May O'Donnell: Modern Dance Pioneer

By Marian Horosko

"She was one of those rare artists who could make stillness sing."--from the foreword by Jennifer Dunning, New York Times

May O'Donnell (1906-2004) was one of the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance Company's most successful soloists during its pioneer days. Because of her strong presence and equally strong technique, Graham entrusted O'Donnell to create her own roles in such notable Graham works as Appalachian Spring and Heriodiade. As a choreographer, O'Donnell was the first American to create dances of musical abstraction (before such a word was used in the world of dance), freeing the modern dancer from themes, storylines, and dramatic passion. She was also a sought-after teacher, and her famous students include Robert Joffrey, Ben Vereen, Gerald Arpino, Dudley Williams, and many others. Today, more than fifty of her documented works are performed and her technique is taught throughout Europe and the United States.

Based on extensive interviews with O'Donnell herself, Marian Horosko brings the story of this extraordinary yet unheralded sixty-year career to light for the first time. O'Donnell's personal memories-from her early training in California, to tours with Jose Limon, to the creation of her signature work, Suspension, to her collaborations with composer husband Ray Green-and unpublished photographs from her personal archives provide a first-hand account of American modern dance coming into its own during the crucial period of the I920s through the I980s. Horosko has also included the first available intermediate-class syllabus of O'Donnell's technique.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813028574
• ISBN13: 9780813028576
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.1"