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....
Miss Ruth, as she was affectionately called, started acting
out theater and ballet as a little child. Ruth started out
as a cloak model, a six day bicycle race participant, a
skirt
dancer, Toe dancer and actress. Denis had practically
no ballet training except for a single class (some say
3) with Bonfanti, but was kicked out of class. Genevieve
Stebbins was very inspirational to Miss Ruth. Later in life
she devoted herself to Christianity, and formed a church
(Divine Dance) and formed the Society of Spiritual
Arts. David Belasco nicknamed her Saint, due to her air.
Her first experience with
staging a play was with Egypta, but was abandoned due to
expenses. She followed it by Radha in 1906 at the Hudson
Theater in New York for a group of managers and a few other
spots then back to the Hudson as a full dance program...
it was a success. She would then leave for her first tour
of Europe. While touring, she met great success abroad except
in England, however Germany loved her. Returning home in
1909, she finally produced Egypta and O' Mika.
-Dennis teamed with then
dancer Ted Shawn in 1914 and soon after married forming
the Denishawn Company and later a dance studio. The two
separated in 1932 and she continued to run the school, till
financial troubles forced her to close the doors. She would
semi-retire until 1940, when she teamed with La
Meri and found new interest in Hindu and Oriental
dance. Ruth moved to southern California during W.W.II.
Ruth St. Denis and Ted
Shawn had a major impact on dance, Ballet, and Modern
especially.
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