Xenia Zarina

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Xenia Zarina
A young white woman in a dance costume and pose evoking Southeast Asian traditions.
Xenia Zarina, from a 1930 newspaper.
Born
June Zimmerman

1903
DiedAugust 15, 1967
Mexico City
Occupation(s)Dancer, dance scholar, dance educator
Notable workClassic Dances of the Orient (1967)

Xenia Zarina (1903 – August 15, 1967), born June Zimmerman, was an American dancer.

Early life[edit]

June Zimmerman was the daughter of Oliver Brunner Zimmerman and Grace Adele Bushnell Zimmerman. Contrary to some accounts of her early life,[1] both of her parents were born in the American Midwest. Her father was a military engineer during World War I,[2] who taught at the University of Wisconsin[3][4] and the University of California,[5] and wrote a manual for tractor engine maintenance.[6] She graduated from Lyons Township High School in Illinois, and studied dance with Michel Fokine and other Russian dancers.[7][8]

Career[edit]

Zarina danced with the Chicago Opera Civic Ballet as a young woman,[9][10] and gave dance recitals for community groups in the midwest.[11][12] She appeared as a dancer in films Morning Judge (1926) and Chucho el Roto (1934). In 1935, she made her New York debut at the Guild Theatre, in a program of regional Mexican and "interpretive" dances with elaborate costumes.[13]

She traveled in Mexico[14] and many Asian countries[15][16] during the 1930s and 1940s, studying, performing, and teaching traditional dances.[9][17] She studied with Matsumoto Kōshirō VII in Japan.[18] For a time, when her travels were restricted during World War II,[7] she taught dance to the daughter of the Shah of Iran.[19][20] While in Iran, she worked with a fellow American expatriate, Nilla Cram Cook, who held a high position in Iran's Ministry of Education.[21]

An illustration depicting Zarina by Magda Nachman[22] was published in Dance Magazine in 1952.[1] She was on the program at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 1955.[23][24] She wrote a book, Classic Dances of the Orient (1967),[25] with "particularly extensive treatments of the Indian Bhurat Natyam and the Japanese Nihan Buyo."[26]

Personal life[edit]

Zarina died in 1967, in her sixties, in Mexico City. Her brother Gordon Zimmerman wrote about her life for an Illinois newspaper after her death.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bernstein, Lina (2020-06-23). Magda Nachman: An Artist in Exile. Academic Studies PRess. ISBN 978-1-61811-970-4.
  2. ^ "Liberty Fuel is O. K." Republic County Democrat. 1919-01-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Former Instructor at Madison Succumbs". The Journal Times. 1941-05-13. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Oliver B. Zimmerman". Wisconsin State Journal. 1941-05-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "J. Zimmerman, Local Inventor, Dies in South". The Capital Times. 1939-04-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Zimmerman, Oliver Brunner (1920). Internal Combustion Engines and Tractors, Their Development, Design, Construction, Function and Maintenance. International Harvester.
  7. ^ a b c "Brother of Xenia Zarina Writes About Her Life". Brookfield Citizen. October 19, 1967. p. 25. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. ^ "Chenkin and Zarina at Orchestra Hall". Chicago Sentinel. October 9, 1931. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. ^ a b Isaac Cohen, Matthew (March 2007). "DANCING THE SUBJECT OF 'JAVA' : International Modernism and Traditional Performance, 1899–1952". Indonesia and the Malay World. 35 (101): 9–29. doi:10.1080/13639810701233722. ISSN 1363-9811. S2CID 214652986.
  10. ^ "Opera Ballet Finds Rest Here After Long Tour". Star Tribune. 1930-03-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Oriental Dancing of Xenia Zarina Pleases Watchers". Wausau Daily Herald. 1931-01-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Dances of Mexico Shown by Artists in Studio Recital". Wausau Daily Herald. 1932-04-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Martin, John (1935-01-21). "XENIA ZARINA DANCES IN NEW YORK DEBUT; Interesting Mexican Numbers, Excellently Costumed, Are Features of Program". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  14. ^ "Guest Dancer Sees Hope for America". Wausau Daily Herald. 1932-04-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Dansavond Xenia Zarina". Soerabaijasch Handelsblad. August 9, 1938. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. ^ "Xenia Zarina". De Sumatra Post. April 22, 1938. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  17. ^ "Gains Permission". The San Bernardino County Sun. 1935-01-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  18. ^ "Xenia Zarina Recital Tonight". Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945). 1937-07-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-09 – via Trove.
  19. ^ "Ruth St. Denis, 75, Returns to Pillow". The Berkshire Eagle. 1955-08-20. p. 29. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Visiting Dancer Recalls Some Oriental Footwork". Star Tribune. 1958-07-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "UNESCO May Miss Its Dancing Girls". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1948-08-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Xenia Zarina (1947)". Magda Nachman Acharya. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  23. ^ "Person : Xenia Zarina". Jacobs Pillow Archive. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  24. ^ Parker, T. H. (1955-06-12). "Danes en Arabesque". Hartford Courant. p. 27. Retrieved 2020-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Zarina, Xenia (1967). Classic Dances of the Orient. Crown Publishers.
  26. ^ "Classic Dances of the Orient (review)". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2020-09-08.

External links[edit]

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