Dehn, Mura, 1902-1987.
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Dehn, Mura, 1902-1987.
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Dehn, Mura, 1902-1987.
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Biographical History
Mura Dehn, born in 1902 in Odessa, Russia, performed as a modern and jazz dancer, directed her own jazz dance company, and, most notably, documented the history of Afro-American social dance in her writings and on film.
Mura Dehn, born in 1902 in Odessa, Russia, is most widely known for her study and documentation of Afro-American social dances in the United States, epitomized by her film “The Spirit Moves”.
While studying and performing modern dance in Europe in the 1920's, she was exposed to jazz dance and moved to New York in 1930 to pursue her interest. In New York, she performed, taught and choreographed (often with her partner, Roger Pryor Dodge) and eventually formed a company with James Berry to promote jazz dancing. The Traditional Jazz Dance Company (or Jazz Dance Theatre) toured widely in the United States, and in 1969 was sponsored by the State Department on a tour of Africa. Throughout her career, she wrote and spoke on the development of Afro-American social dance and in her later years was working on a film of breakdancers to supplement “The Spirit Moves”.
She was married to the painter Adolf Dehn in 1926 (divorced in 1931), and later to Herman Thomas (“Dutch”), a retired Merchant Marine captain, who died in 1982. Mura Dehn died in New York in February, 1987.
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Languages Used
eng
Zyyy
rus
Zyyy
Subjects
African American dancers
African Americans
Animal dances
Ballroom dancing
Ballroom dancing
Ballroom dancing
Ballroom dancing
Ballroom dancing
Bamboula (Dance)
Cakewalk (Dance)
Calenda (Dance)
Carnival
Carnival
Charleston (Dance)
Congeroo (Dance)
Congo square dance (Dance)
Dance
Dance, Black
Dane
Jazz
Jazz dance
Lindy (Dance)
Mambo (Dance)
Manuscripts
Minstrel shows
Plantation dance (Dance)
Quadrilles (Dance)
Ring shout (Dance)
Rock and roll dancing
Savoy Ballroom
Square, round and contra dancing
Voodoo dancing
Nationalities
Activities
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Places
Louisiana--New Orleans
as recorded (not vetted)
AssociatedPlace
United States
as recorded (not vetted)
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