Hill, Martha, 1900-1995

Martha Hill, a pioneer in the field of dance instruction, served as the first director of dance at The Juilliard School from 1951 until 1985.

Martha Hill was born in East Palestine, Ohio in 1900. Miss Hill (as she was known throughout her life) graduated from the Battle Creek (Michigan) Normal School of Physical Education in 1920, and taught ballet and Swedish gymnastics there and at Kansas State Teachers College. In 1926, Hill moved to New York City to study with Martha Graham and other dance teachers, and in 1927, Hill accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Oregon, where she taught for two years. Among her students was Bessie Schonberg, who danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and became an influential dance teacher at Sarah Lawrence College. Hill returned to New York in 1929, danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and completed her bachelor's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University. She became the Director of Dance at New York University soon after, beginning work in the School of Education in 1930. When her teaching responsibilities increased, Miss Hill left the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1931 and, in 1932, was hired by Bennington College in Vermont to be Chairman of the Dance Department, serving until 1951 in both the NYU and Bennington College positions. She received a master's degree from NYU in 1941. At Bennington, Miss Hill founded the Bennington School of the Dance and its summer festival in 1934, and at Connecticut College, she started the School of the Dance in 1948 and also the American Dance Festival, which she co-directed until 1952. Among her Bennington College students was former First Lady Betty Ford, who later served with Hill on the board of directors of the Association of American Dance Companies. In Hill's obituary, the New York Times stated that such festivals "provided exposure and creative opportunities to major modern-dance choreographers at crucial times in their young careers." Participants included dancers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Hanya Holm, and choreographers José Limón, Alwin Nikolais, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey. Miss Hill became the first director of dance at The Juilliard School in 1951 and remained in that role until her retirement in 1985, when she was named Artistic Director, Emeritus. A major influence on several generations of dancers, Miss Hill taught dance at Juilliard until her death in 1995 at the age of 94. During her long career, Miss Hill served on a variety of boards and organizations committed to promoting dance and dance instruction in the United States, including the Association of American Dance Companies and the National Association for Regional Ballet. She worked with the American National Theatre and Academy's Board of Directors in the 1950s and 1960s, and the U.S. State Department's Office of Cultural Presentations in the 1960s. She served on the board of directors of the Association of American Dance Companies from its inception in 1966, received an award from that organization for her contributions to dance in 1975, and remained active in the AADC until its dissolution in 1980. Miss Hill also served on the board of directors of the National Association for Regional Ballet (which was later absorbed into the organization Regional Dance America) from 1966 until 1985. Miss Hill died in 1995 at her home in Brooklyn; she was married to Dr. Thurston Davies from 1952 until his death in 1961. She was survived by her brother, Lewis Hill, of Lake Alfred, Florida and step-daughter, Judith Dilts, of San Jose, California.

From the description of Martha Hill papers, 1951-1985 (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 244440663

Martha Hill was born in East Palestine, Ohio in 1900. Miss Hill (as she was known throughout her life) graduated from the Battle Creek (Michigan) Normal School of Physical Education in 1920, and taught ballet and Swedish gymnastics there and at Kansas State Teachers College .

In 1926, Hill moved to New York City to study with Martha Graham and other dance teachers, and in 1927, Hill accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Oregon, where she taught for two years. Among her students was Bessie Schonberg, who danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and became an influential dance teacher at Sarah Lawrence College .

Hill returned to New York in 1929, danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and completed her bachelor’s degree at Teachers College, Columbia University . She became the Director of Dance at New York University soon after, beginning work in the School of Education in 1930. When her teaching responsibilities increased, Miss Hill left the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1931 and, in 1932, was hired by Bennington College in Vermont to be Chairman of the Dance Department, serving until 1951 in both the NYU and Bennington College positions. She received a master’s degree from NYU in 1941.

At Bennington, Miss Hill founded the Bennington School of the Dance and its summer festival in 1934, and at Connecticut College, she started the School of the Dance in 1948 and also the American Dance Festival, which she co-directed until 1952. Among her Bennington College students was former First Lady Betty Ford, who later served with Hill on the board of directors of the Association of American Dance Companies . In Hill’s obituary, the New York Times remarks that such festivals “provided exposure and creative opportunities to…major modern-dance choreographers at crucial times in their young careers.”¹ Participants included dancers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Hanya Holm, and choreographers José Limón, Alwin Nikolais, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey .

