Ruth St. Denis - a modern dance pioneer

Ruth St. Denis (January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an early modern dance pioneer. She was born in 1879 on a New Jersey farm. The daughter of a strong-willed and highly educated woman ( Ruth Emma Dennis was a physician by training), St. Denis was encouraged to study dance from an early age. Her early training included Delsarte technique, ballet lessons with the Italian ballerina Maria Bonfante, social dance forms and skirt dancing.

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