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| {{Short description|Japanese American dancer (1912–1993)}} | |||
| {{Cleanup|date=August 2006}} | |||
| {{Infobox artist | |||
| '''Ailes Gilmour''' was among the young pioneers of the American ] movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham's dance company. | |||
| | name = Ailes Gilmour | |||
| | image = | |||
| | caption = Helen Tamiris (center), Augusta Gassner, Dvo Seron, Ailes Gilmour, Marion Appell, and Lulu Morris in Tamiris's How Long Brethren, 1930-40's. | |||
| | birth_date = {{birth date|1912|01|27|mf=y}} | |||
| | birth_place = ], Japan | |||
| | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|04|16|1912|01|27|mf=y}} | |||
| | death_place = ], US | |||
| | nationality = American | |||
| | field = ] | |||
| | movement = ] | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Ailes Gilmour''' (January 27, 1912 – April 16, 1993) was a ] dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American ] movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of ]'s dance company.<ref name="NYT DANCE">{{cite news|title=DANCE VIEW; Reflections on Martha Graham's Revolution| first=Anna| last =Kisselgoff| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/29/arts/dance-view-reflections-on-martha-graham-s-revolution.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm| newspaper =The New York Times| date=May 29, 1988| access-date =August 27, 2012| quote=Among those in the first and all-female troupe in the 1930s was Ailes Gilmour, who introduced her brother, the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, to Miss Graham}}</ref> Gilmour's older half-brother was sculptor ]. | |||
| Ailes was born in ], ] in ]. Ailes' older brother is ] the American sculptor. Isamu and Ailes had different fathers. Their mother, ] was an American ex-patriate living in Japan, working as an English teacher and writer. ], met Isamu's father, ] while Yone was living in New York where he trying to get his poetry published. At first she worked for him as his editor. Isamu was born in New York after Yone had gone back to Japan to teach English at ]. At the time Leonie believed they were married. However, when she got to ], Leonie found out that Yone already a child and another family. | |||
| ==Early life== | |||
| According to ] in her biography of Isamu,<ref> Duus, Masayo. ''The Life of Isamu Noguchi: A Journey without Borders. Princeton." University Press, 2004</ref>, Ailes' son found a page in an old notebook which might have referred to Ailes' father. However, the corner of the paper where a signature would be written had been torn off apparently to conceal his identity. Ailes said in a biographical statement for ] book about ], that her father was a Japanese poet.<ref>Horosko, Marian. ''Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training.'' University Press of Florida, 2002</ref> | |||
| Gilmour was born in 1912 in ], ]. Her father was unknown. Her mother, ], attended ] and studied at the ] in Paris, then moved to New York City in the early 1900s to try to establish herself as a writer. In 1907, Léonie traveled to Japan at the behest of ], the father of Ailes' older half-brother, Isamu, who had been born in 1904. However, by the time Léonie arrived in ], Yone was involved with a Japanese woman who had already borne the first of their nine children. Léonie's circumstances in Japan were always precarious. Nevertheless, she chose to stay there, teaching to support herself and Isamu, while continuing to edit Yone's writing. When Ailes was born, Léonie chose the name Ailes for her daughter from a poem ''Beauty's a Flower'' by ], the pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson. It is a striking coincidence that the words in that poem seemed to predict Ailes' career as a dancer. O'Neill wrote, "Ailes was a girl that stepped on two bare feet..."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Léonie Gilmour|last=Marx|first=Edward|publisher=Botchan Books|year=2013|isbn=978-1939913012|pages=237}}</ref> Léonie, Isamu and Ailes lived together in Japan until 1918, when Léonie sent Isamu back to the United States to attend a progressive school in Indiana. | |||
| Young Ailes grew up in a Japanese style house that Léonie had constructed in ], a seaside town near ]. Ailes had close Japanese childhood friends, spoke Japanese as well as English and identified with Japan before she returned to the United States in 1920, at age 8. When Ailes and her mother returned to America, they lived first in ] and then moved to ]. Léonie was a great believer in progressive education and sent Ailes to the ] elementary school, founded in 1876 by ]. Léonie herself had attended the predecessor to the Ethical Culture Society elementary school when it was called the Workingman's School. For high school, Léonie chose the ] in ] for her daughter. It was a boarding school that was known for its progressive, coeducational program. The director and founder of the school was Dr. Fred Goldfrank, who was related to one of the founders of the Ethical Culture Society. Ailes greatly enjoyed her time there and formed several friendships that she maintained for the rest of her life. | |||
| Leonie chose the name Ailes for her daughter from a poem ''Beauty's a Flower'' by ] the pseudonym of ]. It is a striking coincidence that the words in that poem seemed to predict Ailes' career as a dancer. Moira wrote, "Ailes was girl that stepped on two bare feet..." Performing ] was an important innovation by modern dance pioneers like Martha Graham. | |||
