Research Catalog

Title

[Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn with Lisan Kay and Yeichi Nimura] [videorecording].

Publication

1956-1959.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968
• Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972.
• Nimura, Yeichi, 1897-1979
• Kay, Lisan

Description

1 videodisc (NTSC) (9 min.) : si., col.; 4 3/4 in.

Donor/Sponsor

Bequest of the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

Series Statement

Yeichi and Lisan Kay Nimura Collection

Genre/Form

• Dance.
• Video.

Note

• Title supplied by cataloger.

Funding (note)

• Processing and cataloging made possible by the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

System Details (note)

• DVD, transferred from 16mm film.

Source (note)

• Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura

Biography (note)

• Yeichi Nimura, 1897-1979, was born in Suwa, Japan, and came to the United States in 1918. He studied dance at the Denishawn school, and also trained in ballet, ballroom, and Spanish dancing. He first danced onstage in 1927 in a revue choreographed by his compatriot Michio Ito, and presented his first recital in 1930. He performed throughout the 1930s in works created by himself and others on the concert stage, in musical theater, and on American and foreign tours with his wife Lisan Kay. Retiring from the stage while still in his prime, he focused on teaching, coaching, and choreography. He choreographed the musical Lute song both on Broadway in 1946 and at City Center in 1959. He was a founder of the Ballet Arts school at "61" Carnegie Hall, and created works for his students. In recognition of his contributions to international cultural understanding, the Japanese government awarded him an Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1969. In 1973 he established the Nimura Dance Award in Japan in order to assist young dancers and recognize achievement.

Contents

• Ruth St. Denis at Ballet Arts (2 min.) / recorded at the Ballet Arts studio, nos. 60 and 61 Carnegie Hall, New York City on July 25 and August 1, 1959. Dancer-choreographer Ruth St. Denis is seen sitting in a chair, then addressing a group as part of a lecture-film presentation. Wearing a long dress and veil, she then demonstrates movements for Lisan Kay in the studio.
• Ruth St. Denis demonstrates movements for Lisan Kay and Yeichi Nimura (3 min.) / recorded at no. 60 Carnegie Hall, New York City, on August 1, 1959. St. Denis coaches Kay in moving and managing long draperies, then works with Nimura on prayerful gestures. In addition to a long veil, Kay wears a bare-midriff costume suggesting an Indian sari, while Nimura's brown cassock evokes St. Francis of Assisi. At the end of this segment, the three join in moving in slow motion through a series of poses. In his youth Nimura was a scholarship student at St. Denis and Ted Shawn's Denishawn school. He and St. Denis performed on the same bill in 1931, and she and Shawn remained close friends with him and Kay.
• Candid footage of Kay and Nimura (2 min.) / recorded outdoors at a motel in Lee, Mass., probably in 1956. Kay runs clockwise around the perimeter of a swimming pool, then bows to the camera; Nimura does the same, running counterclockwise.
• Ted Shawn converses with Kay and Nimura (1 min.) / recorded outside the theatre at Jacob's Pillow, Lee, Mass., in July 1956.
• Street scenes, New York City (30 sec.) / recorded from a moving car, probably in 1956. Possibly taken from Nimura and Kay's car Sir-San (Honorable Sir).

Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-5709

OCLC

682599691

Title

[Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn with Lisan Kay and Yeichi Nimura] [videorecording].

Imprint

1956-1959.

Country of Producing Entity

United States.

Series

Yeichi and Lisan Kay Nimura Collection

System Details

DVD, transferred from 16mm film.

Funding

Processing and cataloging made possible by the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

Biography

Yeichi Nimura, 1897-1979, was born in Suwa, Japan, and came to the United States in 1918. He studied dance at the Denishawn school, and also trained in ballet, ballroom, and Spanish dancing. He first danced onstage in 1927 in a revue choreographed by his compatriot Michio Ito, and presented his first recital in 1930. He performed throughout the 1930s in works created by himself and others on the concert stage, in musical theater, and on American and foreign tours with his wife Lisan Kay. Retiring from the stage while still in his prime, he focused on teaching, coaching, and choreography. He choreographed the musical Lute song both on Broadway in 1946 and at City Center in 1959. He was a founder of the Ballet Arts school at "61" Carnegie Hall, and created works for his students. In recognition of his contributions to international cultural understanding, the Japanese government awarded him an Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1969. In 1973 he established the Nimura Dance Award in Japan in order to assist young dancers and recognize achievement.

Source

Gift; Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura, Sept. 2007. NN-PD

Added Author

St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968, dancer.

Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972. Associated name

Nimura, Yeichi, 1897-1979, dancer.

Kay, Lisan, dancer.

Research Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-5709