PAGE, Ruth 1899-1991

PERSONAL: Born March 22, 1899 (some sources say 1900), in Indianapolis, IN; died, April 7, 1991, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Lafayette Page (a brain surgeon) and Marian Heinly (a pianist); married Thomas Hart Fisher, 1925 (died, 1959); married Andre Delfau, 1980. Education: Studied dance with Adolph Bolm, 1917, Enrico Cecchetti, 1920, and Edna McRae; studied modern dance with Harald Kreutzbert.

CAREER: Dancer. New York, NY, dancer in revue, 1917; Anna Pavlova Company, South American tour, dancer, 1918-19; Ballet Intime, principal dancer, 1920-22; Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue, New York, NY, principal dancer, 1922-24; Allied Arts Ballet, Chicago, IL, 1924-27; Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Monte Carlo, dancer, 1925; solo dancer, 1927; danced with partners, 1933-34; dancer and choreographer with Bentley Stone, beginning 1935; Page Stone Ballet, dancer and choreographer, beginning 1938; Ravinia Opera, ballet director and principal dancer, 1926-27; Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New York, ballet director and principal dancer, 1927; Chicago Civic Opera, ballet director and principal dancer, 1934-36; Chicago Opera, ballet director and principal dancer, 1941-42; Ballets Americains, Paris, France, co-director and principal dancer, 1950; Chicago Lyric Opera, choreographer and ballet director, 1954-69; Ruth Page's Chicago Opera Ballet, founder; Chicago Ballet, artistic director, 1974-77; lecturer on dance, 1978-91. Guest choreographer for Ballets des Champs-Elysees, London Festival Ballet, and Massine's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Appeared in the film Dance Macabre, 1922.

AWARDS, HONORS: Honorary doctorate, Columbia College, 1974; Dance Award, 1980, 1990; Illinois Gubernatorial Award, 1985.

WRITINGS:

Beethoven Sonata, Choreography: To Be Danced to the Sonate Pathetique (op. 13) of Ludwig van Beethoven, E. L. Baum (Chicago, IL), 1952.

Page by Page, edited and introduction by Andrew Mark Wentink, Dance Horizons (Brooklyn, NY), 1978.

Class: Notes on Dance Classes around the World,1915-1980, edited and additional notes by Andrew Mark Wentink, drawings by Andre Delfau, Princeton Book Co. (Princeton, NJ), 1984.

Contributor to The Dance Has Many Faces, by Walter Sorrell, [New York, NY], 1951.

SIDELIGHTS: Dancer and choreographer Ruth Page is well known for her use of American themes. A contributor to the International Dictionary of Modern Dance described Page as "an American dance pioneer who worked closely with many modern dancers and was instrumental in development of the American themes, the dramatic expressions and styles, and the experimental movements that have characterized modern dance." Some of her well-known American-themed dances include her first ballet The Flapper and the Quarterback, as well as Blues, An American in Paris, American Pattern, and Frankie and Johnny, based on song lyrics and still performed today.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

International Directory of Modern Dance, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1998.

periodicals

Time, April 22, 1991, "Died, Ruth Page," p. 74.

online

Andros Dance,http://androsdance.tripod.com/ (April 15, 2002), "Ruth Page (1905-1991)."

HMS Media,http://www.hmsmedia.com/ (April 15, 2002), "Longings for the Moon: The Real Ruth Page."*