Shawn, Ted

orig. Edwin Myers Shawn

(born Oct. 21, 1891, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.—died Jan. 9, 1972, Orlando, Fla.) U.S. modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He married Ruth St. Denis in 1914, soon after beginning his dance career. In 1915 they cofounded the Denishawn school and company to promote nonballetic dance movement; their tours brought modern dance to many parts of the U.S. for the first time. After the couple separated in 1931, the company disbanded, and Shawn established a company of male dancers for which he choreographed works that embodied a vigorous, masculine style. In 1933 he founded the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Mass., as a summer residence and theatre for his dancers. He continued to dance and choreograph into the 1960s.

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