Mariam McGlone
Encyclopedia
Mariam McGlone was a dancer, dance critic and educator who died Monday 19 May 2008 at her home in Guilford, Connecticut
, where she had lived for twenty five years.
Born January 20, 1916 in New York City
, daughter of Russian emigrant parents Abraham and Bertha Gessler Siwek, Mariam McGlone trained in classical ballet, entered Barnard College
for a semester but left to join The Humphrey Wideman Company, led by Doris Humphrey
and Charles Wideman and subsequently became an early member of the Martha Graham
company in Manhattan. During the years leading up to World War II, she worked in Hollywood performing in various films, among them Winged Victory
, and training actors and dancers. During World War II she took a job in Chicago working for Variety magazine where she met her husband James McGlone Jr. a yacht
racer and early Volkswagen dealer. They married in 1945, moved to New York where she established a studio in Manhasset on Long Island and for several decades, wrote dance criticism and launched what became a long-running lecture program in New York City, The Dance, Scene.
In 1983 she and her husband moved to Guilford where in addition to working for the Democratic Party, she served on the board of the Long Wharf Theatre, the Wightwood School and the Shoreline Alliance for the Arts in which she initiated numerous and diverse major dance programs. In 1998, with Pam Tatge of the Wesleyan University
Center for the Arts, Mrs. McGlone became the artistic director of the Wesleyan Dance Master Classes which brought prominent and experimental choreographers from major and emerging dance companies to Wesleyan for an intensive weekend program which has now gained a national reputation. Wesleyan University gives out the Mariam McGlone emerging Choreographer Award every year in her honor.
Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
, where she had lived for twenty five years.
Born January 20, 1916 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...
, daughter of Russian emigrant parents Abraham and Bertha Gessler Siwek, Mariam McGlone trained in classical ballet, entered Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
for a semester but left to join The Humphrey Wideman Company, led by Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey
Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...
and Charles Wideman and subsequently became an early member of the 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...
company in Manhattan. During the years leading up to World War II, she worked in Hollywood performing in various films, among them Winged Victory
Winged Victory (film)
Winged Victory is a 1944 drama film directed by George Cukor, a joint effort of 20th Century Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces. Based upon the successful play with the same name by Moss Hart, who also wrote the screenplay, the film only opened after the play's theatre run.-Plot:Frankie Davis , Allan...
, and training actors and dancers. During World War II she took a job in Chicago working for Variety magazine where she met her husband James McGlone Jr. a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
racer and early Volkswagen dealer. They married in 1945, moved to New York where she established a studio in Manhasset on Long Island and for several decades, wrote dance criticism and launched what became a long-running lecture program in New York City, The Dance, Scene.
In 1983 she and her husband moved to Guilford where in addition to working for the Democratic Party, she served on the board of the Long Wharf Theatre, the Wightwood School and the Shoreline Alliance for the Arts in which she initiated numerous and diverse major dance programs. In 1998, with Pam Tatge of the 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...
Center for the Arts, Mrs. McGlone became the artistic director of the Wesleyan Dance Master Classes which brought prominent and experimental choreographers from major and emerging dance companies to Wesleyan for an intensive weekend program which has now gained a national reputation. Wesleyan University gives out the Mariam McGlone emerging Choreographer Award every year in her honor.