Saint Denis, Ruth (1878?-1968), was an American dancer, dance teacher, and choreographer (creator of dance). She devoted herself to proving that dance could express “the noblest thoughts of man.” Ruth St. Denis was born near Newark, New Jersey, on January 20, probably in 1877 or 1878. She considered the dances she saw as a girl to be superficial, and turned to the East for ideas about dance as a spiritual art. She choreographed and performed in Radha (1906), a dance about a Hindu goddess. She also composed and danced in the Japanese ballet O-Mika (1913) and in other adaptations of Asian material. In 1915, she and her husband, Ted Shawn, opened the Denishawn school in Los Angeles and formed the Denishawn dance company. Their students included Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. The company toured the United States from 1915 to 1931. St. Denis devoted much of her later life to composing religious dances staged in churches. She died on July 21, 1968.
