Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Notes
Jane Grossenbacher
Jane Grossenbacher was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1951. A renowned photographer, she studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and Indiana University. Grossenbacher was known for her black and white photogravures and staged numerous exhibits of her work across the United States, Europe, and Japan. In addition to photography, she studied Flamenco dancing in Spain and performed with a circus for a year. After living in England and Santa Fe, New Mexico, Grossenbacher moved to San Francisco and worked at the Academy of Art. She married artist Keith Bjorkman (1959-2017) in 1992. Grossenbacher died of ovarian cancer on September 16, 2018.
Eleanor King
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1906 February 8 | Born in Middletown, Pennsylvania |
| 1922 | Moved with her family to Brooklyn, New York |
| 1924 | Enrolled at New York University to pursue a degree in journalism Enrolled at the Clair Tree Major School of Theater in New York, New York, and studied dance with Priscilla Robineau |
| circa 1926 | Studied at the Theater Guild School |
| 1927-1928 | Studied at Denishawn with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman while Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn were on tour |
| 1928 | Joined the Humphrey-Weidman Company as one of its first members Performed in Humphrey's ballet Color Harmony |
| 1930 | Danced in Léonide Massine's production of Le sacre du printemps at the Metropolitan Opera House |
| 1931 | Formed a small dance troupe named The Little Group with other members of the Humphrey-Weidman Company: Letitia Ida, Charles Laskey, José Limón, and Ernestine Hedoch Stodelle Performed in her first choreographed work with José Limón, titled B minor Suite, which exhibited J. S. Bach's influence |
| 1934 | Attended the Bennington School of Dance with the Humphrey-Weidman Company |
| 1935 | Departed from the Humphrey-Weidman Company |
| 1936 Summer | Taught at the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado |
| 1937 May | Produced her first major choreographed work, Icaro, a dance-drama set to the music of David Diamond and Franziska Boas, at the Brooklyn Museum Dance Center |
| 1938 | Awarded a fellowship at the Bennington School of Dance |
| 1943 | Briefly taught at Carleton College in Northfeld, Minnesota Moved to Seattle Choreographed To the West Founded The Eleanor King Dance Repertory Company |
| 1943-1944 | Taught at the Cornish School of Arts in Seattle |
| 1944 | Attended the Salish Treaty Day Dances at La Connor, which introduced her to Native American dance traditions |
| 1945 | Choreographed Northwest Spirit Dance |
| 1947 | Established One World in Dance, a nine-week multi-cultural dance program |
| 1952-1971 | Taught dance, acting, and choreography at the University of Arkansas |
| 1952 | Toured across England, France, and the Netherlands |
| 1955 | Studied mime with Etienne Decroux in Paris |
| 1958 | Studied in Japan, with a subsequent trip in 1960-1961 |
| 1967 | Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to continue her dance studies in Japan Choreographed The Well-Tempered Dancer, which displayed J. S. Bach's influence |
| circa 1970 | Completed her unpublished study The Way of Japanese Dance |
| 1971 | Retired in Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| 1976-1977 | Awarded a grant from the Vogelstein Foundation to study dance in Bali, Burma, Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand |
| 1978 | Published her autobiography Transformations: The Humphrey-Weidman Era |
| circa 1985 | Completed her unpublished book Transformations: To the West |
| 1987-1988 | Annabelle Gamson performed acclaimed revivals of her works |
| 1987 | Awarded the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts |
| 1989 | Received a Choreographer's Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts Moved to the Actor's Home in Haddonfield, New Jersey |
| 1990-1991 | Directed the American Dance Repertory Theater with Mino Nicolas |
| 1991 February 27 | Died in Haddonfield, New Jersey |