King, Eleanor (Campbell) 1906-1991

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KING, Eleanor (Campbell) 1906-1991

PERSONAL: Born February 8, 1906, in Middletown, PA; died February 27, 1991, in Haddonfield, NJ; daughter of George Ilgenfritz and Emma Kate Campbell King. Education: Attended Clare Tree Major School of the Theatre, 1925, and Theatre Guild School, 1926; studied dance with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, 1927-35; studied mime with Etienne Decroux, 1955; studied Noh and classical Korean dance.

CAREER: Dancer, choreographer, educator, and company director. Humphrey-Weidman Company, dancer, 1928-35; The Little Group, founder with José Limón, Ernestine Stodelle, and Charles Laskey, 1931; Theater Dance Company, founder with others, 1937; Eleanor King Dance Repertory Company and the Eleanor King Creative Dance Studio, Seattle, WA, founder, 1944. As teacher, Dalton School, New York, assistant to Doris Humphrey, 1930-31; New School for Social Research, New York, assistant to Doris Humphrey, 1932-33; Perry Mansfield Theatre Dance Camp, Steamboat Springs, CO, 1936, 1945, 1956; Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1937; Carleton College, Northfield, MN, dance instructor, 1942-43; Cornish School of Arts, Seattle, WA, 1943-44; Rotterdam Dansschool Academie, Rotterdam, Holland, 1952, 1954-55, 1961; Toynbee Hall, London, England, 1954-55; American Cultural Centers, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Japan, 1958, 1960, 1961; University of Arkansas, teacher, 1952-71, professor emeritus, 1971-91; Rencontres Internationales de Danse Contemporaines, Paris, France, 1973; Goldsmith College, London University, 1978; College of Santa Fe, 1979.

AWARDS, HONORS: Jane Cowl Romeo and Juliet Essay Contest, gold medal, 1923; Bennington School of the Dance, fellowship, 1938; Fulbright 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; NEA Fellowship, 1988.

WRITINGS:

The Way of Japanese Dance, 1970.

Transformations: The Humphrey-Weidman Era, Dance Horizons (Brooklyn, NY), 1978.

Also contributor to Dance Observer, Christian Science Monitor, Northwest Times Weekly, Japan Quarterly, Dance Magazine, Journal of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Focus on Dance, Dance Research Monograph, Korea Journal, Arirang, Quarterly Journal of Performing Arts, Korean Culture, Dance Research Annual, and Music and Dance in California and the West, 1947.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Began work on Transformations II: To The West.

SIDELIGHTS: Eleanor King began her career as a dancer and choreographer in New York City during the formative years of American modern dance. She left the dance mecca in 1942 to create her own company in Seattle and to explore a variety of cultural influences, including mime and Asian dance forms. She created the Theatre of the Imagination program at the University of Arkansas, where she taught for decades, and had visiting positions at numerous other schools. Fueled by seemingly endless curiosity and energy, she was professionally active until her death in 1991. King published two books, The Way of Japanese Dance and the memoir Transformations: The Humphrey-Weidman Era, and began a third, Transformations II: To The West.

King was studying dance with Doris Humphrey at the Denishawn School when she left to join her teacher in the newly created Humphrey-Weidman Company. She made her 1928 debut in Color Harmony, which has been called the first American abstract ballet. With fellow dancers Ernestine Stodelle, Letitia Ide, and José Limón, she began exploring her own creative impulses in the Little Group. In 1935 King struck out as an independent soloist and choreographer. This work introduced her to the founding members of the Theater Dance Company, which performed her first major work of choreography, Icaro, in 1938.

The year 1942 marked King's break with the New York dance establishment. After brief teaching assignments, she moved to Seattle, where she created the Eleanor King Dance Repertory Company and the Eleanor King Creative Dance Studio in 1945. During this period, several of her works showed American Indian and Western themes. King's longest association would be with the University of Arkansas, where she created the Theater of the Imagination. She served on the faculty from 1952 to 1971, and then was awarded professor emeritus status.

King always remained a student. In the late 1950s, she began studying Japanese Noh dances and in 1958 she gave her first performance in Tokyo. During extensive travel in Asia, King learned forms including classic Korean dance, which she began studying at age seventy. The impact of these pursuits was evident in her choreography, which is known for stylistic variety and an eclectic choice of musical scores. Reconstructions of King's work by Annabelle Gamson revived interest in the dancer-choreographer during the 1980s.