April 19, 19586 irs Towle lehay, : Dear tne ata : Thank you for your Ind letter of Anil 20th fa At the present I do net lnew of any openines for a traiuer, but sh@li be glad te let you know if I ghowld hear of anythings Sar eee you don"t go ahead and finish medteal school. 3 Deans bo ne your Suture would be moh better if you nak ee eS Megrete No, I am not planning on holding a coaching suhool_in Texas this sumer However, i am | having a school here and possibly ane in the cast, the Director of Physical Bducation, FCAsAli oe Varsity Basketball Coach, 4206 Woodleigh, Houston, Texas, April 10, 19358. Dre Forrest C. Allen, Unive of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansase My dear Dr. Allen: In looking over my copy of your last edition it came to mind that in your peregri- nations around the country at Coaching Schools that you might contact an opening for a trainer and assistant coach, if so, I would appreciate it if you would keep me in mind. Since I saw you in '35 at Hintsville when Fred Swan so ignomiously labeled me "Dr.Quack", various things have happened to me. This past year I went into Senior High as a Physical Education man and trainer but I was roped into handling some football and this coming Fall it would seem# that I am to be cast in the role of first assistant coach. That is all right, but I would much rather handle the physi- cal and mental conditions of the players than coach them. I am more interested in being a trainer at this particular school than coach as I am doubtful of my ability to make a go of it under the head coach than the man who is withdrawing. He is a swell guy personally but he has the bad habit of forgetting to plan things and I am rather systematic. Besides, like every one else, I would like to land a better job. In case you have forgotten me in the shuffle of meeting so many people, I have had three years of med- icine at Tiilane and have been coaching Junior High sports ohare a few years. I was fortunate to have teams that, the city championship for the years '3535 thru '36 in football and for '36 thru '37 in swimming. Are you booked for any coaching schools in Texas for this coming summer or in a neighboring state? If so, please give me the where and when. Thanking you for any attention you may give me, I am Sincerely yours, Shas Airy April 9, 1938. Mire Ee Se Liston Athletic Direetar Raker University Baldwin, Sansas Dear Liss I will be glad to see you Monday, April ll, after your Rotary mectings Director of Piysioal Tau —, FOALAH | Varsity Basketball Cosch. set hs ie: _Reparmen of ee : Sp Baldwin, Kansas Spril &, 1938 De. F. 6, &lien Basketball Coach University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas My dear "Phog": I expect to make up Rotary attendance at Lawrence next Monday. I would like to have a conference with you either before or after Rotary. Would you kindly advise me if such a conference is poss- ible, and which time would suit you better? Very truly yours e? e E. 3. Liston Athletic Director ESL: LH hapgy to LESe0 hits due 21, 1958. Bert Suith was a captain on our varsi da at git yi8e P in Te i vil ue a wy ih Eas oe? ysg f8 Hea i) asl jis ow rH oy nadg Gael ih ou ~ Director of Physical Edueation, Varsity Basketball Conthe 1 iif fog spooe Bp graying honed encory tema, and se “~ TF nae Aw tr on tS RIE TT PI Nie oe = LONG BEACH PUBLIC SCHOOLS LONG BEACH JUNIOR COLLEGE LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA June 19 38 Dr. Forrest C. Allen Director of Physical Education, Varsity Basketball Coach University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Dear Dr. Allen: I really got a thrill hearing from you when you wrote a recommendation for Mr. Elmer Schaake. It has been so long, as I recall, since’ the days when I had certain contacts with you and your family, all of which are indelibly impressed on my mind. You no doubt recall George Merideth who was there at the house the same summer I stayed with you people in Warrensburgh. George is now Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Pasadena; got married last year; and walked down the isle last week to receive his doctor's hood. I expect to follow him down the isle next year to get my monkey suit. We would be very happy to give Elmer Schaake careful con- sideration in his application for football coach but the position has more or less been filled. A committee has recommended to the Superintendent of Schools three men from California colleges who have good records in playing and coaching and it may be that one of them will be elected at the Board of Education meet—- ~ . ing this afternoon. The outstanding candidate is Irvine Phillips, alleAmerican end from the University of California in 1928 and assistant freshman coach at the University during the past seven years. If the Board does not make the selection this afternoon I shall attempt to get in touch with Schaake and have him make a personal application at once so that we can give his candidacy careful consideration. Mel Griffin is still with us on the physicai education staff, coaching basketball