As the closing work on the final performance by Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, this work holds special significance. It was created as a summation of the company’s lifespan, depicting work in the studio, showing excerpts of important dances, and ending with the dancers leaving Shawn alone onstage. When Shawn had selected his original Men Dancers from the athletes he taught at Springfield College in 1933, his stated purpose was to forge a new performance style for men, and to prove that dancing could be an honorable profession for the American male. The company would go on to perform hundreds of times in cities around the U.S. and Canada, as well as on foreign tours to London and Havana. Like Labor Symphony, John Brown Sees the Glory and the iconic Kinetic Molpai, this dance was set to a commissioned score that was composed and performed live by Jess Meeker.
Read More
