Charles Weidman (1901-1975) was an American choreographer and dancer who stood out from the 1920s, a time of economic and industrial development in the United States, until the crash of 29.
Weidman's work wanted to be innovative, breaking with styles inherited from the 19th and early 20th centuries. For him, dance had to be something very close to people, what the North Americans literally danced in order to give more plasticity to the body and to be able to add various elements, such as certain comic aspects of silent movies.
Portrait of Charles Weidman, December 4, 1933. Carl Van Vechten
After the Second World War, many artistic movements took on importance, and, in fact, jazz became an important manifestation in cafes and bars throughout the country.
Biography
Weidman was born on July 22, 1901, in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father was a fire chief and his mother a roller skating champion, according to Weidman himself in his autobiography.
Charles was in love with Greek and Egyptian architecture. In fact, some think that this would be seen later in several of his works. However, seeing Ruth St. Denis dance, he decided to become a dancer.
In 1920, a 19-year-old Weidman arrived in Los Angeles with the intention of studying at Denishawn School, the prestigious company founded by St. Denis and Ted Shawn.
It would be eight years in which the dancer would learn dance basics and would become one of the most prominent in productions such as Arabic Duet and The Princess and the Demon.
Collaboration with Doris Humphrey
He then decided to create his own company with Doris Humphrey, whom he met at Denishawn, and would be called Humphrey-Weidman Company.
From 1930 to 1950 he explored new forms of movement and even worked on Broadway. He wanted something different in dance and introduced the kinetic pantomime and the great falls, very typical in his company.
The company founded with Humphrey came to an end in the mid-1940s, as the dancer entered a time of great personal difficulties and introspection.
Only towards the end of 1960 would it re-establish itself in New York. Some of his later work suggests that he may have been underrated as a modern choreographer with a formalist bent.
Weidman's legacy is recognized by many personalities in art. Various members of the Humphrey-Weidman company keep materials such as a biography written by Jonette Lancos, Reclaiming Charles Weidman (1901-1975): An American Dancer's Life and Legacy, and a biographical video.
His contribution to world dance was recognized with the Heritage Award, which was awarded to the dancer in 1970. Similarly, many of the dancers owe recognition to Weidman, who trained outstanding choreographers such as Louis Falco and José Limón.
Death
The dancer and also a teacher would die in 1975, in New York City. He was then 70 years old. His influence not only reached contemporary dance, but also made American jazz dance grow.
Technique
Managing a specific type of energy, harnessing movements such as falling and getting up or suspended, these were some of the explorations that Weidman undertook since the 1930s and throughout his entire career.
It could be said that the principle that encouraged his work was gravity and how the body works against it. This innovation in dance can be perfectly seen in Lystrata (1930), School for Husbands (1933) and Alcina Suite (1934).
It is also relevant to add that his dramatic abilities gave his work something very unique and that it would be like the Weidman label. He used to be very energetic and beautifully combined both the comedic and the dramatic.
Style
Although for many, Weidman's work was not directly political, he did care about the struggles of his time, especially what was lived in his country, the United States.
In the 1940s he founded his own dance company, The Charles Weidman Dance Theater Company. In him, his style was unique as he experimented with personifying mimes and making humor.
One of the best known works of this stage was Weidman's Blinks. In the same way, he did work portraying sheiks, villains and fatal women, with the intention that the spectators see what was happening in their environment, recognize that American culture through his peculiar style. Apart from being a pioneer in this aspect, he also ventured into opera choreography.
Christmas Oratorio
Oratorio de Navidad is one of the works in which Weidman's style and the form of the movements are best appreciated. Performed for the first time in 1961, it recalls some dances from the 1930s.
It is common to observe bodies leaning both back and forth, showing awe, bewilderment, or reverence. Apart from this, the hands also play an important role, since they are the ones that cry out to heaven, rise upward in joy or can be static in prayer. Oratorio de Navidad is a representative work of Weidman performed for Christmas.
The style of Lynchtown (1936), for example, is different, as there is more violence. They are splashes, gestures that accuse, bodies that writhe on the ground. It is a violent, passionate fight.
There are obviously lynchings and rage. In Lynchtown there is a critique of society, part of Weidman's style, for it portrays a fit of hysteria of a crowd of people, how they can get carried away by primal impulses.
The legacy
In 1960, choreographer Charles Weidman created the Two Arts Theater of Expression in New York. And, although the space was not properly large, he knew how to take advantage of it to perform the last years of his life.
Weidman enjoyed above all a loyal following, as had happened at Bennington College, which is why his success in opera, nightclubs and theater was also common.
As a teacher, dancers of the stature of Gene Kelly, Sybil Shearer and Bob Fosse can attest to his mastery, as he was a passionate teacher, who conveyed how to represent great human weaknesses.
References
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019). Charles Weidman. AMERICAN DANCER. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 Jan. Recovered from: britannica.com
- Contemporary-dance.org. (sf). Modern Dance History. Recovered from contemporary-dance.org
- Charles Weidman Dance Foundation. (sf). Charles Weidman. Recovered from charlesweidman.org
- Anderson J. (1985). Dance: Works by Charles Weidman. The New York Times, 1985 July. Recovered from nytimes.com
- Charles Weidman. (1936). Lynchtown. Recovered from youtube.com.
- Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey. (1935). New Dance. Recovered from youtube.com