HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELEN TAMIRIS
(April 23, 1902 - August 4, 1966)
American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher


Helen Tamiris was a pioneer of American modern dance. She brought a social consciousness to the concert hall and went on to become the director of the Dance Project for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and later an acclaimed Broadway choreographer.

Her works were uniquely American, dramatically depicting important social issues of the time such as racism, poverty, and war. In 1928, she wrote the  

 following manifesto in her concert program: "Art is international but the artist is a product of a nationality.,,,There are no general rules. Each original work of art creates its own code."

In 1927, she made her premiere as a solo modern dancer and two years later formed her own school and company.  She wanted to bring dance to a wider audience. Married to modern dancer and choreographer Daniel Nagrin (who wrote the book How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds), she and Nagrin directed the Tamiris-Nagrin Dance Company.

She is best known for her suite of dances called Negro Spirituals which were created between 1928 and 1942.  These dances protested against prejudice and discrimination against African Americans in America.  How Long Brethren? (1937) was a production of the Federal Dance Project.  Other dancers and choreographers who participated were Katherine Dunham, Doris Humphrey, Ruth Page and Charles Weidman.  

During the depression she assisted many dancers with finding work and career opportunities.  She also choreographed some pieces with themes that reflected her Jewish heritage such as Memoir (1959) and Womans Song (1960).  As a musical theatre choreographer she won a Tony award for best choreography in Touch and Go (1949). Other musicals included Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Up in Central Park (1947), Flahooley (1951), Fanny (1954) and Plain and Fancy (1955).

Resources: Jewish Women's Archive, Pauline Tish
Notable Women in American Theatre 1989
Wikipedia