Virginia Tanner

Virginia Tanner (April 25, 1915 — May 20, 1979) was an American dance instructor and founder of the University of Utah Children's Dance Theatre. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, she began her formal dance training at the University of Utah. She studied with Doris Humphrey in New York City before returning to Salt Lake City in the early 1940s to establish her school for creative dance for children.

Biography

Virginia Tanner^[1] began teaching children at the McCune School of Music and Art in Salt Lake City in 1941, where she was director of the dance program. She went on to establish her own school within the University of Utah's continuing education program, which survives today under the direction of Mary Ann Lee and is part of the University of Utah Dance Department. In 1943, she formed the Modern Dance Theatre, a company that she co-directed with local dancer Barry Lynn. In 1949, she formed the Children's Dance Theatre.

In 1953, the Children's Dance Theatre performed at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Theatre in Massachusetts, the American Dance Festival in Connecticut, and New York University's summer camp in upstate New York to critical acclaim. Following the 1953 performances, the Children's Dance Theatre performed throughout the United States, including the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 and the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 1975. Ms. Tanner and her students were featured in Life, Newsweek and Dance Magazine and on national television.

In 1960, Miss Tanner was instrumental in gaining a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to bring great choreographers to Salt Lake City to set work on dancers at the University of Utah. In 1966, through her efforts, a larger grant from the Foundation^[2][3][4][5] was awarded to the University to establish the Utah Repertory Dance Theatre.

Miss Tanner taught extensively throughout the United States through the National Endowment for the Arts’ Artist-in-the-School program. She was a contributing author to the Self-Expression and Conduct – The Humanities book series, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in the 1970s.

Miss Tanner is the recipient of numerous awards, including an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and a Plaudit award for inspired teaching from the National Dance Association.

Creative Dance Program

The Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program has been under the direction of Mary Ann Lee since Tanner's death in 1979. The University of Utah dance program was founded in 1940 by Elizabeth Roths Hayes. At the time of writing Elizabeth Hayes is 96 years old; and in April 2007 Bill Evans restaged in her honor For Betty at the University's Department of Modern Dance alumni concert, a work that he had choreographed to music of Antonio Vivaldi in 1970 for Repertory Dance Theatre at her request to see something "joyful and exuberant."^[6]

Repertory Dance Theatre

Utah Repertory Dance Theatre, founded in 1966, is still in existence and is one of the oldest and most successful modern dance companies of its kind.

Alumni

Alumni of Repertory Dance Theatre include:

• Linda Smith, current artistic director
• Bill Evans, choreographer
• Douglas Boulivar
• Gregg Lizenbery
• Joan Moon
• Karen Steele, danced with Lar Lubovitch after RDT
• Kathleen McClintock
• Kay Clark, RDT artistic director with Linda Smith 1977-1983
• Lynne Wimmer
• Manzell Senters
• Martin Kravitz, danced with Batsheva Dance Company, Israel, after RDT
• Ron Rubey
• Tim Wengerd, after RDT, principal dancer with Martha Graham until his death in 1986

University of Utah Children's Dance Theatre

Children's Dance Theatre was founded by Virginia Tanner in 1949 in conjunction with and remains an integral component of the University of Utah's Creative Dance Program, of which she was also founder and director.

Major performances

Major performances of Children's Dance Theatre:

1952 Christmas in the Air 1953 Jacob's Pillow 1960 Jacob's Pillow; American Theatre Conference, New York City, 1960 Tour to Connecticut College School of Dance, New London, Connecticut 1961 Cranberry Corners 1961 My Favorite Things 1962 Seattle World's Fair, Seattle, Washington 1964 Scrooge: The Stingiest Man in the World 1964 Snow Queen 1964 Ceremony of Carols 1968 Tour to Hawaii 1970 White House Conference on Children, Washington, D.C. 1975 Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. 1978 Dance and the Child Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 1978 Stonecutter 1978 Tribute to Virginia Tanner, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1980 Rainbow Goblins, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1981 Pierrot 1981-1983 Children's Dance Theatre In Concert, Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah 1984 Desert Landscapes, Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah 1985 I Am Magic, Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah 1985 International Children's Festival, Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. 1986 Stanford University, Stanford, California 1986 International Children's Festival, Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. 1986 The Dancing Man, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1987 The Dancing Man, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1988 Anna & The Echo Catcher, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1988 Dance and the Child International Conference, London, England 1989 40th Anniversary Concert, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1989 Together

