Ted Shawn Quotes

“By disparaging ballet he succeeded very well in convincing the boys that ballet was not for Americans, that it was European in origin and in continuing character.”
― Walter Terry

“He adored telling this story of near disaster and how he had triumphed, just as he relished the report of how he went on stage every night on tour in his The Cosmic Dance of Shiva, requiring all manner of spinal flexibilities and related actions, while his sacroiliac was painfully out of place.”
― Walter Terry, Ted Shawn, father of American dance: A biography

“A career in dance, however, was by no means even contemplated at this time.”
― Walter Terry

“Diphtheria struck suddenly, almost fatally.”
― Walter Terry

“With Ted she was about to discover the God of Physical Love.”
― Walter Terry

“With the founding of Denishawn, Ted Shawn stated the artistic creed which was to guide the school, the company and, indeed, his whole life in dance.”
― Walter Terry

“At the outset the matter of Ted's taste arose.”
― Walter Terry

“Near the end of his life he went into a tirade about people who had been "disloyal" to him, triggered by the most recent defection.”
― Walter Terry

“Ted did part of St. Denis's poetry tours with her.”
― Walter Terry, Ted Shawn, father of American dance: A biography

“Both Ruth and Ted visited him together and in separate sessions.”
― Walter Terry

“There were bickerings, outright fights, screaming tantrums, but Ted's vision of the Greater Denishawn had come true.”
― Walter Terry

“But that closing night at Carnegie was without a hint of decline.”
― Walter Terry

“When it was all over, the dancers who had been long in Shawn's service were given either a substantial (for those days) cash reward (or severance pay) or a parcel of Jacob's Pillow land.”
― Walter Terry

“The next twenty-five years after the disbanding of the male dancers saw Shawn bring a dance festival of world-wide significance into being.”
― Walter Terry