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Bird, Bonnie, (1915-1995), American dancer and dance educator

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Surname: Bird
Forenames: Bonnie
Gender: Female
Date: 1915-1995
History: Bonnie Bird (1915-1995) was an American modern dancer and internationally known teacher. She was born in Portland, Oregon and was educated at the Cornish School of Fine Arts in Seattle where she studied with Martha Graham. Graham invited her to join the Graham concert group in New York where she performed in many premieres over the period 1933-37. In 1937 she became head of the dance department at the Cornish School where she trained Merce Cunningham among many others, and where John Cage was an accompianist. She was among the first dance faculty at the 92nd Street Y in New York and taught there from 1951-1963, establishing the Merry-Go-Rounders, a highly successful company that presented dance for children. She played an important part in the founding and development of the American Dance Guild and the Congress on Research and Dance. In 1974 she began a long association with the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, helping to found Transitions Dance Company in 1982. In 1984 she set up the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund to encourage new young choreographers. This has influenced many internationally renowned choreographers including Lea Anderson and Matthew Bourne.
Name authority reference: GB/NNAF/P150570 (Former ISAAR ref: GB/NNAF/P49325 )
Collections
Number Description Held by Reference Further information
1
c1970 - 1989: files, notes, oral history tapes with transcripts, B&W photographs and scrapbook
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance: Laban Archive
D5
See HMC Laban Centre file