Dougherty, John 1910-1988

John Ellwood Dougherty was a noted dance critic with an extensive career in the performing arts, which included dancing, acting, production, writing, and teaching.

He was born in Philadelphia in 1910. He studied dance in New York beginning in 1928 or 1929 and began his ballet training with Mikhail Mordkin, Alexandre Gavrilov, and Anthony Tudor. He acted, danced, choreographed, directed, and designed costumes and make-up for numerous theatrical productions from the 1940s through the 1960s. He moved to California in 1955 and wrote for Dance magazine and Dance news. Beginning in 1964, he worked as a secretary and manager for Ruth St. Denis. In the 1960's and 1970's, he taught dance technique and the history of dance and theater at California State University, Fullerton and the University of California, Los Angeles. He died in 1988.

From the description of John Dougherty papers, 1922-1988. (University of California, Irvine). WorldCat record id: 46307353

John Dougherty was a dancer, dance historian and dance critic who spent most of his life affiliated with Ruth St. Denis and the Denishawn School.

Born in 1910 in Pennsylvania, Dougherty became a scholarship student of the first resident class at Denishawn House in 1928-1929. He made his professional debut dancing with the company Ted Shawn took out in the spring of 1929. Dougherty also attended the University of Pennsylvania, earning degrees in literature. Dougherty combined his knowledge of dance and literature to become a prolific writer on dance. Dougherty served as Southern California correspondent for Dance Magazine from 1956-1965 and performed similar work for Dance News in the 1970s and the early 1980s. In 1960, he began lecturing on dance history at University of California at Los Angeles and served as a consultant and moderator for dance festivals during the 1960s and 1970s; notably retrospectives of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Dougherty was St. Denis' secretary and literary adviser, assisting with the operations of the Ruth St. Denis Center and helping to collect her writings for publication. Dougherty also worked with Ted Shawn, helping to catalog materials relating to Shawn's personal life and career, including his costume and fabric collection. He taped and transcribed interviews with Shawn, which were used by Walter Terry to write Shawn's biography. Dougherty died in Los Angeles, California in 1988.

From the description of John Dougherty collection, 1904-1988. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 79409334

Biography

John Ellwood Dougherty was a dance critic, who had a long and multi-faceted career in the performing arts, including dancing, acting, production, and teaching. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 3, 1910. Rudolph Valentino and the mysti cal photographs in The American Dancer of the "Oriental dancers," Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, inspired Dougherty and sparked his interests and aspirations in dance and theater.

Dougherty began his dance training at age 11, and in 1928 he received a scholarship to the Denishawn House in New York. As a member of Denishawn's first resident class, he made his professional dancing debut under the direction of Ted Shawn in 1929. He later studied classical ballet with three important figures: Mikhail Mordkin, Alexandre Gavrilov, and Anthony Tudor. He continued to dance professionally, partnering Mary Binney Montgomery in 1937; she was an East Coast socialite who produced dance progr ams. In the 1940's and 1950's, Dougherty participated in theater productions, primarily with the Alden Players of Philadelphia. He acted, danced, choreographed, directed, and designed costumes and make-up.

Dougherty also maintained a professional relationship with Ruth St. Denis, dancing with her group in 1938. Many years later in 1964, Dougherty became St. Denis' personal secretary and manager; his duties included collecting materials on her dances, boo king speaking engagements, and writing press releases and program notes. He partnered St. Denis in her final performance with the Denishawn Dancers at Mt. Tamalpais Amphitheater (Marin County, California) in 1965.

Dougherty moved to the West Coast in 1955, and writing became the primary focus of his career. Dougherty was the Southern California correspondent for Dance Magazine from 1956 to 1966 and later wrote for Dance News from 19 71 to 1982. He looked in numerous venues for inspiring performances and future talent, attending both major and minor dance performances, from the Bolshoi Ballet to Sujata and Asoka and to De Rea's Dance Academy. His writing required him to attend hundred s of performances, sometimes more than one each night. He worked with many local and regional dance schools directly on productions, attended dance concerts and recitals, and corresponded regularly with faculty members of dance schools and departments. He compiled program notes for both professional and university dance performances. His major research projects included writing a biographical article on Adolph Bolm and editing the memoirs of Mary Bran, a Los Angeles dance impresario.

Dougherty was a dance educator as well. In the 1960's and 1970's, he taught technique and both dance and theater history at California State University Fullerton, UCLA and UCLA Extension. He also gave lecture demonstrations which accompanied film and l ive performances. His career ended in 1988, when he died at the age of 77.

