Erick Hawkins' Collaborations in the Choreographing of Plains Daybreak
Date
2018-08-28
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University of Delaware Library, Museums & Press
Abstract
Erick Hawkins (1909-1994), one of the great American modern dance pioneers of the 20th century, was committed to the creation of “theater poetry,” in which dance, music, and visual designs work together to create a complete theatrical work. His lifelong commitment to artistic collaboration and his unique place in the history of modern dance is understood by examining, analyzing and interpreting archival materials related to Hawkins’ seminal dance, Plains Daybreak (1979). Hawkins created dances that brought together like-minded collaborators that included composers Alan Hovhaness and Lucia Dlugoszewski as well as sculptors Ralph Lee and Ralph Dorazio. Experiences with early mentors, choreographers George Balanchine and Martha Graham were important steps in the development of his creative process. His personal aesthetic grew from his immersion in the ideas of philosophers F.S.C. Northrup and D.T. Suzuki as well as the ceremonies and arts of the Pueblo and Plains Native Americans. A chronological timeline of the creation of Plains Daybreak is generated from notebooks and correspondence in The Erick Hawkins Collection in the Library of Congress, interviews with collaborating artists, and the authors’ personal experiences as members of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company.
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Citation
Wright, L., & Tharin, C. (2018). Erick Hawkins’ Collaborations in the Choreographing of Plains Daybreak. Dance: Current Selected Research, 9.