Ailes Gilmour
Encyclopedia
Ailes Gilmour was a Japanese American
dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern Dance
movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham
's dance company. Ailes' older brother was sculptor Isamu Noguchi
.
, Japan
, and her brother Isamu were born to different fathers. Their mother, Léonie Gilmour
was an American Journalist living in Japan, working as an English teacher and writer. Léonie met Isamu's father, Yone Noguchi
while Yone was living in New York where he trying to get his poetry published. Isamu was born in Los Angeles after Yone had gone back to Japan to teach English at Keio University
. At the time Léonie believed they were married, but when she got to Tokyo
, she learned Yone had another family.
Ailes' son later found a page in an old notebook that might have referred to Ailes' father. However, the corner of the paper where a signature would be written had been torn off, apparently to conceal his identity. Ailes said in a biographical statement for Marion Horosko's book about Martha Graham
, that her father was a Japanese poet. Leonie chose the name Ailes for her daughter from a poem Beauty's a Flower by Moira O'Neill
, the pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson. It is a striking coincidence that the words in that poem seemed to predict Ailes' career as a dancer. Moira wrote, "Ailes was girl that stepped on two bare feet..."
Ailes grew up in a little Japanese style house that Léonie had constructed in Chigasaki, a seaside town near Yokohama
. In 1920, Ailes and her mother returned to America, living first in San Francisco and then settling in New York City
. Léonie sent Ailes to the Ethical Culture
elementary school, founded in 1876 by Felix Adler and known as a progressive school. Leonie herself had attended the predecessor to the Ethical Culture
elementary school when it was called the Workingman's School. For high school, Léonie chose the Cherry Lawn School in Connecticut
for her daughter. It was a boarding school that was known for its progressive, coeducational program. The director and founder of the school was Fred Goldfrank.
In 1928, Ailes was the literary editor of The Cherry Pit, the Cherry Lawn's student magazine. After she graduated from high school in 1929, she went on to the Neighborhood Playhouse
to study dance and performing arts as a scholarship student. There she met the young Martha Graham
and joined her new professional dance troupe. Ailes told Marion Horosko that she introduced Martha Graham to her brother, Isamu, in 1929. Martha had a bust made of herself in bronze.
In 1948, Ailes married anthropologist Herbert J. Spinden.
opened, Ailes performed at the debut with Graham's company. Their work, Choric Patterns, lasted on stage for just one week. Ailes ruefully observed to Marion Horosko that Radio City Music Hall could succeed only when it became a movie theater with Rockettes.
In the 1930s, Ailes Gilmour appeared on dance programs with a dancer-choreographer Bill Matons. Matons was the Director of the "experimental unit" of the New Dance League, which evolved from the Workers Dance League between 1931 and 1935. Among the group's later-to-become-famous members were male dancer-choreographers like José Limón
and Charles Weidman
. In 1937, Ailes and Matons performed in a Works Progress Administration (WPA)
recital at the Brooklyn Museum
. In 1939, they were in Adelante, a WPA-sponsored Broadway musical. Also in 1937, Matons did the choreography for the Lenin Peace pageant at Madison Square Garden
.
On April 16, 1993, Ailes Gilmour Spinden died in Santa Fe
, New Mexico
at the age of eighty-one.
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern Dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
's dance company. Ailes' older brother was sculptor Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
.
Early life
Ailes, born 1912 in YokohamaYokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and her brother Isamu were born to different fathers. Their mother, Léonie Gilmour
Léonie Gilmour
Léonie Gilmour was an American educator, editor, and journalist. She was the lover and editor of the writer Yone Noguchi and the mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer Ailes Gilmour...
was an American Journalist living in Japan, working as an English teacher and writer. Léonie met Isamu's father, Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
while Yone was living in New York where he trying to get his poetry published. Isamu was born in Los Angeles after Yone had gone back to Japan to teach English at Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
. At the time Léonie believed they were married, but when she got to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, she learned Yone had another family.
Ailes' son later found a page in an old notebook that might have referred to Ailes' father. However, the corner of the paper where a signature would be written had been torn off, apparently to conceal his identity. Ailes said in a biographical statement for Marion Horosko's book about Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, that her father was a Japanese poet. Leonie chose the name Ailes for her daughter from a poem Beauty's a Flower by Moira O'Neill
Moira O'Neill
Moira O'Neill was the pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson , a popular Irish-Canadian poet who wrote ballads and other verse inspired by County Antrim, where she lived at Cushendun....
, the pseudonym of Agnes Shakespeare Higginson. It is a striking coincidence that the words in that poem seemed to predict Ailes' career as a dancer. Moira wrote, "Ailes was girl that stepped on two bare feet..."
Ailes grew up in a little Japanese style house that Léonie had constructed in Chigasaki, a seaside town near Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. In 1920, Ailes and her mother returned to America, living first in San Francisco and then settling in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Léonie sent Ailes to the Ethical Culture
Ethical Culture
The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler...
elementary school, founded in 1876 by Felix Adler and known as a progressive school. Leonie herself had attended the predecessor to the Ethical Culture
Ethical Culture
The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler...
elementary school when it was called the Workingman's School. For high school, Léonie chose the Cherry Lawn School in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
for her daughter. It was a boarding school that was known for its progressive, coeducational program. The director and founder of the school was Fred Goldfrank.
In 1928, Ailes was the literary editor of The Cherry Pit, the Cherry Lawn's student magazine. After she graduated from high school in 1929, she went on to the Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
to study dance and performing arts as a scholarship student. There she met the young Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
and joined her new professional dance troupe. Ailes told Marion Horosko that she introduced Martha Graham to her brother, Isamu, in 1929. Martha had a bust made of herself in bronze.
In 1948, Ailes married anthropologist Herbert J. Spinden.
Career
During the Depression Era, dancers like Ailes and artists like Isamu struggled to find work. In 1932, when Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
opened, Ailes performed at the debut with Graham's company. Their work, Choric Patterns, lasted on stage for just one week. Ailes ruefully observed to Marion Horosko that Radio City Music Hall could succeed only when it became a movie theater with Rockettes.
In the 1930s, Ailes Gilmour appeared on dance programs with a dancer-choreographer Bill Matons. Matons was the Director of the "experimental unit" of the New Dance League, which evolved from the Workers Dance League between 1931 and 1935. Among the group's later-to-become-famous members were male dancer-choreographers like José Limón
José Limón
José Arcadio Limón was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. In 1928, at age 20, he moved to New York City where he studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. In 1946, Limón founded the José Limón Dance Company...
and Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman is a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance forms popular at the time to create a uniquely American style of movement...
. In 1937, Ailes and Matons performed in a Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
recital at the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
. In 1939, they were in Adelante, a WPA-sponsored Broadway musical. Also in 1937, Matons did the choreography for the Lenin Peace pageant at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
On April 16, 1993, Ailes Gilmour Spinden died in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
at the age of eighty-one.
Further reading
- Noguchi, Isamu. A Sculptor's World. New York: Harper and Row, 1968.