One Thousand and One Night Stands (Da Capo Paperback) New edition by Shawn, Ted (1979) Paperback

by Ted Shawn

One Thousand and One Night Stands is the 1960 autobiography of "America's greatest male dancer", Ted Shawn, It is also the extraordinary record of the dancers and choreographers who had their first exposure in Shawn's troupes, such as his protogee Martha Graham. Illustrated with b&w photos.

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

Reviews

[Surreysmum]

[Notes made in 2004]. The title of this book has always irritated me. The equally irritating avoidance of the subject of gender discrimination and sexual orientation in a company of male dancers is largely explained by the early publication date of this memoir. Once past those two irritants, this is a somewhat pedestrian but intrinsically interesting account of the Denishawn company (formed with his wife Ruth St. Denis) and then, after their split, Shawn's own tours with his all-male company. He appears to have been fascinated with what we might call "world dance" and to have freely incorporated other dance traditions into his own work. There are some amusing anecdotes, especially of culture clash on their world tours.