Jean Erdman

Infobox actor
name = Jean Erdman


caption = Erdman (left) with husband, Joseph Campbell, and Joan Halifax
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1916|02|20
birthplace = Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
occupation = Choreographer, dancer
spouse = Joseph Campbell (1938-1987)
yearsactive =
website =
awards = Drama Desk Awards
Outstanding Choreography
""

Jean Erdman (born February 20, 1916) is a dancer and choreographer of modern dance.

Biography

Early life

Erdman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended the Punahou School and Miss Hall's School, from which she graduated in 1934. She then studied dance at Sarah Lawrence College. Each summer during this time she studied under Martha Graham at the Bennington College Summer School of Dance. At Sarah Lawrence she also studied with mythologist Joseph Campbell.

Career

Encouraged by Campbell to develop her work, Erdman left Martha Graham in 1944 to form her own company, the Jean Erdman Dance Group.

In 1949, Erdman starred in the unfinished Maya Deren film "Medusa" (1949) [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=290710] . During the course of her career, many contemporary composers (including John Cage and Alan Hovhaness) wrote dance scores for her. She also collaborated with other important American composers, including Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison.

Erdman taught at a number of colleges, finally becoming head of the modern dance division of Teachers' College, Columbia University. She founded New York University's dance program and taught there from 1966-1972.

In 1962, Erdman's award-winning musical play, "The Coach with the Six Insides", opened Off-Broadway. It ran for 114 performances, closing in 1963 [http://www.lortelloser.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4212] . The play is based upon James Joyce's last novel "Finnegans Wake". The title is a line from the text, found in episode II.3.359 [http://www.trentu.ca/jjoyce/fw-359.htm] . It starred Leonard Frey and had a musical score by Teiji Ito. The play, "is a combination of dance, mime, and Joycean stream-of-consciousness language. Like Joyce's work itself it addresses the question 'what is the past, and what is its meaning?' " [http://www.catarchive.com/detailPages/641220.html] .

Personal life

Erdman was married to Joseph Campbell in 1938, and she left school to join the Martha Graham Dance Company. After Campbell retired from Sarah Lawrence in 1972, he and Erdman settled in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Filmography

* "Invocation: Maya Deren" (1987)
* "The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell" (1987)
* "Dance and Myth - The World of Jean Erdman" (1990) [cite web | author= | title=Dance and Myth - The World of Jean Erdman Series | url= http://www.sfsu.edu/~avitv/avcatalog/89921.htm | publisher= | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-08-23]

Awards and nominations

;Awards
* 1972: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - "The Two Gentlemen of Verona"
* 1963: Obie Award - Special Citation - "The Coach with the Six Insides"
* 1963: Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre - "The Coach with the Six Insides" ;Nominations
* 1972: Tony Award for Best Choreography - "The Two Gentlemen of Verona"

References

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External links

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* [http://www.nypl.org/research/manuscripts/dance/DANerdma.xml Jean Erdman Papers, 1925-2001 - The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]
*" [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_5_74/ai_61933408/print Modern Innovator Erdman Honored] "
* " [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Dec/10/il/il01a.html The Grande dame of dance] "
*" [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E7DF173BF93BA35751C1A963948260&sec=&pagewanted=print Dance: A Survey of Jean Erdman Choreography Since '42] " - "New York Times"
*" [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05EFD71238F93BA15751C1A967948260&sec=&pagewanted=print Dance: Jean Erdman's Works at the Open Eye] " - "New York Times"
* [http://pages.slc.edu/~archives/magdb/browse.php?category=Campbell,%20Jean%20Erdman Sarah Lawrence College Alumni Magazine]