Angna Enters
Encyclopedia
Anita "Angna" Enters was a dancer, mime, painter, writer, novelist and playwright.
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
in 1915. She saw the first Denishawn concert tour the same year, and the following year, the first American tour of Sergei Diaghilev
’s Les Ballets Russes. In June 1916, Enters enrolled in Milwaukee State Normal School, a normal school
for teachers, design and drawing (now the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee).
in 1919, and began began to study dance with Michio Itō
the following year, eventually performing as Michio's partner in 1923. That year she created her first piece, an evocation of a statue of a Gothic Virgin, entitled Ecclesiastique. The piece later became Moyen Age. In 1924, she borrowed $25 with which to present her first solo program at the Greenwich Village Theater. Her solo program,"The Theatre of Angna Enters," toured the United States and Europe until 1939 and was performed, though less often, until 1960. In 1934, Enters was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
to study Hellenistic art forms in Athens, Greece.
in New York holds selected works by Enters, as do other museums.
in 1936 but maintained separate households. In 1924, Enters changed her first name to Angna and began using 1907 as her birth year. Kantor also changed his name to Louis Kalonyme in 1924 and began writing art criticism for Arts and Decoration magazine. Kalonyme was friends with many notable thinkers of the day: Eugene O’Neill, George Bernard Shaw
, and Georgia O'Keeffe
among them. The couple did not have any children and Kalonyme died in 1961 after a long illness.
(1943) and Tenth Avenue Angel (1948).
during that year. She spent the following school year at Wesleyan University
in Middletown, Connecticut
. In 1970-71 she was artist-in-residence at Pennsylvania State University
, during which time she gave her last known public performance.
Early life
Enters graduated from North Division High SchoolNorth Division High School (Milwaukee)
North Division High School was one of the major public high schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
in 1915. She saw the first Denishawn concert tour the same year, and the following year, the first American tour of Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
’s Les Ballets Russes. In June 1916, Enters enrolled in Milwaukee State Normal School, a normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
for teachers, design and drawing (now the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee).
Emergence as a dancer
Enters moved to New York to study at the Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
in 1919, and began began to study dance with Michio Itō
Michio Itō
Michio Itō was a Japanese dancer, and choreographer, an associate of William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, Angna Enters, Isamu Noguchi, Louis Horst, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Vladimir Rosing, Pauline Koner, Lester Horton and others...
the following year, eventually performing as Michio's partner in 1923. That year she created her first piece, an evocation of a statue of a Gothic Virgin, entitled Ecclesiastique. The piece later became Moyen Age. In 1924, she borrowed $25 with which to present her first solo program at the Greenwich Village Theater. Her solo program,"The Theatre of Angna Enters," toured the United States and Europe until 1939 and was performed, though less often, until 1960. In 1934, Enters was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
to study Hellenistic art forms in Athens, Greece.
Visual artist
Enters created a large body of visual art, including sketches, landscape drawings, archeological studies, costume plates, water colors and oil portraits. Many of her sketches and paintings were exhibited in the United States and Europe. Her sketches were often costume designs for characters of her mime performances or set designs for plays. The Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York holds selected works by Enters, as do other museums.
Relationship with Louis Kalonyme
Enters met journalist Louis Kantor in 1921. The two began dating secretly in 1924, wed quietly in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1936 but maintained separate households. In 1924, Enters changed her first name to Angna and began using 1907 as her birth year. Kantor also changed his name to Louis Kalonyme in 1924 and began writing art criticism for Arts and Decoration magazine. Kalonyme was friends with many notable thinkers of the day: Eugene O’Neill, George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, and Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
among them. The couple did not have any children and Kalonyme died in 1961 after a long illness.
Writing
Enters wrote three volumes of autobiography - First Person Plural, (1937) Silly Girl (1944) and Artist's Life (1958). She also wrote a novel, Among the Daughters (1956), and a book on her work, On Mime (1966). Her plays, Love Possessed Juana: A Play of the Inquisition in Spain, co-written with Louis Kalonyme, and The Unknown Lover, were presented by the Houston Little Theater in 1946 and 1947. Enters is also credited with having co-written two Hollywood films, Lost AngelLost Angel (film)
Lost Angel is a 1943 film starring Margaret O'Brien as a little orphan girl raised to be a genius. James Craig plays a reporter who shows her the world outside the Institute of Child Psychology.-Plot:...
(1943) and Tenth Avenue Angel (1948).
Teaching
Enters’ first teaching work came at the Stella Adler Studio, where she taught from 1957 to 1960. She was artist-in-residence at the Dallas Theatre Center in 1961-62, and taught mime and Baylor UniversityBaylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
during that year. She spent the following school year at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
. In 1970-71 she was artist-in-residence at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, during which time she gave her last known public performance.
Enters' Books and Further Reading
- First Person Plural. New York: Stackpole sons, 1937.
- Love Possessed Juana (queen of Castile) a play in 4 acts, New York: Twice a Year Press, 1939.
- Silly Girl, a portrait of personal remembrance. Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin company, 1944.
- Among the Daughters, a novel. New York: Coward-McCann, 1955.
- Artist's Life. New York: Coward-McCann, 1958.
- On Mime, second edition. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1968 (first edition 1965).
- Uncommon Eloquence: A Biography of Angna Enters, by Dorothy Mandel, Arden Press, September 1986, ISBN 0912869070.