Chronology

• 1910: Born John Ellwood Dougherty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 3rd.
• 1920: Began dance training at the age of 11. First professional engagements as actor and dancer in summer stock productions at Cape May Municipal Pier, New Jersey.
• 1928: Granted a working scholarship at age 18 as member of the first resident class of the Denishawn House in New York City. Studied with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Studied with Elsa Findlay, authorized teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.
• 1929: Professional modern dance debut with Ted Shawn.
• 1930: Began the study of classical ballet, first with Mikail Mordkin and then with Alexandre Gavrilov at the Philadelphia Civic Opera School of Dance. Taught Denishawn technique at the Ethel Phillips Studios in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
• 1934: Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, University of Pennsylvania.
• 1937: Partnered Mary Binney Montgomery.
• 1938: Master of Arts in English Literature, University of Pennsylvania. Danced with Ruth St. Denis' "religious realization" group in New York City.
• 1940: Participated in summer stock, Cape May, New Jersey. Model for the sculptor Kathryn Dieter Thimme.
• 1944 - 1955 : Personnel and Industrial Relations Manager for the Philadelphia Rust-Proof Company.
• 1945 - 1955 : Original member and early president of the Tacony Personnel Association in Philadelphia.
• 1949 - 1955 : Chairman of the Kensington Veterans Employment Committee, in Philadelphia.
• 1950 - 1955 : Actor, director, dancer, choreographer, designer costumer and makeup artist for the Alden Players (a community theater group) of Philadelphia.
• 1955: Moved to the South Bay area of Los Angeles.
• 1956 - 1965 : Dance Magazine staff correspondent for Southern California.
• 1956 - 1956 ? : Technical illustrator at MacDonald Douglas Aircraft Corporation in El Segundo, California.
• 1960 - 1962 : Taught a University Extension course on dance history at UCLA. Gave guest lectures for UCLA Extension courses and lecture series, including "Dance: The Living Art;" "World Arts and Culture: The Modern United States;" "Theater: America Sets the Stage;" and Japanese theater history (Kabuki, Odori, and Japanese music).
• 1963: Awarded a fellowship by the Huntington Hartford Foundation to conduct historical research on Adolph Bolm.
• 1964 - 1966 : "Literary" secretary and personal manager to Ruth St. Denis.
• 1965: Partnered Ruth St. Denis at her last performance with the Denishawn Company at Mt. Tamalpais Amphitheater, in Marin County, California.
• 1970 - 1972 : Taught Dalcroze Eurhythmics, dance history, beginning modern dance and "Dance Today In LA" (a course designed to nurture philanthropy) at California State College at Fullerton (CSU Fullerton).
• 1971 - 1982 : Dance News staff correspondent for Southern California. (Magazine ceased publication in 1982.)
• 1971: Taught East Indian dance movement for California State College at San Diego.
• 1975: Devised a lecture demonstration on Ruth St. Denis and the Denishawn technique for a documentary by Edmund Penney, The Dancing Prophet.
• 1988: Died at age 77 on March 31st in Downey, California.

From the guide to the John Dougherty Papers, 1922-1988, (University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.)

John Dougherty was born in 1910 in Pennsylvania. He was a scholarship student of the first resident class at Denishawn House, 1928-1929. He made his professional debut dancing with the company Ted Shawn took out in the spring of 1929, beginning with the week at Atlantic City, ending at Carnegie Hall where he danced as one of the silhouette figures in the world premiere of Shawn’s Mevlevi Dervish. Dougherty entered the university of Pennsylvania in 1930 and received his B.A. degree in 1934, and his M.A. in 1938. Despite studying literature, Dougherty remained affiliated with dance throughout his life.

Dougherty was a staff correspondent in Southern California for Dance Magazine from 1956 until 1965. In 1960, he began lecturing on dance history at University of California at Los Angeles and served as a consultant and moderator for dance festivals and performances. Dougherty partnered with Ruth St. Denis in 1965 for her last company appearance, The Blue Madonna of St. Mark’s. Dougherty also trained the dancers for the Ruth St. Denis performance at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County sponsored by Atheneum Arts Foundation. John Dougherty was St. Denis’ secretary and literary adviser during this last phase of her professional career. He wrote publicity for her, assisted with the operations of the Ruth St. Denis center, and worked to collect the writings of Ruth St. Denis for publication.

In 1966, Dougherty wrote the script, Denishawn Revisited, a retrospective of the Denishawn Era. In 1967, he trained dancers, and staged Denishawn Revisited at UCLA where he danced Ted Shawn’s Invocation to the Thunderbird as the finale to the show. Dougherty also produced another retrospective of the Denishawn era, Denishawn Festival, at UCLA in the 1970s. From 1971 to 1976 he lectured at SSU Fullerton. Dougherty worked with Ted Shawn in 1969 to help catalog materials relating to Mr. Shawn’s personal life and career, including his costumes and fabric collection. At this time Dougherty taped and transcribed interviews with Shawn, which were used by Walter Terry to write Shawn’s biography. Dougherty wrote reviews of dance, and books for Dance News in the 1970s. He died in Los Angeles, California in 1988.

From the guide to the John Dougherty collection, 1904-1988, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)