNY, Purchase.
Since 1999, Carol has been co-director of the Windhover Dance Company, and director of the dance programs at Windhover Center for the Performing Arts. In 2004, she took over all day-to-day operations of the company. The Company now performs 3-4 times a year regularly on the North Shore and in Boston.
Joseph Gifford
Joseph Gifford began his performing career in New York City as a member of the dance company of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, two of the great pioneers of American modern dance. He performed in the Humphrey-Weidman Company from 1941-1945. Subsequently, he formed his own company, the Joseph Gifford Dance Theater, which performed annually in NYC and on tours throughout the USA. During his years in NYC, he also assisted Doris Humphrey in her teaching, appeared in several musicals on Broadway, and taught for many years at the New Dance Group Studio.
In mid-career, he joined the faculty of the School of Theatre Arts, Boston University, to establish a curriculum in movement training for the actor. During his years at Boston University, he toured throughout the USA, Europe, Japan and Sri Lanka, giving master classes and seminars on the art of performing. He gave annual summer workshops for the performers at Tanglewood and under the aegis of the BU Tanglewood Institute. He also directed acclaimed experimental theatre productions, as well as opera at the university.
In 1985, Mr. Gifford joined the faculty of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s workshops for conductors. He has continued to teach annually for the ASOL.
Philip Elliott Hopkins – 39, CEO/Founder dogtown productions, Inc., an independent music/film publishing, production and marketing company. Mr. Hopkins retains select clients from all over the world and represents various styles of music and film. Mr. Hopkins is a leading expert in the entertainment business. He has been a keynote speaker at the Philadelphia Music Conference, MIPTV (Cannes, France), NAPTE (Las Vegas), South by Southwest (Austin, TX), CMJ (College Music Journal, NYC), and NEMO (Boston). In 1997, Mr. Hopkins founded dogtown productions, Inc. Some of his projects include: ‘Hollywood Goes Wild’, ‘The Condo Painting’, ‘Pictures of The Gone World’.
The Doris Humphrey Documentary Project:
‘A NEW DANCE FOR AMERICA: THE TEACHINGS, CHOREOGRAPHY AND LEGACY OF DORIS HUMPHREY’
Humphrey was an important figure in the development of modern dance, but few people outside the dance world know about her. This documentary is an effort to change that and to bring to light her remarkable gifts as a choreographer and teacher, to her many masterpieces, and her seminal influence on the way dances are created. Her 1958 book on composition, The Art of Making Dances, for which she received a Guggenheim Award, is still regarded as one of the best choreography books, used by colleges and dance departments everywhere. More Humphrey dances are revived throughout the world than those of other pioneers, and her work still speaks to today’s audiences. ‘Doris Humphrey is an enduring part of the dance in America, as granite under the soil is enduring. We can turn nowhere without finding her.’ – John Martin, New York Times
To contribute send check to: Windhover, P.O. Box 2249, Rockport, MA 01966
Windhover is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. All contrib