Dorothy Madden (1912–2009), American Revolutionary. A Centenary Tribute

Abstract

Dorothy Madden was an inspirational dancer, teacher, writer and choreographer; she studied with many of the great figures of American modern dance including Holm, Nikolais, Graham, Humphrey and Limón, and in particular Louis Horst, whose protégé she became. In the early 1960s she was invited to the UK by the Ministry of Education to introduce her approach to American modern dance into the British education system. As is noted in Valerie Preston-Dunlop and Luis Espana's film The American Invasion 1962-72, her work was seminal to the development of contemporary dance in the UK. Her students who include choreographers Rosemary Butcher, Sue Maclennan and Janet Smith as well as educationalists June Layson, David Henshaw and Stuart Hopps, helped shape British contemporary dance. This essay is based on interviews made with Madden in the late 1990s, research into her archive held at Trinity Laban, and interviews with her colleagues and students. It provides a historical overview of her work and explores her lasting, though largely forgotten, influence on the development of contemporary dance in the UK.