Pianarosa, Rosella

Rosella Pianarosa, or Zell, as she was known, was born in New York in 1902. From 1961 through 1972, she lived in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Bonita Springs, Florida; and Becket, Massachusetts, the site of the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. With her husband Peter, the Pianarosas made donations to Jacob's Pillow and were friends of Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. Zell Pianarosa died in 1995.

Modern dancers Ted Shawn (1891-1972) and Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) met in 1914, married, and opened Denishawn, a dance company and school focusing on dance forms that incorporated theatrical and ethnic traditions. The Denishawn Company paved the way for the legitimacy of modern dance in America and fostered the early careers of Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. In 1929, Shawn and St. Denis parted both personally and professionally.

Ted Shawn formed an all male dance troupe called Ted Shawn's Men Dancers in 1933, which was showcased at his Berkshires farm, Jacob's Pillow. From 1933 to 1940, Ted Shawn's Men Dancers toured the United States, Canada, England, and Cuba. During this time Ted Shawn leased his farm to Mary Washington Ball, who produced the Berkshire Dance Festival. The festival became so popular with the town residents that they formed the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival committee, raised money to buy the farm and build a theater, and made Shawn director in 1942.

Ruth St. Denis went on to dance, teach, and choreograph independently. St. Denis and Shawn maintained a friendship and she presented many of her dances at the festival from 1940 to 1964.

Sources:

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Archive. "Pillow History." Accessed July 3, 2012. http://www.jacobspillow.org/archives/history.

"Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003." Ancestry Library Edition. Accessed June 26, 2012. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

From the guide to the Rosella Pianarosa collection of Ted Shawn materials, 1956-1972, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)