Dear Jane … Affectionately Doris H.: The Friendship of Doris Humphrey and Jane Winearls

摘要

This article explores the unpublicized and little-known friendship of Doris Humphrey and Jane Winearls, arguing that what each of them sought in the other was the chance to share inner reflections and dreams with a stimulating, supportive fellow dance practitioner. I examine how their friendship began when Winearls was one of the London dance critics who reviewed the Jos Limn Dance Company during the company's 1957 European tour, and how it developed through a pleasurable long-distance correspondence. In addition, I compare and contrast the two artists' writings on dance, their views as dance educators, their attitudes toward dance notation as a means to preserve their work, and their preparation of materials for posterity.