Local History Research Fall 2015: Ruth St. Denis

I chose The New Victoria Theatre Bill of Play from September 1-16 as my theatre program for the scavenger hunt (no year included, though the file from MS-360 holds playbills from 1914-1916). On the cover of this playbill is Ruth St. Denis, a popular dancer in the early 1900s. On September 16, Ruth preformed Greek, Oriental, and Modern Dance styles at the Victoria, exposing Dayton to different cultures and new forms of entertainment.

Ruth was born Ruth Dennis on January 20, 1879 in New Jersey and changed her name to Ruth St. Denis in 1906 after studying Hindu art and philosophy. She performed on the Victoria stage numerous times, often in vaudeville and comedy shows that included modern, spiritual dance styles. For example, St. Denis danced in The Cobra and The Nautch, both inspired by East Indian dance styles. She was noticed by director David Belasco in 1898 and toured in his production of Zara around Europe. Here she met Japanese dancer Sado Yacco and Sara Bernhardt, a famous actress that graced the Victoria stage often. Ruth was inspired by these women and quickly took interest in Eastern dance and drama. While touring for Du Barry with Belasco, Ruth saw an Egyptian cigarette advertisement and was captivated by the image of Isis, goddess of the sky and a role model to Egyptian women. This excited Ruth and led her to leave Belasco's company and study in India. Her solo career was a success, dancing in Radha and building a reputation as an exotic dancer in vaudeville shows. Ruth's solo career began to slow down around 1911, so she began working on new dance styles and touring with others. She married Ted Shawn in 1914 and together they created the Denishawn school and company in Los Angeles.