and baseball. In basketball, with a zone defense and mediocre material, Griffin is always "in the upper division of our League. He has won the championship two or three times and has a fine influence on our students. This year's baseball team was an exceptionally strong one, losing the cham pionship by only a very small margin. Please give my regards to Mrs. Allen and the other members of the family and keep a liberal supply for yourself. Mo sincerely yours, a is Lounsbury JLL: CFB Principal \45 Pass Law Examinations Forty-five applicants for admit- tance to the Kansas bar from the ' University School of Law passed the ‘examination given by the state board of bar examiners and will be sworn in today. The successful candidates are: George Alllen, George Allred, Preston Anderson, Ruth Bordner, | Stewart Cl Chambers, Jonas Conder- | man, Glen Dickinson, Jr., Charles Dotts, Peter Farabi, David Fisher, Hovey Hanna, Justin Hannen, Ev- erett Higgins, Wilfred Howerton, Thomas Ise, Richard Jones, Alfred Kaiser. Kenneth Lieber, Charles Lyon, Patrick McAnany, Willis McQueary, William McVey, Samuel Mellinger, Mildred Mitchell, Samuel Molby, John Murray, Joseph Payne, Charles Rankin, Edward Rice. — Eric Roberts, William Shannon, Herbert Sizemore, Harrison Smith, Charles Tansey, Jr., Theodore Tenny, Thomas.Van.Cleave, Jr., Lloyd Vieux, Cyrus Wade, Jr., Harold _Wayman, Richard Weaver, Abraham | Weinlood, Paul “Wilbert, Frederick F. Woleslagel, F. Ernest "Ayers, Ar- thur Sparks. June 27, 1088. fi Dear Pauls Very Varsity Basketball Coach.» dune 27, 1938. lire Richard Weaver, Concordia, Kansase Dear Dicks i want to congratulate you on your passing of the Kansas bar examimatione It has been always with a friendly interest that I have watched your success. You have always come up on top, and we want you to lmow that we are pulling for yous ‘Lots of luck, Dick, and may you be one of ini’ eas aeete Goea. © Gok ane Secon, ee eatin : Very sincerely yours, FCAsAH Varsity Basketball Coach. — dune 27, 1958. style fal he le a Myre Horbort H. | 10r" 1343 Temmessee Street, 10, Kansate you, and this ) you and admired in this field of i He A ie 3k Y Ours, Very ' Director of Physical Education, Varsity Basketball Coaches dme 27, 1938. Me William He Shannon, School of Business, University of Kensase Dear Mr.» Sharmons eo Permit me to congratulate you upon passing the Kansas bar oxaminatione | Although our paths haven't crossed often we have watehed your success with pride and pleasure. I trust that this latest achievement will bring you many more happy and profitable hours. Director of Physical Education, FCAsAH Varsity Basketball Coaches Jum 27, 1958.5 50S We Srd Ste, | | < Deer Tong Porn we to congratulate you upon passing the Renan. TAY cinecicentdlctte We ere very proud of. your Sine records / 60 many years we are Vory sime of your success in your «Wh best wiehes, Z an o : Sneiseiit sit: aliens itaiatiam, FOASAH oa eee June 274 1988 Very sincerely yours, BCAsAH Varsity Basketball ¢: ‘Ete Glicn. Dickinson, JPes 702 Loulsiema Ste, Lawrence, Fansas. Dear lens : | Permit ne to congratulate you upen passing the . Kansas bar enuicimatiorte S sii § cabeee ee i ka ee _ being so fond of your good mother and other monbers of your fentily, we wish you well and wat you to mow that we are strong for yots US Mo sr very Toul of yotg Teng ei may you Inve ‘combimued suecess in your chosen Meld, With ell good wishes, I an Very sincerely yours, | eS Eta : : l i} “8 e : A é Tine By 1088. : I learned to admire you when you were in athlet as @ menuber cf our varsity temis teem, as captain, and later sets and other struggles across the net and across the bars With best wishes for your suecess in your chosen field, I em | ; : Direstor of Physical Sducation, é a8ity Sogntd 2 fl c ai ibis , | ly A ji Bee2bs 5 a ma eye | A day uayt bP igo, Be abe, i: - H ay eile gP 2 te: ie : Fie eit i i z Ba OFS bee 4a ee ital He Whe Hea cali astel tity | July 8, 1933 that I ohaire askod that chewy Coach. ingot ag er pwd > for t will be our Campus. Very Director of DORIS HUMPHREY CHARLES WEIDMAN 31 WEST 10th ST., NEW YORK CITY May <6, 1938. Mr. Forrest C. Allen, Director of Physical Education, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. My dear Mr. Allen: Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and dance group will be on tour next spring 1939, and will be en route again to the Pacific coast. They will be in your territory and avail- able for lecture-recital or concert, or a combina- tion of both, and possibly master classes if you are interested, around April 3rd, 4th and 5th, 1939. If you wish us to schedule a date ten- tively, may I hear from you as soon as possible, as we want to make final arrangements for the tour by the mddle of June, if possible. Sincerely yours, Pauline Lawrence PL: OF Personal Representative GREAT AMERICAN DANCERS DORIS HUMPHREY CHARLES WEIDMAN NATION'S CRITICS PAY TRIBUTE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, MONDAY,MARCH 14 THE NEW YORK TIMES, Dancers Score InS. F. Recital By ALFRED FRANKENSTEIN When Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and their dance group concluded their first San Fran- cisco performance yesterday after- noon at the Curran Theater the audience rose and cheered and ap- plauded both loud and long. For we had witnessed what seemed to one observer to be the most ma- ture, most wisely created, most completely realized group composi- tion in the modern dance vein that this city has so far been privileged to see. “New Dance” was its title. Miss Humphrey is its main author, although one of its high moments is credited to Mr. Weidman. “New Dance” is a symphony in movement, and a great one. It is obviously the creation of one who sees both life and art whole, rounded and true. It is not the prodict of academic experiment in new dance forms, sterile of meaning except as an exercise in possibili- ties. Still less is it dependent upon suggestilon and association outside itself. It is altogether of the dance as a fine art of plastic human action, speaking its own self-suffi- cient language, its utterance alto- gether charged with vitality, power and idealism. POSITIVE THEMES “‘New Dance’ represents. the growth of the individual in rela- tionship to its fellows in an ideal state,” one reads in the program note. Well, maybe it does, but it seems to me no more “representa- tive’ of anything than a symphony by Beethoven is_ representative. But, just as the Bonn master’s sym- phonies carry implicit within their musical patterns a dramatic conflict worked out to a spiritually affirma- tive conclusion, so this dance piece states its masculine and feminine themes, develops and intermixes them through tension, growth and contrast, finally carries them over to joyous resolution and release. | It is a work in the grand style, heroic, vivid, amazingly rich in choreographic ideas, as sonorous to the eye as Beethoven or Brahms to the ear. It never halts in its or- ganized flow, never relies, as do so many group compositions both of the ballet and the modern school, upon the tableau, but constantly lives. And many a choreographer with a hundred dances at his dis- posal fails utterly to creafe the sense of big mass movement that Miss Hurmphrey here achieves with 13 performers. The modern dance has been too exclusively a feminine province, and part of the fine significance of “New Dance” is its exploitation of the virile element. Mr. Weidman’s spe- cial star performance, however, was in his own story piece entitled “The Happy Hypocrite,” after the satiric tale by Max Beerbohm. This, was a gorgeous, uproarious fantasy, wonderfully inventive in the action, which was always chore- ographic, but was deliciously panto- mimic, too. The work has genuine dance form. SUPERB VEHICLE It is a superb vehicle for the comic dance personality of Weid- man himself as the Lord George Hell who is transformed by a mask into Lord George Heaven, as well as those of Sybil Shearer as the lord’s mistress, Edith Orcutt as the Merry Dwarf, Katherine Litz as the un- spoiled object of Lord George’s af- fections, and Jose Limon as the maker of the masks. (Limon also played a very big part in “New Dance.”) One of the things I liked best about “The Happy Hypocrite” jis that it seems to be the product of an American sense of humor. One felt an American kind of comedy at work, both in the chore- ography and in the music by G. *Zerbert Elwell. And so the first local concert by the Humphrey-Weidman group goes into the record as one of the sea- son’s outstanding successes. Yester- |day we saw only a small part of their total repertoire. One hopes they will be back with more before many months have passed. NOW BOOKING FOR 1938-1939 TOUR Company of 15 Men and Women Dancers MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1938. HILARITY FEATURE» OF DANCE RECITAL By JOHN MARTIN When an audience leaves a dance recital laughing gayly, as Doris Humphkrey’s and Charles Weid- man’s audience left the Guild The- atre last night, that is news. As if deliberately to prove that the mod- ern dance is not necessarily devoted to solemnity, both dancers ostenta- tiously snubbed the tragic muse and went in for unabashed hilarity. To make the paradox complete, it was Mr. Weidman, usually the comedian of the team, who introduced the nearest thing to a serious theme in his new work, ‘This Pa:sion,’’ while Miss Humphrey turned whole- heartedly to Thurber and farce in her new work, ‘‘Race of Life.’’ ‘This Passion’”’ is the tersest and best built of all Mr. Weidman’s larger works to date. He has chosen in it to develop simultaneously three completely separate themes, allowing them to borrow suspense and vitality from each other through contrast. One theme pic- tures in fairly broad pantomime a sordid triangle murder, another shows in a more fantastic style a world that has become acclimated to air raids and other military hor- rors, and the third theme deals in terms of abstraction with ‘‘the aspi- ration to a saner order.” The first is the most successful, largely because of Miss Humphrey’s excellent performance in an unac- customed medium. Mr. Weidman has compelled her to lay aside her usually aristocratic air and become a frowsy vulgarian, which she does with complete conviction. The air- raid theme also contains a number of amusing moments. Mr. Weid- man, José Limén, George Bockman and Katherine Manning have the PAULINE LAWRENCE, Personal Representative 31 West 10th Street other roles, and the work as a ‘whole is well performed. Its music is by Norman Lloyd. Miss Humphrey’s ‘‘Race of Life’’ is pure nonsense, based on the drawings and story by James Thur- 'ber of a family bent on winning wealth. With ‘‘Excelsior’’ written on their banner, they encounter In- dians, marital infidelity and bad dreams, but eventually scale the heights and gain apparently fabu- lous amounts of gold. As Dorothy Parker’s program note says, ‘‘Any- ‘thing may be read into it‘or left out of it without making a great deal of difference.’’ Both in her choreography and especially in her characterization of the materfamilias, Miss Humphrey has caught the indescribable Thur- ber sense of comedy. Aided by a marvelously shapeless costume (pre- sumably designed by Pauline Law- rence, though uncredited on the program), she assumes the amoeba- like figure of a Thurber woman to perfection, and maintains the same style in all her movements. José Limon is her husband and Charles |. Weidman their little boy, who ac- company her on the campaign for success, but it is obviously she who rules the expedition. Edith Orcutt has a ridiculous bit as a ‘‘Beautiful Stranger’ who in- volves Father in a momentary af- fair, and she plays it superbly. George Bockman, Sybil Shearer and Katherine Litz constitute other menaces to the family’s progress, and carry on with fine humor the general foolishness of the thing. Nor does Vivian Fine’s musical set- ting miss a single opportunity to be as disarmingly silly as the stage doings. Certainly Miss Humphrey as a character actress and farceuse has been keeping something from us all these years. Neither of these works, to be sure, comes under the heading of pure dance by any stretch of the imagination. To prove that the company has not deserted its former field, ‘‘To The Dance’”’ with music by Clair Leonard, and “Variations and Conclusions’? from “New Dance’ with Wallingford Riegger’s music, respectively, opened and closed the program. The audience was a very large one and manifested its pleasure in no uncertain terms, New York City 3 ee? aes - HUMPHREY-WEIDMAN DANCERS TRUE EXPONENTS OF AMERICAN ART THE SAN FRANCISCO NEWS. —— Monday, March 14, 1938 Sanity, Logic Mark Work Of Group Choreographic Patterns Have Fundamentals of Basic Forms BY MARJORY M. FISHER The News Music Editor American dancers are com- {ng into their own. When the history of dance as an Ameri- can art form is written several generations hence, methinks it will be Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman who will be cred- ited with the creation—or evolution, if you prefer—of a dance art most typical of the land of their birth. At least their first San Francisco performance in the Curvan Theater yesterday afternoon convinced us at the Humphrey-Weidman com- bination has something which no other dance group in the passing parade of dance has seemed to pos- sess. Whether one cails that quality sanity, straightforwardness, forth- rightness or just sound logic makes little difference. The fact remains that said distinctive quality is there. And so are those other two very necessary things known as form and content. Furthermore, there is a total absence of anything suggesting cults or mystic rites. It is an hon- est form of presentation, dealing with basic fundamentals. The Hum- phrey-Weidman combination pro- duces a pictorial art in terms of movement which, translated into musical terms, might well be termed fugal. Yesterday’s program opened with “To the Dance’—a finely moving salutation which served td introduce various dance motifs and develop them into a visual fugue altogether impressive. Gay Tale Then, to prove that the modern dance need not be too serious to be highly entertaining, the company produced a “fairy tale for tired busi- ness men” called “The Happy Hypo- crite.” It proved delectable satire replete with humor and action hav- ing to do with a certain Lord George Hell who attended a banquet with La Senora Gambogi but left her to pursue a naive country lass who was looking for a husband with the face of a saint. Just how Lord George Hell became Lord George Heaven and brought the story to a happy ending (thanks to the Merry Dwarf who was also a Cupid) made a gay fantasy which brought to light the excellent solo ability of different members of the group. among these, Jose Limon was out- standing as the mask-maker, and his subsequent appearances further proved he is Mr. Weidman’s rival for chief male honors. Edith Orcutt as the Dwarf (a cute, Puckish Cupid) and Katherine Litz as the saint- seeking lass also won solo honors as did William Bales, Sybil Shearer (as the scorned Senora), George Bockman and Katherine Manning. More Abstract Fantastic costumes and head- dresses helped to keep the episode definitely in the realm of satirical fancy, and the whole of “The Happy Hypocrite” kept the audience chuck- ling as happily as any creation of Trudi Schoop’s. The “New Dance,’ which con- eluded the program, represented the growth of the individual in rela- tionship to his fellows in an ideal state. Such was its stated aim; and such was its general effect. This American dance group is equally adept in working in far- flung linear spatial patterns and in circular and three dimensional forms. They seem to have taken the best the classic ballet and the various modern idioms have had to offer and recast them into a new American dance form which has clarity and purpose throughout an especially wide and unrestricted ~ range of movement. Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman should bring their group here annually, as do the famous European aggregations, and should dance to capacity audiences. They offer an impressive experience in dance art—one marked by good taste in its every aspect, from chore- ography to costumes and music. THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 27 Humphrey-W eidman Program Pleases Movement, form and pattern of the dance should be an exposi- tion of contemporary life, particularly American life, rather than continuing old ideas and forms borrowed from Europe, is the credo brilliantly illustrated in the performances given Saturday at the South high school by Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman with their group of intelligent young men and women. These perform- ances, introducing to Salt Lake City audiences one of the most dis- tinctive dancing ensembles that has ever appeared here, were a tri- umphant vindication of their art ideals, and brought pleasure to a fascinated and responsive audience. in. the which was first on yesterday’s pro-: gram, a session at 2:15 p. m. which drew an interested group of the dance-minded, Miss Humphrey ex- plained the modern idea and tech- nique of the dance, showing how realism has been substituted for symbolism and illusion, and com- positions are designed as reflections of and commentary on every day experience, Explains Theories “Our dance themes as well as- movements, are modern, related to | phases of life we all know about that we ourselves have experienced,” Miss Humphrey said. “They are concerned with human values, their point of view related to the times. The technical foundation of the modern dance lies in the natural body action in relation to gravity. Within this there is wide range of development, ef course—rhythm lecture - demonstration * changes, dynamigs giving great variety, and a new vocabulary of the use of the body employed. Body movements are all expressive of emotional ideas, and run the entire gamut of experience.” Dancing has been denied its right- ful place among the serious arts, Miss Humphrey believes. It hereto- fore has meant only amusement, en- tertainment. The modern dance is also instructive, some times con- veying protest against certain phases of life, some times serious ideas presented under a humorous exterior, some times frankly play- ful, and ideas are presented not only in terms of the dance but in terms of the theater. Wustrate Technique Their technique and its develop- ment was illustrated in a series of demonstrations given by Miss Humphrey and a group of girls, and ‘by Mr. Weidman and his group, showing the characteristic move- ments, development of simple ac- tions, falls, leaps, and so on, Two parts of Miss Humphrey’s very original “New Dance,” joyous and spirited in mood,..were given, and in conclusion the witty, satiric ballet, “The Happy Hypocrite.” -based on a Max Beerbohm tale of Lord George Hell and his transfor- mation through love for an angelic country dancer to Lord George Heaven. Nura masks are used, and the pantomime had the true comic spirit. If one is unable at once to grasp the story of the dance, there are still the rhythm and precision of movement, the dynamic power, the admirable balance and coordination of muscles, and above all the ex- quisite light grace of Miss Humphrey herself, the pantomimic mastery and verve of Weidman to make these dance compositions fas- cinating- entertainment. And the music was always delightful, often merely the drum beat employed. Most important on the evening program was “Theater Piece,” high- ly effective in design and built in six episodes, presenting ah ironic interpretation of the rivalry in the ‘modern world, in. business, sports, in love, in the theater. Miss Humphrey, who was the choreg- rapher, played the part of one who protests against this competi- tion as destructive, and points the way to better living. Weidman’s clever grotesqueries sharply con- trasted with her role of the protes- tant. Her solo dance in the inter- lude is an exquisitely lovely state- ment of the ideal she seeks, and a prophecy of the more harmonious CLEVELAND NEWS, FEB. 5 LOO life revealed in the design of the “New Dancé,” the concluding part of which was given, It was altogether a program ol originality, with rich potentialities for the development of an Americar idiom of the dance. Repeated cur- tain calls attested the depth oi audience interest. seeing this tunity of modern dance owing Miss Virginia Tanner, largely responsible for bringing them here. For the oppor- foremost group, praise is MORNING WORLD-HERALD OMAHA, NEB., WED, FEBRUARY 23, 1938 BY WILLIAM N. GATES DANCE program arrangement, as well as | Wiedman in the smallest dance Humphrey, Weidman Pres ent Next Successor to the Ballet composition of long|vored in a smaller hall. something should be done to rescue Certainly People ask where the modern dance is going. Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, with their group, last night estab- lished that the modern dance is here—here with an illimitable wealth of vocabulary and of matter to communicate therein, couched in superb formal de- sign.. If their performance last night at Severance hall failed to elicit the box-office approval of society, it is because their art is running sev- eral years ahead of society’s in- vertebrate consciousness. For here surely is, in the ancient history of dance, the next great successor to the ballet. There is a stagecraft to the dance, just as there is a rhythm, which is peculiar to it. Humphrey an d Weidman are past masters of this stagecraft. It appeared in their The opening “To the Dance” in- troduces an audience to all the rich elements of repetition and contrast, of dynamics and of design in space, without encumbrance of story or philosophy other than the joy of well-constructed movement, which are the stuff of finished dance com- position. The concluding “Varia- tions and Conclusions” would make a breath-taking finale to any pro- gram. Its primarily thematic treat- ment carries it beyond the mere present to the permanence and the truth which is a symphony. With all its compactness of design, or perhaps because of that, the ulti- mate feeling is one of complete freedom. To Balance the Program Between these numbers were per- formed the two larger works, “Theater Piece,’ composed except for one, part by Miss Humphrey, and “The Happy Hypocrite,’ a movement. | standing and recently revised and re-presented. These two works sup- plied a nice balance in program- matic contrast, the first as a re- action to modern life communi- cated purely in terms of dance movement, the second as a trans- lation into dance-pantomime of Max Beerbohm’s witty “Fairy Tale for Tired Men.” For those in search of American ballet, let them look upon ‘The Happy Hypocrite’ and rest from their labors. From the outrageous dinner dance with which it opens to the final ecstatic gambols of Lord George Heaven (formerly Hell) with his naive Jenny Mere, the action is compact of such rib- bings, such full-blooded sarcasms, as are pure Weidman. The flow of the action is so swift that often its clever detail is found to have rolled by leaving in its wake only a de- licious tickle. For that reason the work might be more happily sa- Herbert Elwell’s delightful score from the muffling and mumbling which it suffered last night. Weidman Excels Weidman’s miming of Lord George has not only brilliance but character study. Katherine Litz as Jenny shows an uncommon feel- ing for comedy and style, and Edith Orcutt’s Cupid, slightly drunk with the fun of her sly tricks, is lovely. “Theater Piece” is a remarkable work. It would be better off with- out programmatic comment, for what it conveys is actually untrans- latable in words. Miss Humphrey’s solo Interlude reveals some of the most beautiful dancing seen in these many years in Cleveland. The technical sureness and the freedom of the group as a whole is a thing of joy. In the hands of Humphrey and Weidman and of this group the dance has become a thing flexible, luminous and strong. Dance Artists Are Lauded Beauty, Gracefulness Found at Concert By Keith Wilson Both Mr. Weidman and his part- ner are superb pantomimists and there is more drama than music in much of their dancing. More- over, they chose to do light things, many of them comic, several sa- tiric and none tragic. The Omaha audience laughed loudly and en- joyed them all. Particularly did they like ‘“Thea- tre Piece,” described as “a dance of experience in a place of con- flict and competition.” The dance is symbolic of a business office and its mad pace—the stenographers on a man hunt—later of a stadium in which two dancers symbolic of football teams tackled and patted each other on the back. Highlight of ‘“Fheatre Piece” was a sequence in which Weidman and two of the girl dancers burlesqued three hams doing a dramatic scene. Most effective was “The Race,” in which the thesis of ‘“‘Theatre Piece” was summed up in a mad, but chythmic and altogether coherent foot race, the runners near exhaus- tion. Miss Humphries symbolized revolt against the pointless rivalry and in “Interlude” danced the only harmonious sequence of the dance. There were two other parts of the concert, the last, a “New Dance,’ which was actually a sequel to “Theatre Piece,” was costumed in rust and blue. The “New Dance” resembled