| ⚫ | In 1928, Gilmour was the literary editor of ''The Cherry Pit'', the Cherry Lawn's student magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cherrylawnschool.org/yearbooks/1928CherryPit.pdf |title=The Cherry Pit 1928 Yearbook - Editorial Staff|publisher=Cherry Lawn School|access-date=October 15, 2008}}</ref> After she graduated from high school in 1929, she went on to the ] to study dance and performing arts as a scholarship student. There she met the young ] and joined her new professional dance troupe.<ref name="NYT DANCE" /> Gilmour told Marion Horosko that she introduced Graham to her half-brother, Noguchi, in 1929. Graham had a bust made of herself in bronze. | ||
| Ailes grew up in a little Japanese style house that Leonie had constructed in ], a seaside town near ]. Isamu as a boy actually worked with the carpenters who built it. The Japanese woodworking tools they taught him to use were among his most treasured possessions all his life. | |||
| ==Career== | |||
| Ailes was remembered by neighbors in ] as a happy child who liked playing in the garden, chasing butterflies and cicadas. | |||
| ⚫ | During the ], dancers like Gilmour and artists like Noguchi struggled to find work. In 1932, when ] opened, Gilmour performed at the debut with Graham's company. Their work, ''Choric Patterns'', lasted on stage for just one week. Gilmour ruefully observed to Marion Horosko that Radio City Music Hall could succeed only when it became a movie theater with Rockettes. | ||
| ⚫ | In the 1930s, Gilmour appeared on dance programs with dancer-choreographer ]. Matons was the director of the "experimental unit" of the New Dance League, which evolved from the ] between 1931 and 1935. ] was to later become General Hershy Bar, an anti-war street theater character and publisher. Among the group's later-to-become-famous members were male dancer-choreographers like ] and ]. In 1937, Ailes and Matons performed in a ] recital at the ]. In 1939, they were in ''Adelante'', a WPA-sponsored Broadway musical. Also in 1937, Matons did the choreography for the Lenin Peace pageant at ]. | ||
| In 1920, Leonie and her daughter managed to return to America. Isamu was still in high school in ]. He got his high school diploma there and was accepted into Columbia University's pre-med program in 1922. At that time, Leonie and Ailes also go to live in ]. Leonie sends Ailes to the ] elementary school which was founded in 1876 by ], She herself had been a student there. It was known as a progressive school. Leonie had completed her education at ] and the ] in Paris. For her daughter, she chooses the Cherry Lawn School in ]. It was a boarding school which was known for its progressive, co-educational program. The director of the school was Dr. Christina DeStael von Holstein, a descendant of the ] a French woman writer in the early 19th century. Dr. Christina DeStael's husband, ] had been an official in the ] and later served an observer at the ]. He taught science at Cherry Lawn. | |||
| In 1948, Gilmour married anthropologist ]. They had a son, Joseph.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2010/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Country%20Courier/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Country%20Courier%201967%20Grayscale/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Country%20Courier%201967%20Grayscale%20-%200482.pdf|title=Memorial Service for Dr. Spinden|date=October 26, 1967|work=Putnam County Courier, Carmel, N.Y.|access-date=May 30, 2018}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | In 1928, |
||
| On April 16, 1993, Gilmour died in ], ] at the age of eighty-one. | |||
| On ], 1933 Ailes mother, ] dies in the charity ward of New York's ] The cause of death was listed as pneumonia perhaps brought on by the toll taken on her by many years of poverty and hardship. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| Isamu and Ailes put a small gravestone for Leonie in her family burial plot in ] cemetery in ]. Isamu made a Japanese style unglazed ] statue to guard their mother's grave. It was only many decades later that Isamu achieved renown and success as an artist. | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| == Further reading == | |||
| ⚫ | During the |
||
| ⚫ | * Noguchi, Isamu. ''A Sculptor's World''. New York: Harper and Row, 1968. | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| Ailes was married to ]. Ailes son is ]. | |||
| == Additional Reading == | |||
| * Duus, Masayo. ''The Life of Isamu Noguchi: Journey without Borders''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. | |||
| * Horosko, Marian. ''Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training''. University Press of Florida, 2002. | |||
| ⚫ | * Noguchi, Isamu. |
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Latest revision as of 11:48, 8 November 2024
Japanese American dancer (1912–1993)| Ailes Gilmour | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1912-01-27)January 27, 1912 Yokohama, Japan |
| Died | April 16, 1993(1993-04-16) (aged 81) Santa Fe, New Mexico, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Dance |
| Movement | Modern Dance |
Ailes Gilmour (January 27, 1912 – April 16, 1993) was a Japanese American dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern Dance movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham's dance company. Gilmour's older half-brother was sculptor Isamu Noguchi.
