In Kinetic Molpai, performed in 1935 at Jacob’s Pillow. Ted Shawn was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. He formed the Denishawn dance company with his former wife Ruth St. Denis, and is responsible for the creation of the well-known all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers. His innovative ideas of masculine movement made him one of the most influential choreographers and dancers of his day. He is also the founder and creator of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. He was the first American man to achieve a world reputation in dance; he conceived, choreographed, and appeared in one of the first dance films, the Thomas Edison Company’s Dances of the Ages in 1912; and he was the first male dancer to be listed in Who’s Who in America. (Photo of Shawn in classical attire with a couple of his Men Dancers via mattadore)