popular dancing in some respects and there was a faint resemblance to the big apple. In the opening set of dances, Miss Humphries interpreted ‘“Vari- ations in a Theme of Handel” and Mr. Weidman, Jose Limon and George Bockman did a dance called “Traditions” in which each of the three dancers gradually and singly changed the form of their dance. The audience liked especially “Ex- hibition Piece” a fluffy bit of crino- line mockery with the stars and Mr. Limon. WASHINGTON D.C HERALD, FEB 3 1938 CAPITAL ENTRANCED WITH PERFORMANCE OF NOTED. DANGERS By JEAN STANSBURY Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, with their dance group, shot like a meteor across the Washington sky and were gone. And Washington is the poorer in realization that they are gone but infinitely wealthier with the memory of the per- formance they gave him in the Roosevelt High School audi- torium. Humphrey and Weidman are @ peculiarly happy combination in that they add to their com- bined dancing and _ choreo- graphic talent the unusual spec- tacle of a man and woman who are perfect complements one to the other. Humphrey’s fine drawn, high E femininity is balanced delicately by Weid- man’s definite masculine domi- nance and strength. The program Tuesday night was all, and a little more, than could be asked for. Some of the numbers, particularly the Pro- logue and Behind the Wallis scenes from Theater Piece, were a little too prolonged for the im- portance of their message to the audience. Miss Humphrey’s barbed satire lost a little of its venom by the over-emphasis in those two scenes. The tempo in most of the other scenes, how- ever, kept the entire audience, even the standees, on their toes. It would seem to be a Cer- tainty that America has a defi- nitely *rystallized dance form of her own and that Humphrey and Weiiman are the chemists who have given us the basic formulae Their insistence on line and form throughout, even in Miss Humphrey’s most ab- stract solo in Interlude, from Theater Piece, the irony yet optimistic strength of every movement is peculiarly Amer- ica’s. Jose Limon, featured dancer with the group, is materialized thunder to Charles Weidman’s dynamic grace. Whenever, how- ever, and wherever Washington sees dancing, Washington will have to remember the Hum- phrey-Weidman group and the birth o2 3 national ballet that need bow to none. £O0S Angeles aRSer Cinies MARCH 17, Noted Pair Give Dance Program BY ISABEL MORSE JONES Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, superior American dancefs in the modern manner, came to Los Angeles last night. With a company of fifteen they gave a program of attention- holding variety. These two, who. can be credited with a new dance movement that is strictly Amer- ican, began their studies with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn when their school flourished. Abandoning the batik and _ in- cense phase early, they devel- oped into alert choreographers aware of the American scene. They have the gift of keen ob- servation and they are high- ranking interpretative artists. NATURAL GRACE Miss Humphrey is frail look- ing, the artist type. She has nat- ural grace of body and she has refined her instrument with har@ work. She moves like the wind in- widening spaces. The company is well rehearsed but each member has a particu- lar individuality of his own. The faces are not repellant masks but are expressive of the cur- rent pantomime. The costum- ing is simple in line, economical in cut and opulent in color. The music is perfect for the dance portrayal and it has obviously been chosen by the musically intelligent. Composers Brahms, | Lehman, Slonimsky and Wall- ingford Riegger contributed. A piano and some _ unobtrusive percussion instruments were used to advantage. Weidman| is strong and expertly contfolled. | | BASED ON PSYCHOLOGY The choreography of “Tradi- tions” is definitely based on a | psychological study but it was neither austere nor dull at any time. Habits of thought were exhibited in motion. The audi- ence recognized its own foibles and laughed at the mirror which exhibited them. And yet it was abstract and there was no di- rect. representation. of ideas. “Traditions” is an achievement in that it allows the dance art to stand on its own feet in the realm of mind. “Exhibition Piece” is the most delightful satire on ballet dis- play that we have had so far. Three dancers, absurdly roman- tic and gotten up in the mauve and black velvet which charac- terizes the decade in which la- dies swooned and gallants caught them, gave a performance of rare delicacy and point. PRINCIPAL NUMBER “Theater Piece” was the prin- cipal concert number of the eve- ning. It might have been termed, “Whither are we going?” Termed a dance of experience, it comprised the various competi- tions in which man and woman are engaged and tops them with an idealistic vision of faith danced by Miss Humphrey that made despair and chaos unreal. There was delicious humor in the “Stadium” and the “pur- suit of the male” and again in the theater scene where the jazz babies and the