Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. She was born in Harlem into a well-connected family of theater professionals (her uncle was Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille; Agnes de Mille was also the granddaughter of economist Henry George). September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... Cecil B. DeMille on August 27, 1934 cover of Time Magazine Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and the most influential proponent of the Single Tax on land. ...

Agnes originally wanted to be an actress and always had a love for acting, but she was told that she was 'not pretty enough'. It was then that she turned to dance. Agnes longed to dance from a young age, but her parents did not allow her to. Dancing at this time was not considered a viable career option but more of an activity. Agnes’s younger sister was prescribed to take ballet classes to cure her flat feet. Agnes joined her and finally explored her world of dance. She lacked flexibility and technique, however. Classical ballet was the most widely known dance form at this time. Therefore, Agnes was limited in opportunities. Still, through her strong character work and compelling performances, she taught herself from watching movie stars on the set with her father in Hollywood; these were more interesting for her to watch than perfectly turned out legs. One of Agnes’ earliest jobs, thanks to her father’s connections, was choreographing the movie Cleopatra in 1934, though the dances were later cut from the movie. She appeared in The Ragamuffin in 1916, which was her first job.

She graduated from UCLA where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and moved to London in 1933 to study at Marie Rambert's Ballet Club. Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) is an international womens fraternity founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University. ... Dame Marie Rambert was to exert a great influence on British ballet, both as dancer and teacher. ...

De Mille began her association with the fledgling American Ballet Theatre (then called Ballet Theatre) in 1939, but her first significant work, Rodeo (1942) was staged for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Although De Mille continued to choreograph nearly up to the time of her death--her final ballet, The Informer, was completed in 1992--most of her later works have dropped out of the ballet repertoire. Besides Rodeo, two other De Mille ballets are performed on a regular basis: Three Virgins and a Devil (1934), adapted from a tale by Giovanni Boccaccio, and Fall River Legend (1948), based on the life of Lizzie Borden. The American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, is one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and a leading company in America. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... Rodeo is a ballet score written by American composer Aaron Copland in 1942. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was an influential ballet company that existed from 1932 to 1963. ... The Informer is the title of: The Informer (novel), a 1925 novel by Liam OFlaherty The Informer (1912 movie), directed by D. W. Griffith The Informer (1914 movie), director unknown The Informer (1929 movie), directed by Arthur Robinson The Informer (1935 movie), directed by John Ford; based on the... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Steer roping Rodeo is an outgrowth of Mexican bullfighting. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (June 16, 1313 – December 21, 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poetry in the vernacular. ... This article should belong in one or more categories. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was a New England spinster and central figure in the brutal axe murders of her father and stepmother on August 4, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts. ...

On the strength of Rodeo, De Mille was hired to choreograph Oklahoma! (1943). The dream ballet, in which dancers (Marc Platt, Katherine Sergava, and George Church) doubled for the leading actors, successfully integrated dance into the musical's plot. Instead of functioning as an interlude or divertissement, the ballet provided key insights into the heroine's emotional troubles. De Mille went on to choreograph over a dozen other musicals, most notably Bloomer Girl (1944), Carousel (1945), Brigadoon (1947), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Goldilocks (1957), and 110 in the Shade (1963). Steer roping Rodeo is an outgrowth of Mexican bullfighting. ... Oklahoma! (1943) was the first musical play written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II (see Rodgers and Hammerstein). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Marc Platt is an excellent Ballet dancer. ... Bloomer Girl was a Broadway musical that premiered on October 4, 1944. ... Carousel is a 1945 stage musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) that was adapted from Ferenc Molnars play Liliom. ... DVD cover Brigadoon is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, first produced in 1947. ... Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a novel written by Anita Loos that was published in 1925, a Broadway play produced in 1926, a Broadway musical produced in 1949, which Loos also wrote the book for, and two motion pictures. ... Paint Your Wagon is a 1951 Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. ... Original cast recording Goldilocks is a musical with a book by Jean and Walter Kerr, music by Leroy Anderson, and lyrics by the Kerrs and Joan Ford. ... 110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt. ...

De Mille's success on Broadway did not translate into success in Hollywood. Her only significant film credit is Oklahoma! (1955). She was not invited to recreate her choreography for either Brigadoon or Carousel. Nevertheless, her two specials for the TV series Omnibus, "The Art of Ballet" and "The Art of Choreography" (both televised in 1956), were immediately recognized as landmark attempts to bring serious dance to the attention of a broad public. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Her love for acting played a very important role in her choreography. De Mille revolutionized musical theatre by creating choreography which not only conveyed the emotional dimensions of the characters but also enhanced the plot. Her choreography, as a reflection of her awareness of acting, reflected the angst and turmoil of the characters instead of simply focusing on a dancer's physical technique.

De Mille regularly worked with a recognizable core group of dancers, including Virginia Bosler, Gemze de Lappe, Lidija Franklin, Jean Houloose, Dania Krupska, Bambi Linn, Joan McCracken, James Mitchell, Mavis Ray, and, at American Ballet Theatre, Sallie Wilson. Krupska, Mitchell, and Ray also served as de Mille's assistant choreographers, while de Lappe has taken an active role in preserving de Mille's work. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Lidija Franklin (b. ... Dania Krupska is a Tony Award-nominated dancer and choreographer. ... Bambi Linn, born on April 26, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. ... Joan McCracken (December 31, 1917 – November 1, 1961) was an American actress, dancer, and comedienne who became famous for her role as Silvie (The Girl Who Falls Down) in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!. She was married to choreographer Bob Fosse from 1951 to 1959, and then to novelist... James Mitchell, in a still from All My Children. ...

In 1953, de Mille founded the Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre, which she later revived as Heritage Dance Theatre. The Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre toured the United States from 1953 to 1954 under the aegis of producer Sol Hurok. ...

De Mille suffered a stroke on stage in 1975, but recovered after a long battle.

Her many awards include a Tony Award, the Handel Medallion for achievement in the arts (1976), and an honor from Kennedy Center (1980). What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Agnes de Mille was a lifelong friend of modern dance legend Martha Graham. The publisher of many books about dance, de Mille, in 1992, published Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham (ISBN 0-679-74176-3), a 509-page biography of Graham. Agnes de Mille had been working on the Graham manuscript for over 30 years. Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. ... Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in Visionary Recital, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1961 Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. ...

At present, the only commercially available examples of De Mille's choreography are Fall River Legend (filmed in 1989 by the Dance Theatre of Harlem) and Oklahoma! 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company founded in Harlem, New York City, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook. ...

External links

• Agnes de Mille Dances
• Biographical sketch and list of works for American Ballet Theatre
• Biographical sketch at Kennedy Center

References

• Easton, Carol (2000). No Intermission: The Life of Agnes de Mille. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80975-3. 
• de Mille, Agnes (1973). Speak to Me, Dance with Me. Brown Little. ISBN 0-316-18038-6.