SCHURMAN, Nona 1909-

PERSONAL: Born November 6, 1909, in Oxford, Nova Scotia, Canada. Education: Attended Central Institute, Geneva, Switzerland, 1928, McGill University, 1929-31, and Lausanne Conservatory of Music; studied dance with Blanche Evans in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1930, with Hanya Holm in New York, NY, 1934-36, and with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, beginning 1936.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Princeton Book Co., P.O. Box 831, Hightstown, NJ 08520.

CAREER: Humphrey-Weidman Company, member of company, 1939-43, teacher of dance, 1941-43; New Dance Group, teacher of Humphrey-Weidman technique and dance composition, 1939-67, director of Young Concert Dancers Lecture Demonstrations, 1956-64, and served as vice president, board chair, and head of Humphrey-Weidman Department; State University of New York College—Geneseo, Geneseo, NY, assistant professor of dance, 1973-79. Elizabeth Arden Studio, exercise instructor, 1943; Roxy Theater, modern dance director, 1943-44; Center for Dance Study, founder and director, 1954-68. Dancer in stage productions, including the musicals Up in Central Park and Shootin' Stars; director and choreographer of stage productions. Also taught at New York University, 1979, Cornish College, 1980, Stephens College, Columbia, MO, 1983, Ohio State University, 1994, and at various schools and organizations in the New York area, including the 92nd Street Young Men's-Young Women's Hebrew Association, 1946-68. Dance Notation Bureau, member of board of directors, 1958-68; Dance Film, Inc., affiliate, 1956-68; director of a film on Weidman technique, 1986; member of Doris Humphrey Fund Committee.

MEMBER: Dance Teachers Guild.

AWARDS, HONORS: Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York, 1977.

WRITINGS:

(With Sharon Leigh Clark) Modern Dance Fundamentals, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1972, reprinted, Princeton Book Co. (Hightstown, NJ), 1991.

Contributor to periodicals, including Journal of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

International Dictionary of Modern Dance, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.

PERIODICALS

Dance Research Journal, fall, 1996, Joan Finkelstein, "Doris Humphrey and the 92nd Street Y: A Dance Center for the People"; fall, 1996, Barbara Hausler, "Packaging Doris Humphrey, or, A Question of Form: Nona Schurman Shares Her Thoughts on Doris Humphrey's Choreography."*