Valeria Ladd collection on the revived Greek dance, 1924-1967

Biographical Note

Valeria Gibson Ladd (1892-1984) was a dancer with the Noyes School of Rhythm during the 1930s; she brought a group of dancers from the Noyes School to perform in Greece in 1932 and 1934. The Noyes School of Rhythm had been founded in the early 1900s by Florence Fleming Noyes. Noyes was a proponent of the natural dancing style of Isadora Duncan and other practitioners of what was often termed the "revived Greek dance." Noyes developed her own movement system toward regaining one's natural sense of rhythm. The techique Noyes created was based on a natural, fluid movement designed to emphasize rhythm through coordination and concentration. The school branch in Portland, Connecticut, continues to offer programs and camps.