Invitation to Dance….in Symphony Hall
From the traditional ballet of Anna Pavlova to the modern trends of Isadora Duncan and Mary Wigman, Symphony Hall served as a frequent venue for touring dance performances. With stage extensions, the venue also proved capable of accommodating dance performers with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
The Isadora Duncan Dancers, nicknamed “The Isadorables,” performed in Symphony Hall in the 1920s
Photograph by Apeda
Symphony Hall as a Dance Venue: Selected Performances from the 1920s-1940s
Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova and the Ballets Russes graced the stage of Symphony Hall several times in 1920 and 1921
Unlike her contemporary Isadora Duncan who introduced revolutionary innovations to dance, Pavlova remained largely committed to the classic style. She was known for her daintiness, frailness, lightness, and both wittiness and pathos.
Concert program for the Isadora Duncan Dancers' performance in Symphony Hall on November 15, 1923
Known as the mother of “modern dance,” Duncan did not believe in the formality of conventional ballet and gave birth to a more free form of dance, dancing barefoot and in simple Greek apparel (see photograph above).
Concert program for Mary Wigman, April 14, 1932
A Weimar Republic icon, Wigman was one of the founders of Ausdruckstanz (expressionist dance) and taught many dancers who went on to found schools of their own (including Ruth St. Denis). The Nazi party would eventually idealize what they saw as Volk values in her art while at the same time decrying her “friendliness toward Jews.”
Harald Kreutzberg and Yvonne Georgi in performance
Both students of Mary Wigman, Harald Kreutzberg and Yvonne Georgi gained great acclaim touring Europe and the U.S. in the late 1920s and early 1930s (including Symphony Hall). Unfortunately, under the Nazi party’s rise to power in Germany and later occupation of several European nations, both dancers collaborated with the National Socialist government.
Photograph by Maurice Goldberg
Concert program for Spanish Romani flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya at Symphony Hall, April 24, 1942
Performing under the ethnic nomenclature of the time, Romani dancer Carmen Amaya (1918-1963) broke ground by performing intricate and intense flamenco dances that had previously been considered solely for men, due to their difficulty.
Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis in Josephine and Hippolyte, 1929
The pair also performed this dance at Symphony Hall in 1945 which depicted Joséphine Bonaparte (wife of Napoleon) and her lover Hippolyte Charles.
Photograph by Soichi Sunami, courtesy of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Archives
Program for appearance of Jacob’s Pillow dancers at Symphony Hall on April 19, 1945
Ted Shawn bought the Berkshires farm property Jacob’s Pillow shortly after separating from his wife, dancing and business partner Ruth St. Denis. His group of Men Dancers toured across the country (including in Symphony Hall) throughout the 1930s. In the 1940s and beyond, Ruth St. Denis would make regular appearances with the Jacob’s Pillow dancers as this 1945 appearance at Symphony Hall demonstrates.
Dance with the Pops!
Hans Wiener poses performing Walter Piston's "The Incredible Flutist," ca. 1938
Born Johann Maria David Weiner in Vienna Austria in 1903, Wiener used several different names during his 40-plus year performing career, the most common being Hans Weiner and finally in 1941 Jan Veen. Arthur Fiedler first invited Weiner to perform with the Pops in 1932. The show sold out; subsequently Weiner and his dance troupe made annual appearances with the Pops. The Pops premiered Walter Piston's ballet, The Incredible Flutist, on May 30, 1938.
Photographer unknown
Flamenco dancers José Greco and Nana Lorca perform with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops in May 1971
A variety of dance styles appeared with the Pops and Arthur Fiedler: traditional ballet, modern dance, tap, folk, and flamenco dancers such as José Greco and Nana Lorca.
Photograph by Michael Peirce
Boston Ballet performs a ballet suite from Bizet’s Carmen with the Pops, May 1972
A stage extension enabled the dancers to perform in front of the orchestra.
Photograph by Michael Peirce