Miss Hill became the first director of dance at The Juilliard School in 1951 and remained in that role until her retirement in 1985, when she was named Artistic Director, Emeritus. A major influence on several generations of dancers, Miss Hill taught dance at Juilliard until her death in 1995 at the age of 94. The description of the Dance Division notes that Miss Hill’s “influence on the development of modern dance in the United States was profound. She assembled a faculty that included some of the greats in modern dance…[and under] Hill, the School became the first major teaching institution to combine equal dance instruction in both modern and ballet techniques.”²

During her long career, Miss Hill served on a variety of boards and organizations committed to promoting dance and dance instruction in the United States, including the Association of American Dance Companies and the National Association for Regional Ballet. She worked with the American National Theatre and Academy ’s Board of Directors in the 1950s and 1960s, and the U.S. State Department’s Office of Cultural Presentations in the 1960s. She served on the board of directors of the Association of American Dance Companies from its inception in 1966, received an award from that organization for her contributions to dance in 1975, and remained active in the AADC until its dissolution in 1980. Miss Hill also served on the board of directors of the National Association for Regional Ballet (which was later absorbed into the organization Regional Dance America ) from 1966 until 1985.

Miss Hill died in 1995 at her home in Brooklyn ; she was married to Dr. Thurston Davies from 1952 until his death in 1961. She was survived by her brother, Lewis Hill, of Lake Alfred, Florida and step-daughter, Judith Dilts, of San Jose, California.

From the guide to the Martha Hill papers, 1951-1985, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)

Martha Hill (1900-1995) was one of the most influential dance instructors of the 20th century and the first director of the Juilliard Dance Division. She was born in East Palestine, Ohio and attended the Battle Creek Normal School of Physical Education in Battle Creek, Michigan. After her graduation in 1920, she accepted the position of dance instructor there, teaching ballet and Swedish gymnastics. In 1923, she was hired as dance instructor at Kansas State Teachers College, remaining there until her move to New York City in 1926.

Hill had traveled to New York to study Dalcroze eurhythmics at the Institute of Musical Art and dance technique with Anna Duncan. While in the city, she attended a Martha Graham concert - spurring Hill to take a position as Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Oregon in 1927 to earn some money. After two years there, she returned to join Martha Graham's studio.

In addition to dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Hill began teaching high school students at the Lincoln School of Teachers College. During this time she was listed in Martha Graham dance programs as "Martha Todd" since it was felt her career as a professional dancer would be frowned upon since she had influence over young girls - even though she was a dance teacher.

She was hired to teach at New York University in the Physical Education Department of the School of Education in 1930. She was compelled to leave the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1931 because of an increasingly demanding teaching schedule. In 1932, Hill began work at the brand new Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont as chairman of the Dance Department. She held positions at New York University and Bennington College simultaneously until 1951.

In the summer of 1934, Hill initiated a summer dance festival on the Bennington College campus - the Bennington School of the Dance, which ran as a summer program until 1942. Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham, Charles Weidman, and Hanya Holm were key faculty members who spent their summers teaching and performing at Bennington. Hill was convinced that dance should be taught - and dance teachers should be taught - not as an extension of physical education departments, but as an art form.

Hill received her Masters degree in Dance Education from New York University in 1941. In 1948 she formed a School of the Dance at Connecticut College calling it the "Connecticut College School of the Dance". This new summer festival hired many of the same teachers and choreographers from the Bennington School. This festival was a precursor of the American Dance Festival.

In 1951 the president of the Juilliard School, William Schuman, hired Hill to be the school's first Director of Dance. Schuman and Hill had a bold new concept of creating a training program for dancers that would be equally split between ballet and modern dance. It was her belief that the two should not be mutually exclusive, but should be studied in tandem to produce well-rounded dancers. Hill married Dr. Thurston Davies in 1952.

Hill remained the director of dance at Juilliard until 1985, training dozens of students. Some of these included Paul Taylor, Martha Clarke, Susan Marshall, Jenny Coogan, Robert Garland, and Stanley Love. She was named Artistic Director Emeritus in 1985, but continued to teach senior seminars at Juilliard for several years. She died at the age of 94 on November 19, 1995.

Janet Mansfield Soares, is a dancer, choreographer, and author of Martha Hill and the Making of American Dance . She was a student, colleague, and teacher of dance composition with Martha Hill at the Juilliard School Dance Division. She is a professor emerita of dance at Barnard College, Columbia University, and lives in Tucson, Arizona, and Lyme, Connecticut.

From the guide to the Martha Hill research materials, 1870-2002, 1934-1986, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)