Choreographers gain inspiration for new dances in a variety of ways, sometimes re-creating or re-imagining the work of a choreographer who has come before. Though it is impossible to exactly re-create the work of another dancer, especially one whose movements are unique, it is nevertheless important to encourage the physical study of such dances if they are to survive.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of John Neumeier’s leadership of the Hamburg Ballet, the company revived select works by modern dance pioneer Sybil Shearer for a special program on June 29, 2023. This rare restaging honored the innovative American choreographer whose abstract expressionist style significantly influenced Neumeier during his formative years.
The program featured Shearer’s the solos O Lost (1942) and Salute to Old Friends, John Martin (1956) along with a newly devised group work by the Bundesjugendballett inspired by Shearer’s legendary solo In A Vacuum (1941). Each piece was meticulously reconstructed from archival materials with assistance from Toby Nicholson, former close collaborator with Shearer and company dancer. Like Nicholson, Neumeier encountered Shearer’s work as a young dancer in Chicago and has often cited her fluid movement philosophy and spiritual approach to choreography as foundational to his artistic development.
The restaging process involved intensive work with dancers to capture Shearer’s distinctive style—characterized by its unpredictable rhythms, naturalistic gestures, and meditative qualities. The anniversary celebration contextualized Shearer’s contributions within the broader narrative of 20th-century dance innovation while highlighting her role as an underrecognized influence on Neumeier’s choreographic vision.
This thoughtful inclusion demonstrated Neumeier’s commitment to honoring his artistic lineage while introducing new audiences to Shearer’s groundbreaking work.
In 2018 Ella Rosewood undertook Sybil’s long difficult solo “Seventh Dance,” to Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and performed it at the 92nd Street Y. It was filmed and shown in June 2019 at the Newberry Library as part of the program, Choreography and the Archives: Preservation, Tradition, and Innovation from Sybil Shearer through the Present, with live commentary by Ella.
In 2017, Ella performed Sybil’s 1947 solo, “No Peace on Earth,” at the 92nd Street Y in New York City as part of a program on “Historic and Significant Female Solos 1928-1954.” Now based in New York, Ella hails from Wisconsin and has visited MSF, receiving coaching from Toby Nicholson here and in New York. Among the purposes of Ella Rosewood Dance is to preserve historic and seminal modern dance solos through reconstructions and education initiatives.
In 2016 Kristina Isabelle premiered And the Spirit Moved Me, a new work inspired by Sybil’s quest for spirituality through movement, at the Pivot Arts Festival at Loyola University. At Links Hall she reprised the Company dance, Judgment Seeks Its Own Level, which Sybil choreographed to a version of Iron Butterfly’s classic rock anthem, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. And in 2017 Kristina reprised the solo O Lost! for the Ragdale Foundation’s fundraising event, “A Novel Affair,” in Lake Forest.
In 2015 Kristina Isabelle, dancer and MSF grant recipient, began a year-long study of Sybil Shearer, culminating with a program titled “Sybil Shearer: Maverick of the Past, Muse of the Present,” at the Newberry Library. It included Sybil’s solo, O Lost! and a 1969 Sybil Shearer Company dance, Judgment Seeks Its Own Level.
In 2014, as part of the 125th anniversary of the Auditorium Theater, Thodos Dance Chicago restaged Time Longs for Eternity and created a company version of Sybil’s fast-moving solo, A Salute to Old Friends: Agnes de Mille. On the same program, Sybil’s solo, A Salute to Old Friends, Walter Terry, was performed by Alissa Tollefson.
In 2013, Sybil’s comic solo, In a Vacuum, was performed by Jessica Miller Tomlinson as part of Thodos Dance Chicago’s New Music & Dance concert at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts.
In 2012, as part of the Sybil Shearer centennial, HEDWIG DANCES performed Time Longs for Eternity and The Reflection in the Puddle Is Mine at the Foundation’s Summer Soiree. The event was held at the Winnetka Community House, where the Sybil Shearer School of Dance was started.
