Spiritual Visions in Modern Dance: Sybil Shearer

About This Screening

Dancer-choreographer Sybil Shearer (1912-2005) has been described as a “dancer’s dancer” by critic Walter Terry, because of her “technical skill, creative independence, and unpredictable innovations.” A pioneer of modern dance, Shearer made her critically acclaimed solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1941, after which she moved to Chicago where she taught at Roosevelt College and worked independently, close to nature, and in her own unorthodox way. Of the work presented in this program, which spans the years 1940 to 1960 and are in both black-and-white and color, none employ a theatrical stage or dramatic lighting. As the solo dancer fills the frame we discover surprising gestures and steps along the studio floor and witness intuitive bends and sways of the body with the wind and tall grass in the garden. The images are informal yet studied, demonstrating both the physical and psychological power of Shearer’s performances. The fragile film elements containing these images—shot by Shearer’s filmographer and artistic collaborator Helen Balfour Morrison—have recently been preserved by Chicago Film Archives with assistance from the Morrison-Shearer Foundation. Susan Bodine Boléa, a former dancer with the Sybil Shearer Company, will be in attendance - on Monday with Tere Mathern of Conduit Dance and on Tuesday with Josie Moseley of Body Vox - to discuss Shearer and her work.