Hanya : Portrait of a Pioneer

Hosted by Juile Andrews and Alfred Drake. This DVD traces the career of Hanya Holm from Germany in the 1920s through the Broadway stage. As one of the famous “four pioneers” of modern dance, Hanya was a founding artist in establishing new forms and educational principles in America. Introduced by Julie Andrews and narrated by Alfred Drake, this DVD features archival footage from the 1930s and 40s, and interviews with Holm and many of her students, including Murray Louis, Alwin Nikolais, and Harold Lang.

Hanya Holm began her career as an assistant to Mary Wigman. She came to the United States in the 1930s to establish a Wigman school there. She was soon choreographing and performing: her most famous work of this period, Trend, premiered at Bennington College in 1937. In the 1950s and 60s Hanya began a new career as a Broadway choreographer, choreographing My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Kiss Me Kate.

Hanya: Portrait of a Pioneer was first presented at Duke University on the 50th anniversary of the American Dance Festival, when Hanya received the Samuel H. Scripps Award for her lifetime achievements in dance. Also in 1985, it won the Grand Prize in the Dance Film Association’s Dance on Camera Festival, held in New York.

Item is available worldwide.
DVD and Streaming