1990 Anna & The Echo Catcher, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1991 Dance and the Child International Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah 1991 Young She & Grandmother Tree, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1992 One Hundred Years of Dance, American Dance Festival West, Salt Lake City, Utah 1992 Tales, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1993 Dance & Sing, featuring Pete Seeger, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1993 Shout, Abravanel Hall, Governor's Awards in the Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah 1994 TARI '94 International Conference and Dance Festival, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1994 Visions of Children, featuring Pete Seeger, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah, 45th Anniversary Concert 1995 The Rag Coat, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1996 Waking the West, Kingsbury Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah 1997 Dance and the Child International Conference, Kuopio, Finland 1997 Salt, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1998 The Joy Keeper, Ogden Egyptian Theatre, Ogden, Utah 1998 The Joy Keeper, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 1998 Wales Dance Exchange, Cardiff, Wales 1999 ... and We Began to Dance, Salt Lake City, Utah, 50th Anniversary Performance 1999 SLOC Olympic Mascot Unveiling 2000 The Quiltmaker's Gift, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2001 Crumb and the Pirates, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2002 RePETE, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2003 Sense Pass King, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2004 The Three Questions, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2005 Pockets, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2006 A Blue So Blue, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2007 The Dream Stealer, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2008 Scientia, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2009 Coming Home, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah, 60th Anniversary Concert 2010 True North, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah 2011 Alice Through the Looking Glass, Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah

Dancers and choreographers

Some significant dancers and choreographers from Children's Dance Theatre:

• Cynthia Pepper, has own company in the Bay Area
• Jacque Bell; independent Salt Lake City-based choreographer, teaches at University of Utah and Brigham Young University
• Linda Smith, artistic director of Utah Repertory Dance Theatre
• Lisa Warenski; professor of philosophy at Union College, former dancer and choreographer
• Lola Huth, danced with José Limón company
• Mimi Silverstein, former Repertory Dance Theatre member
• Tina Misaka, former Repertory Dance Theatre member

University of Utah Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Fine Arts Preschool faculty

Misha Bergman, director Mimi Silverstein

Rachel Kimball Tad Simonson

References

1. ^ Redacted biography by the late Bruce Bennett, Virginia Tanner's husband
2. ^ Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report - 1967; see p. 130 printed report, p. 159 in the PDF
3. ^ Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report - 1969; see p. 57 printed report, p. 74 in the PDF
4. ^ Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report - 1971; see p. 76 printed report, p. 90 in the PDF
5. ^ Rockefeller Foundation Annual Report - 1980; see p. 30
6. ^ The Daily Utah Chronicle, February 22, 2006

External links

• Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program, University of Utah
• Department of Modern Dance, University of Utah
• Children's Dance Theatre, University of Utah
• Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Fine Arts Preschool, University of Utah
• Dance, Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah
• Virginia Tanner, Utah History to Go
• Utah Repertory Dance Theatre
• Repertory Dance Theatre, Dance Magazine, February 2006
• Repertory Dance Theater photograph collection, University of Utah Marriott Library
• Bill Evans Dance
• Cynthia Pepper, CPCollaborations
• Prof. Gregg Lizenbery, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Theatre and Dance
• Jacque Lynn Bell, University of Utah, Department of Theatre
• Karen Steele, Oklahoma Arts Council teaching artist roster
• Prof. Kathleen McClintock, Mills College, Dance Department
• Prof. Lynne Wimmer, University of South Florida, School of Theatre and Dance
• Prof. Mary Ann Lee, University of Utah, Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Institute
• Tina Misaka, Utah Arts Council artists roster
• Finding Aid for the Virginia Tanner Papers at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Persondata
Name	Tanner, Virginia
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1915
Place of birth
Date of death	1979
Place of death