Agnes de Mille

From Freepedia

Image:Agnesdemille.jpg Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. She was born in Harlem into a well-connected family of theater professionals (her uncle was Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille and also the granddaughter of economist Henry George).

Agnes originally wanted to be an actress and always had a love for acting, but she was told that she was 'not pretty enough'. It was then that she turned to dance. Agnes longed to dance from a young age, but her parents had not allowed her to. Dancing at this time was not much of a career option, but more of an activity. Agnes’s younger sister was prescribed to take ballet classes to cure her flat feet. Agnes joined her and finally explored her world of dance. She lacked flexibility and technique, however. Classical ballet was the most widely known dance form at this time. Therefore, Agnes was limited in opportunities. Still, her strong character work and compelling performances, learned from watching movie stars on the set with her father in Hollywood, were more interesting to watch than perfectly turned out legs. One of Agnes’ earliest jobs, thanks to her father’s connections, was choreographing the movie Cleopatra in 1934, though the dances were later cut from the movie. She appeared in The Ragamuffin in 1916, which was her first job.

She graduated from UCLA and moved to London in 1932 to study at Marie Rambert's Ballet Club.

In 1939 she was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre. There she created Black Ritual, the first ballet to use an all-black cast.

After that, she worked as choreographer on many major musicals and a number of films, including:

• Rodeo (1942)
• Oklahoma! (1943)
• Carousel (1945)
• Brigadoon (1947)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949)
• Paint Your Wagon (1951)
• Juno (1959)

Her love for acting played a very important role in her choreography. She created the original choreography for such musicals as Oklahoma! and Carousel. Agnes de Mille revolutionized musical theatre by creating choreography which not only conveyed the emotional dimensions of the characters, but also enhanced the plot. Agnes was always a hopeless romantic, looking for love and getting lost in emotional affairs. De Mille's choreography, as a reflection of her awareness of acting, reflected the angst and turmoil of the characters instead of simply focusing on a dancer's physical technique.

In 1953, she founded the Agnes de Mille Theater.

She suffered a stroke in 1975, but recovered after a long battle. She received the Handel Medallion for achievement in the arts in 1976.

Agnes de Mille was a lifelong friend of modern dance legend Martha Graham. The publisher of many books about dance, de Mille in 1992 published Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham, a 509-page biography of Graham. Agnes de Mille had been working on the Graham manuscript for over 30 years.

References

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