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Dance and Dancers |
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Artistic dance
has proven to be a haven for glbtq people, who have made significant
contributions in almost every area, including choreography,
performance, and teaching.
Alvin Ailey in 1955
Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), an
African-American dancer and choreographer, celebrated his heritage and
translated his pain into art.
Maud Allan (1873-1956) achieved
fame as a "Salome Dancer," but she is best remembered for a libel suit
she brought against a newspaper publisher for alleging that she was a
lesbian.
Ballet
has an enduring connection with male homosexuality that may be related
to the art's remarkably masculine provenance.
The
Ballets Russes made dance
history. As one of the earliest gay-identified multinational
enterprises, it was also important in gay history.
 Erik Bruhn (1928-1986,
right) was the
premier male dancer of the 1950s and epitomized the handsome prince and cavalier on the
international ballet stage of the decade. |
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 Isadora
Duncan (1878-1927),
the mother of modern dance, brought her feminist consciousness to the
stage. In her bohemian private life, she constantly challenged
society's rules.
Robert Joffrey (1928-1988)
created a major dance company and promoted gender parity in ballet.
Bill T. Jones (b. 1951) is a
charismatic performer, gifted choreographer, and long-term survivor of
AIDS.
Fiercely ambitious,
Serge Lifar (1905-1986) used
his extraordinary looks and charismatic personality to rise to the
ranks of leading international ballet dancers.
Miguel de Molina (1908-1993)
reinvented the Spanish flamenco performance, but his
career was plagued by hostility toward his open gayness.
 Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950)
was one of the greatest dancers and most innovative choreographers in
the history of ballet. |
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 Rudolf Nureyev
(1938-1993) was the greatest dancer of his time. He also gave the
world a new and glamorous image of a sexually active gay man. |
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 Jerome
Robbins (1918-1998) was a bisexual choreographer and director.
He was both a great choreographer of classical ballet and a Broadway
innovator, but he was fearful that he might be outed. |
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 Dancer and
choreographer Paul Taylor has
been an important presence in American dance since the 1950s.
When he wrote his
autobiography, at the age of 57, Taylor revealed his ambivalence about
sex and gender in dance and life, remarking that to "pick partners of
consistent gender would've run against an arbitrary streak" that he
considers one of his strengths. |
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Tommy Tune (b. 1939) is the only
person to have won Tonys in four different categories. |
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more on Dance >> |
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Photo Credits:
Alvin Ailey photographed by Carl van Vechten. Rudolph Nureyev,
detail from a photograph by Richard Avedon. Photographs of Jerome
Robbins and Paul Taylor are both details from photographs by Carl Van
Vechten, Images of Ailey, Duncan, Nijinsky, Robbins, and Taylor
appear courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Division. |
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