Sybil Shearer

Sybil Shearer
Born (1912-02-23)February 23, 1912
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died November 17, 2005(2005-11-17) (aged 93)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Choreographer, dancer and writer

Sybil Louise Shearer (February 23, 1912 – November 17, 2005) [1] was an American choreographer, dancer and writer. She was hailed as a "maverick" [2] or "nature mystic" [3] of modern dance.

Early life and education

Born in Toronto, Canada in 1912, daughter of Constance Augusta [4] and John Porter Shearer a commercial artist [4] and inventor.[5] The family moved from Nyack to Newark, New York in 1924 as Shearers father got a job working for Bloomer Brothers.[6][7] After graduating High School in 1930 [8] from Washington School [7] Newark, she studied at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, graduating in 1934.[1] She then pursued modern dance at Bennington College's summer workshops in Vermont, with Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham and Hanya Holm.[1]

Career

Shearer's first solo concert in Manhattan in 1941 at Carnegie Hall, caused a sensation. Shortly after her New York City triumph, she walked away from the fame that was opening for her, settling instead in the American Midwest in the mid-1940s, where she continued to perform in the Chicago area, and inspired numerous students of dance, including John Neumeier who became director of the Hamburg Ballet.[9][10]

Margaret Lloyd said of Sybil in her book "The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance," [11] "Sybil Shearer is a perfectionist who likes to believe that perfection is humanly attainable." [12] Shearer was among the first performers to tackle spiritual and social justice issues, such as the plight of factory workers, a theme of one of her pieces. She drew ideas and inspiration from a variety of artistic influences, including lengthy correspondence with choreographer and dancer Agnes de Mille [10] and writer Virginia Woolf.

Works

Shearer depicted both spiritual visions and human foible in her works, which were predominantly solo concerts. She created "In a Vacuum" in 1941 and "Let the Heavens Open That the Earth May Shine" in 1947. She created "Once Upon a Time" in 1951 which was a suite of solos for fantastically named characters. Shearer choreographed group works, among them "Fables and Proverbs" (1961) and "The Reflection in the Puddle Is Mine" (1963).[9]

Style

In a photo book by John Martin, Shearer is often seen wearing loose-fitting garments or highly theatrical costumes. Combining the technique of ballet and the freedom of modern dance, Shearer used a pointed or flexed foot, long extended limbs, and contorted shapes or straight lines of the body.

Collaboration

Many of Shearer's productions were in collaboration with Helen Balfour Morrison, a photographer and filmmaker who documented Shearer's career.[13]

Accomplishments

Shearer was appointed artist-in-residence at the Arnold Theatre [10] of the National College of Education [14] (now National Louis University) located in Evanston, Illinois, in 1962. The school was looking to have an artist of great caliber working close by.

As artist-in-residence, Shearer was given the freedom to create works with her company, derived from her repertory, whenever and however she pleased. Her only obligation was to produce one piece that would be performed at the institute's annual assembly. John Martin of The New York Times wrote that Shearer's appointment was the start of alliances formed between established artists and educational institutions.[15]

The Morrison-Shearer Foundation

The Morrison-Shearer Foundation, established in 1991 based at her home in Northbrook, Illinois, preserves the works related to the careers of photographer Helen Balfour Morrison [13] and Shearer.[16]

Without Wings the Way Is Steep, (was a title taken from one of her dances), released in 2006.

Later life and death

Shearer made her last appearance, at age 93, at the Art Institute of Chicago, in one of her solos called Flame. She died, aged 93, at Evanston Hospital [17] following a stroke.[1][18]

Literary treatment

Shearer was celebrated by the poet Gary Forrester in "The Beautiful Daughters of Men" [19]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hunt, Marilyn (December 22, 2005). "Sybil Shearer – Modern Dance Maverick", The Independent; retrieved October 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Saturday Review - Volume 3 - Page 144, (1975)
  3. ↑ Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts, Volumes 3-4, Wayne State University English Department, (1961)
  4. 1 2 "The Final Curtain" (PDF). American Radio History. The Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Google Patents". Google Patents. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Sybil Shearer Receives Rave Review for Recital" (PDF). NYS Historic Newspapers. Newark, NY Courier-Gazette. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Sybil Shearer - Dance Pioneer, dies at age 93" (PDF). NYS Historic Newspapers. Courier Gazette, Newark NY. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Commencement exercises will be held next Tuesday Evening" (PDF). NYS Historic Newspapers. The Newack Courier. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  9. 1 2 Sybil Shearer, 93, Dancer of the Spiritual and the Human, Dies, The New York Times, (November 23, 2005).
  10. 1 2 3 Christiansen, Richard (September 19, 1993). "Sybil Shearer - An Original In Every Way". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ Lloyd, Margaret (1949). The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. New York: ALFRED A. KNOPF.
  12. ↑ Lloyd, Margaret (1949). The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. New York: ALFRED A. KNOPF. p. 232.
  13. 1 2 "Helen Balfour Morrison (1901-1984)". Chicago Film Archives. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ Page 44, ROOSEVELT REVIEW SPRING 2013.
  15. ↑ Martin, John (1985). "Sybil Shearer: Folio 1". M. Yoshimasu.
  16. ↑ "Morrison-Shearer Foundation". about us. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Sybil Shearer's Obituary on Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  18. ↑ "Sybil Shearer, (1912-2005)". The Free Library. Dance Magazine. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  19. ↑ Novella in Short Verse from Tinakori Hill. (The Legal Studies Forum, Volume XXXIII, Supplement No. 2, West Virginia University (2009), ISSN 0894-5993; American Legal Studies Association

Notes

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