Strauss, Sara Mildred, 1896-1979

American dance teacher, choreographer, and author, Sara Mildred Strauss (1896-1979) was an influential, but somewhat forgotten physical fitness advocate whose long career also encompassed the spheres of concert and theatrical dance.

Strauss published her first treatise, The Dance and Life (1916) at a relatively young age, but she was still active in the field some fifty years later, publishing Here an Inch, There an Inch (1966), a much more mature work that encapsulates the experience of her many years of teaching. After extensive study, she developed the Strauss method of body building and dance technique early on, opening schools that developed the skills of dancers. By the mid-1930s, her technique was being taught by trained instructors at Strauss School of the Dance outposts throughout the United States and in several other countries. In addition to training dancers, many famous actors studied body movement and posture in her studios. After a short stay in Hollywood, Strauss returned to New York and joined the teaching staff of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she remained for about fifteen years.

During the 1930s, Strauss also was particularly active as a dance presenter and choreographer. Her often experimental choreography was given in such serious concert venues, as New York's Guild Theatre and in 1932 she successfully collaborated with a group of dance professionals (which included Agnes De Mille) to lobby for the change of a bill that would allow dance performances to take place on Sundays in New York State (Strauss's own account of this incident can be found in box 2, folder 6). But Strauss's dance troupes, usually called the Sara Mildred Strauss Dancers or the Strauss Ballet also appeared frequently in vaudeville and Broadway revues, including Irving Berlin's As Thousand Cheer (1933) and Lew Brown's production of Calling All Stars (1934), featuring Ed Wynn. Strauss is also sometimes referred to by her married name, Sara Mildred Strauss Newman.

Sara Mildred Strauss (Newman) was born in 1896. She was a dance teacher, choreographer, and author of two books and several articles on body movement and posture. She established dance schools in Carnegie Hall and the Ziegfeld Theater in New York; for a short period she supervised a dance studio in Hollywood, while qualified instructors taught the Strauss Technique in several states. Sara Mildred Strauss also organized summer schools in Europe. Apart from dancers, many famous actors studied body movement and posture in her studios. After a short stay in Hollywood, she returned to New York and joined the teaching staff at the Action Department of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she remained for about fifteen years.

In 1932 she collaborated with several dance instructors, dancers and other professionals to advocate for the change of a bill that would allow concert dancing on Sundays. An interesting text written by Sara Mildred Strauss on the background and her observations on the process that led to the change of this bill can be found in box 2, folder 6.

As a choreographer, Sara Mildred Strauss directed and produced for The Ziegfeld Follies, Ed Wynn's Show, Calling All Stars (1934-1935), J.J. Shubert musicals, and the dances for the motion picture Sweet Surrender (1935). She also choreographed for vaudeville and Broadway shows, Boston Symphony concerts and several nightclubs in New York, Florida, Chicago and Monte Carlo.

She was the author of two books. The Dance and Life : Brooklyn Eagle Press, New York, 1916, is an early treatise on dance and emotions, which she wrote at a relatively young age. A much more mature work that encapsulates her experience after many years of teaching is Here an Inch, There an Inch, Prentice-Hall: New York 1966. It is a book on posture and exercise in everyday life. Several short articles on the same subject were published in Family Circle Magazine between 1962-1966.