pretending dram- atists strive for the great goal,| ‘publicity. The concluding variations from the New Dance were mo- notonous but probably were of technical interest to the _ initi- ates. The Humphrey-Weidman dancers bring us an American art expression that has the spice of ‘humor and the dignity of ’ truth. THE EVENING BULLETIN —~PHILADELPHIA, MONDAY, JANUARY 31), 1938 DANCE IN REVIEW Miss Humphrey's “Theatre Piece” An Artist’s Conception of Today BY HENRY PLEASANTS has produced nothing at once so impressive and so encour- aging as-‘"Fheatre. Piece,” intro- duced Saturday afternoon to an eager and appreciative audience in the Academy of Music by Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and their Dance Groups in a benefit for the Philadelphia Committee for Prevention of Blindness. The chore- ography is by Miss Humphrey who has, in the past, repeatedly shown herself to be a composer of uncom- mon perception, individuality and creative imagination. None of her earlier dances in large forms, how- ever, has attained quite the ma- turity of “Theatre Piece,” or its sus- tained lyric quality and shrewd sense of theatrical values. This is the more surprising in view of the subject matter. “Theatre Piece” is the first in a trilogy of large scale dances concerned with social relationships. It is “a dance of experience in a place of conflict and competition,” showing the world “as it is today.” The other components of the trilogy are “New Dance” designed to show the world “as it should be,” and “My Red Fires,” dealing with the relationship between man and woman within the social schemes. This is delicate ma- terial for the lyric artist. Only the most gifted and imaginative can steer it clear of the snares of pre- tentiousness and present a personal point of view in a manner which will be compelling to others. Miss Humphrey is obviously thus gifted. However much she may be Ti American modern dance concerned with the qualities of the | world about her, she expresses her- self with so much artistic imagina- tion and with such a sure command of lyric forms that the _ subject promptly assumes an _ absorbing dramatic character. There is no suggestion of preaching here in the ordinary sense. Miss Humphrey is obviously pointing a moral, but she conveys her message with the dig- nity, restraint and insight becoming an artist and a cultivated woman. Throughout the dance Miss Humphrey is the solo figure, a rebel against the competitive scheme of things, played off with ‘splendid structural effect against the group. The latter, also in contrapuntal style, caricature the world in busi- ness, in love, in sport and in the theatre. A setting of blocks is used for extraordinary scenic effects ob- tained with stunning simplicity. The caricature is pointed, often gro- tesque, and always imaginative. There is nothing episodic about the piece. The various sections are welded together with the master craftsman’s ability to do the right thing at the right time, and the joints are so fashioned that one is hardly aware of them. Miss Humph- rey’s elaborate solo dance, ‘“Inter- lude” conveying a theme of “har- mony and peace” is a model of lyric invention, and has a firm unifying effect, preparing the composition for the coda when “the group is suddenly brought out of its theatre- acting by the call to something new” and the dance ends “on a hushed note of expectancy.” The program also contained the Variations and Conclusion from “New Dance,” which was _ not enough to convey a clear idea of the quality of the work, and a number of shorter pieces including the satiric “Exhibition Piece” and Mr. Weidman’s familiar “Traditions.” The splendidly trained and dis- ciplined group danced exceedingly well, and with a unity of spirit and purpese which suggested that Miss Humphrey’s ideal of “a modern brotherhood of man” might have a basis in proven reality. SE duly 19, 1058. Linisborg, Fensase # i | f i ali i {i isi as ceech of it tll an Hi il al th : i i | : H h ea a . your to recommend Mr. Tosmith as in filling iow Ole Neaaith, in his high school daye at Belleville, Kansas, - Ghsoleoe lo wag 0 Gent focttall, vachotbetly. ‘sac ent tnoolall. . of wore limi: does not limited costly Se ae ea ZI an 8 Davestor of —— Vewaity Coache PCASAH ERNST F. PIHLBLAD, PRESIDENT EMORY LINDQUIST, VICE PRESIDENT JENS STENSAAS, TREASURER a (3 0B 4 a OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION BETHANY COLLEGE LINDSBORG, KANSAS July 16, 1938 Dr. #8. E. Allen University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Dear Dr. Allen: Mr. Ole Nesmith has used your name as a reference in his application for a posi- tion as coach of athletics and instructor of Physical Education at Bethany College. I would appreciate a statement from you concerning his character and qualificat tions for this position. The candidate will coach all sports at Bethany and have charge of the Physical Education classes for the men students. I desire to thank you for the attention which you may give to this at your convenience. Sincerely yours, ee P amo Lomdlpusn aR BS a