Early life
Gilmour was born in 1912 in Yokohama, Japan. Her father was unknown. Her mother, Léonie Gilmour, attended Bryn Mawr College and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, then moved to New York City in the early 1900s to try to establish herself as a writer. In 1907, Léonie traveled to Japan at the behest of Yone Noguchi, the father of Ailes' older half-brother, Isamu, who had been born in 1904. However, by the time Léonie arrived in Tokyo, Yone was involved with a Japanese woman who had already borne the first of their nine children. Léonie's circumstances in Japan were always precarious. Nevertheless, she chose to stay there, teaching to support herself and Isamu, while continuing to edit Yone's writing. When Ailes was born, Léonie chose the name Ailes for her daughter from a poem Beauty's a Flower by Moira O'Neill, the pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson. It is a striking coincidence that the words in that poem seemed to predict Ailes' career as a dancer. O'Neill wrote, "Ailes was a girl that stepped on two bare feet..." Léonie, Isamu and Ailes lived together in Japan until 1918, when Léonie sent Isamu back to the United States to attend a progressive school in Indiana.
Young Ailes grew up in a Japanese style house that Léonie had constructed in Chigasaki, a seaside town near Yokohama. Ailes had close Japanese childhood friends, spoke Japanese as well as English and identified with Japan before she returned to the United States in 1920, at age 8. When Ailes and her mother returned to America, they lived first in San Francisco and then moved to New York City. Léonie was a great believer in progressive education and sent Ailes to the Ethical Culture Society elementary school, founded in 1876 by Felix Adler. Léonie herself had attended the predecessor to the Ethical Culture Society elementary school when it was called the Workingman's School. For high school, Léonie chose the Cherry Lawn School in Connecticut for her daughter. It was a boarding school that was known for its progressive, coeducational program. The director and founder of the school was Dr. Fred Goldfrank, who was related to one of the founders of the Ethical Culture Society. Ailes greatly enjoyed her time there and formed several friendships that she maintained for the rest of her life.
In 1928, Gilmour was the literary editor of The Cherry Pit, the Cherry Lawn's student magazine. After she graduated from high school in 1929, she went on to the Neighborhood Playhouse to study dance and performing arts as a scholarship student. There she met the young Martha Graham and joined her new professional dance troupe. Gilmour told Marion Horosko that she introduced Graham to her half-brother, Noguchi, in 1929. Graham had a bust made of herself in bronze.
Career
During the Depression Era, dancers like Gilmour and artists like Noguchi struggled to find work. In 1932, when Radio City Music Hall opened, Gilmour performed at the debut with Graham's company. Their work, Choric Patterns, lasted on stage for just one week. Gilmour ruefully observed to Marion Horosko that Radio City Music Hall could succeed only when it became a movie theater with Rockettes.
In the 1930s, Gilmour appeared on dance programs with dancer-choreographer Bill Matons. Matons was the director of the "experimental unit" of the New Dance League, which evolved from the Workers Dance League between 1931 and 1935. Bill Matons was to later become General Hershy Bar, an anti-war street theater character and publisher. Among the group's later-to-become-famous members were male dancer-choreographers like José Limón and Charles Weidman. In 1937, Ailes and Matons performed in a Works Progress Administration (WPA) recital at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1939, they were in Adelante, a WPA-sponsored Broadway musical. Also in 1937, Matons did the choreography for the Lenin Peace pageant at Madison Square Garden.
In 1948, Gilmour married anthropologist Herbert J. Spinden. They had a son, Joseph.
On April 16, 1993, Gilmour died in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of eighty-one.
References
- ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (May 29, 1988). "DANCE VIEW; Reflections on Martha Graham's Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
Among those in the first and all-female troupe in the 1930s was Ailes Gilmour, who introduced her brother, the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, to Miss Graham
- Marx, Edward (2013). Léonie Gilmour. Botchan Books. p. 237. ISBN 978-1939913012.
- "The Cherry Pit 1928 Yearbook - Editorial Staff" (PDF). Cherry Lawn School. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
- "Memorial Service for Dr. Spinden" (PDF). Putnam County Courier, Carmel, N.Y. October 26, 1967. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
Further reading
- Noguchi, Isamu. A Sculptor's World. New York: Harper and Row, 1968.